ANASTASIA:
It made sense now.
The puzzle pieces were fitting together, revealing a sad picture of Miley's disappearance. In the last four weeks, she wasn't just missing; she was carefully creating a new identity, one forged in the flames of revenge. The old Miley, the shy girl we knew, was gone. The girl I saw had a different kind of energy in her eyes, a fire similar to the one I had seen in the Devil's eyes that night. It was a fire driven by a desire for payback.
"What?" Lara gasped beside me. "Are you sure it was Miley?"
Meeting her gaze, I affirmed, "I saw her." My voice was steady despite the tremor in my hands. "She's back," I said, my mind still picturing the fire in her eyes. "Not as a victim, but as a predator seeking justice."
Lara joined us a few minutes ago, and the worry in her eyes was evident. She engulfed me in a giant bear hug as soon as she stepped out of Mark's car. Since then, she never left my side. Beside me, Lorenzo still held my trembling hands, his grip reassuring amidst the chaos. I leaned on his shoulder as one of his hands carefully wrapped around me.
Mark was, as usual, emotionless. I bet he is only here because of Lara. No matter how much they both deny the pull they have, it is clear that they cannot leave each other's side by now.
Looking to the other side, I noticed that my father and Chief Hampton continued their discussion, oblivious to the storm brewing within our small circle. I had no idea when he had returned from his trip with Ava. Since they both got the news of Ava's pregnancy, I hardly even saw him. And for once, my heart held doubts of whether he even cared about the cases or if he would once again try to shut it down, claiming no evidence found, just like before.
Because no matter what, I know that, for him, what matters most is the Alpha Group.
Well, if that is the case, this time I won't let him.
"If that's the case, then we need to take action," David said firmly. His words hung in the air, heavy with the weight of their impending decision. "As soon as possible," he emphasized. "It makes sense; how the predators become the prey."
"There was a familiarity between her look and the Devil," I said, confronting what I saw that night and today. "I could tell she came back with a foolproof plan."
"However, I believe that she was under the influence of the Devil," David commented thoughtfully. "After putting the puzzle together, I could only conclude that she has been driven by the psychopath. Probably has been blackmailed to commit all these crimes."
"Well, mostly because he must have found out a weak spot of hers," I said.
"Revenge," David completed my words. "This could be the only thing connected."
Lara, her voice still tinged with disbelief, questioned, "Miley has been planning her revenge all this time, and here we thought she was in trouble! Geez, that girl is something, huh?"
"Yes," David confirmed, his tone grave. "Sometimes, we misjudge people by their appearance. Who knew Miley was after all these murders all this time?"
"Isn't that only natural after what happened to her?" Lorenzo's voice was unusually calm, yet held an edge. "What she endured shaped her into who she is now."
David nodded in understanding. "Yes, that's true, I agree," he admitted. "But we need to stop her. She already carries the burden of two murder charges, and if we can't find her soon, it will only complicate matters further for her, and no matter how much I want, I won't be able to save her this time." David sighed. His attention was palpable. "I am sure, The Devil had somehow got his clutch around her."
"But what if she's willingly chosen this path?" Lorenzo persisted, his words carrying an unsettling calmness, a subtle threat lingering beneath. "What if this is what he wanted?"
Something unsettling about that tone. We all looked at him with a frown. I had no idea why, but something was there in his voice that screamed that no matter what Miley wasn't just influenced by the Devil. It was her. She wanted revenge!
David met Lorenzo's gaze, his expression weary. "In that case, we'll have no choice but to take her down," he said, his voice heavy with the gravity of their situation.
"And what about the car?" I asked. "I bet the car belongs to Oliver."
"We are not sure of that, A," David replied. "The car you found was unregistered and altered. However, we are trying to dig more into it. I have sent the items to the forensic department for the test, hopefully, we can calculate something out from there!"
"Ana?" My dad's voice sliced through the tension, his footsteps heavy as he approached. "How foolish can you be, running after a criminal like that?" His anger was a tangible force, flashing in his eyes like a storm. Lara, Mark, David, and Lorenzo stood by my side in silence.
"Dad, I—" I began, my voice catching in my throat.
"You're not saying another word," he thundered, his grip firm on my arm. "You're coming home with me. And from now on, you're not going outside without Xavier or Rio. Do you understand me?"
I couldn't muster the strength to argue further. Chief Hampton's influence seemed to stretch even here, keeping me away from the investigation, perhaps to protect the culprits. I have a hunch that his sudden rejoining the team wasn't just a coincidence. I can bet Russo has a hand in that.
And if so, I could tell either he would try to take David down from the case or would help Russo hide the evidence. In both ways, he cannot be trusted.
As my father dragged me away, my fingers, still intertwined with Lorenzo's, came to an abrupt halt. I jerked back, meeting Lorenzo's gaze. His furrowed brows and cloudy eyes mirrored the storms within him. Not now, Lorenzo.
"Who's this? Your boyfriend?" My father's voice dripped with displeasure, his gaze narrowing on Lorenzo. My mouth opened to explain, but the words died in my throat. This was hardly the ideal introduction between my boyfriend and my father.
"Uh, Dad... Well," I started, but he cut me off, pulling me away from Lorenzo.
"Leave, I don't want to know about that right now. You are coming home with me, regardless of what your boyfriend might have in his mind." Thankfully, Lorenzo released my hand, though his eyes followed me, filled with a mix of concern and determination.
Having been caught with the duty and the strictness, my eyes could only tell him sorry about everything. Maybe this wasn't what he expected. But I can't help it right now.
I wished he understood that, no matter what, I would fight for him. For us.
****
NEWS FLASH:
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We interrupt your regular programming for a breaking news update from LarksVille.
In a shocking turn of events, Miley Smith, a junior at Preston University who had been missing for the past four weeks, has now emerged as a prime suspect in the recent murder—or, as some speculate, the so-called accident—of Mia Edwin and Blakely Livy. Detective David, who has been leading the investigation, revealed today that evidence from Blakley Livy's car's security camera pointed directly at Miley Smith.
But this story takes a chilling twist. An anonymous sender has provided a photocopy of Miley's journal, where she detailed instances of bullying by Mia Edwin, Blakely Livy, Oliver Rodgerio, Kevin Smith, and others. Could this be a case of a vengeful victim seeking retribution against her tormentors? Or does it run deeper than that?
Chief Hampton, however, offers a different perspective, suggesting that Miley might be suffering from a severe mental disorder, now turned violent. The police department has confirmed that she was undergoing therapy, raising questions about the extent of her psychological state.
Is Miley Smith simply a psychopathic criminal, imitating the Devil in her acts? Or are there hidden layers to her story that we have yet to uncover? The big question lingers: Who is her next target?
The people of LarksVille demand answers, and so do we. Our reporters have been tirelessly trying to reach Jonathan Edwin, Antonio Rodgerio, and other influential figures connected to this case, but our efforts have been met with silence. Mayor Jonathan Edwin, in mourning over his daughter Mia's tragic demise, has refused to comment.
Tia Edwin, Mia's mother, has officially filed a case against Miley Smith. The entire community now waits with bated breath to see which way this case will unfold. Stay tuned for further updates on this spine-chilling saga.
This has been a special news report from LarksVille, thank you for joining us.
****
Coming back home was a disaster. I had no idea when my father had entered my room in my absence, discovering the files I was researching, along with the ongoing cases. His eyes flared with fury, and he began tearing down the files in the hall, his voice thundering through the house.
"Since when?" he bellowed. "Since when have you been doing all this behind my back?" He interrogated me, his disappointment sharp as shards of glass. "Russo called me a few days back, telling me how you were trying to create problems with Oliver. Did you think I wouldn't find out?"
My eyes blazed with righteous anger at his trust in others over me. "And what you don't know is that Oliver and his gang are leading major bullying in Preston. There's a chance he might be involved in human trafficking too!" I exclaimed, my voice ringing with desperation. "Do you realize that in the last five years, the rate of missing young students has risen by 15% in Larksville? Aurora Romano, Jackson Simpson, Olivia Reed—none of their deaths were accidents. Miley, the girl branded as a psychopath, suffered more than we can imagine!"
A bitter laugh escaped me. "You don't know, Dad. You've always been so busy," I retorted, tears streaming down my cheeks. "I tried to approach you, to tell you all this, to ask for your help, but you were never there!" My voice quivered. "You were always so busy with Ava that there was no time for me."
"What are you talking about?" My dad countered, confusion etched on his face. Ava, standing behind him like a silent statue, observed everything with a chilling indifference.
"What am I talking about?" I yelled. "What are you doing, Dad? Where did the promise go? 'You and I against the world'?" I scoffed. "Where is it? Where does my mom fit into this family anymore? Why did you replace her with this girl standing right here who doesn't even—"
Before I could finish, a sharp slap reverberated through the room, snapping my head to the side. My father had slapped me. Shocked, I turned back to him, my cheeks stinging.
"Dad!" I whispered, a sense of betrayal etched into my features. My eyes sting, The tears trying to flow down but I hold on.
The next second, remorse flickered in his eyes, but Ava, ever the opportunist, intervened smoothly. "Darling, what have you done? She's just a child!" she cooed, trying to placate my father with her honeyed voice.
Looking at me she tried the same thing, "Ana... darling... you know I would never take your mother's place..."
"I'm not talking to you," I shot back sharply, silencing her.
Meeting my father's gaze, I declared, "I don't believe that my mother is no more." I said, taking out all the emotions I had been holding all along. "No matter what you believe, she is still alive, I am sure, and I am going to find my mother, Dad. I won't ignore her as you did twenty years ago. I will find her!"
"She's gone!" he yelled, his anger boiling over.
"I don't believe you!" I cried, tears blurring my vision. "I don't believe you, Dad."
"What will you believe? The evidence against you? Your foolish boyfriend and his friends are trying to raid the parking lot today, huh?" he spat, showing me the clip on his phone from this evening, where we were digging around the parking lot trying to locate the red Mercedes. "Thankfully the Dean of Preston is my friend!" he said. "That is why he shared the video with me before it went to the authorities!"
"Stupid raid?" My frustration surged. "We were trying to get the evidence against Oliver. He had done enough crimes to hide anymore. The whole campus is terrorized because of him and his useless friends. He even targeted me just because I took the side of the truth. Standing up against it—how is that considered foolish?" I implored, seeking understanding from my father.
"We were so near." My voice broke. "Have it not been for Russo, we could have the proof against him to put him behind bars! I found evidence that—"
"I don't want to hear all these excuses, Ana," my father cut me off. "You need to stop overthinking everything. Reading thrillers is okay, but creating fake scenarios in your head is not okay!" he threatened. "Oliver belongs to a good family. He would never commit such crimes. Maybe he played around a little, which I think is very common in prestigious colleges like Preston. But for that, if anyone got hurt, I think the college authority could handle it."
"What about the evidence roaring against him? What about Miley? What about those thirty missing students, Dad? All those who have suffered from LarksVille to Preston because of him. How can I oversee all this just because your friend is trying to prove that his cousin is innocent?"
He remained silent, leaving me on the precipice of tears. It was disheartening to realize that he had changed so significantly over the years, choosing to place more faith in others over his own daughter.
He sighed. Holding the bridge of his nose, he closed his eyes. "All I asked was for you to stay out of potential trouble, Ana," my father continued his tone stern. "There was no need for you to intervene in all this. Aurora and Jackson's case has been closed by Chief Hampton. And regarding Miley, there are superior officials working on that case."
His stance was difficult for me to accept. "But Oliver—"
"Enough!" He roared. "I don't want to hear about what he did, Ana," my father cut me off again. "I believe he might have had some harmless fun with the students. It's common throughout Preston. But murder and human trafficking? That's a huge accusation," he sighed. "If not for the dean of Preston being my friend, this clip would have been out, and—"
He sighed. Tension palpable. He regained his composure, "I have requested Chief Hampton to overlook this for the last time. But this will be last, Ana" he warned. "However, you must remember that you bear the name 'Brown.' I'll assume leadership of the Alpha Group very soon. We cannot afford to make enemies at this juncture." He locked eyes with me. "You need to understand that Oliver is Russo's pride and joy."
"And I am not yours?" I retorted, my frustration bubbling over. I saw the struggle in his eyes as he attempted to respond. "Of course," I added bitterly, tears streaming down my cheeks.
"Ana..." my father began, his voice softer this time.
"No," I interrupted him. Blinking this time, I let the tears flow down my cheeks. "I understand perfectly. You would dismiss all of this, just as you've brushed aside Ava's involvement in my accident."
Ava's brow furrowed slightly, but she remained silent. My father, on the other hand, glared at me, his anger palpable. "Ana, I dare you—"
"Please, Dad, don't dare me," I shot back this time, my gaze locked onto Ava's. She remained composed. "I could easily unveil every secret she's concealed for so long—her role within the company, her motives, and the reasons behind my accident. You know Oliver and her gang were somehow behind Miley's and many other bullying cases or even behind their deaths. I could bring the proof to you. All of it could be laid bare before you in an instant. But, Dad, you probably wouldn't acknowledge them. Just like today, you would turn a blind eye." I wiped my tears away. "So, I strongly advise against daring me."
With that, I walked away, my emotions boiling over with anger and frustration. As I slammed my bedroom door shut, my facade crumbled, and I collapsed in the solitude of my room. I miss my mom. My teary eyes fixated on her photograph, and in a hushed tone, I whispered, "Mom, please. Please come back to me."
That is when I received a text from an unknown number once again. "Anyone who dares to hurt what's mine will pay to the Devil."
A/N: Happy reading. See ya next week.