OUR UNFORTUNATE BONDS

4...A Wedding ....

Zeta's POV:

Who was this chaotic demon? Why does this seem romantic? We almost just got shot! Okay, Zeta, pull yourself together. You are very close to finding out who's been sending all those death threats, I thought to myself.

As I straightened my posture and walked into the bulletproof shed, the sexy black stranger trailed behind me in silence. We got to the front of my office room. I looked at him and took off the mask I've been wearing. "Hi, I'm... Zeta," he said. "Best intern nurse two years ago at Hillers Hospital and mysterious stranger who got the late Mayor Salim Salami's fortune. Words on the streets say your life is in danger," he ended his little speech, and I was thrilled. But he continued, "You're like little royalty. We still don't have a mayor yet because you still haven't passed a verdict. Oh, I know, you're a black trans woman, and you're an asshole too." "Well, thank you for the asshole part; that's a compliment, I should say. Now, what did you call yourself again, Viktor?" He replied, "Huh, a Russian name for a black man. Fair," I said. "Would you shut the fuck up while I try to figure out who's been trying to kill me?" I replied. "Yes, mini-royalty, but if you weren't this hot, I would've wished they blow your head off," he snapped back. As I rolled my eyes and recoiled to the desk and chair, I opened the drawer and placed all the letters I've received so far on the table. As I thought to myself, who is the most closest to the late mayor? "Ahh, yes, his best friend, Jin Kai. He gave me the fright. But if it was Jin Kai sending the threats, he would've made it clear to me from the start. Besides, isn't he a prime minister of some state or city? I don't know," I questioned myself aloud, loosening the strings that held my hair together, letting my afro free from its curly bun into its full blossom. "Okay, Zeta," I said but was cut short by the stranger in the office. "Did you just say Jin Kai?" he questioned. "Yes, encyclopedia of clapped any dirt from the streets about him. Well, it depends what an asshole of a woman you are. Want to know? For a man with smoking looks like you, your clapbacks are too flat. Now, remain silent or help save my life," was my response.

As those words left Zeta's mouth, she immediately regretted it. But I mean, she was living up to his alive expectations of an asshole. Viktor rolled his eyes immediately and asked, "Are there any old letter boxes?" "Umm, hold on," she replied while she grabbed her medicated glasses and a torchlight. Viktor instantly flashed a bright smile at her. "Wow, you look great with it on." "Well, thank you. We don't have all day for mystery finding, do we?" As they walked down a long hallway to another office inside the shed, they opened the door. It was neat in there. There was a candle on and a garland placed around a framed picture of Salim Salami. "Why'd you...?" "It's a place where I kept all his things safe," Zeta responded before Viktor could complete his question. She took off her footwear and headed to a box labeled "letters." "I took my time to read everything. I'm not sure if anything here can help us. What did you find?" "Well, he was in love with a man, and he got a woman impregnated. He loved her too but lost contact with her. See this one," she raised a brown letter envelope, "there are only a few letters from the woman in question, but this one seemed quite hopeful. Just read it," she shoved the letter into Viktor's hands.

Dated [12-17-1969]

Dear beloved,

Christmas is near and your escape from the palace set. I can't wait to see you again. I am happy your family found out about that witch of a woman who wanted to take you away from me why would you adopt a child with her...that's in the past now I forgive you. I can't wait to see the city lights with you and your handsome face and your arms comforting me again. I wish to caress your cheeks in my palm again. As dreams are held to the skies like stars, so my hopes for our reunion plans to work out are high. Please be safe and hopeful and happy too.

Your love forever.

"Wait... that sign, I've seen it before." "No, Zeta, it's not a sign or symbol, it's a seal. It's one owned by families in China. They own these seals as identification. It's a family name, and if I am reading well, the characters there say Jin." "Hold on," she replied as she pulled her phone out and brought out the last text she received. It was and has always been a red text written on a white sheet, and the same symbol at the end, the symbol on the letters in the picture, threats, and this letter matched. "I know it would've been him all along, but why'd he want a woman gone and me too? Oh, he really has a beef with women, doesn't he?" She looked at Viktor, who was dazed in his thoughts. "Hello, earth to stranger," she snapped her hands in his face. "We need to pay the lover boy a visit," he said. "Here, my address. We need to leave here, stay at mine for tonight. There was a shootout. It's two parties; it only means the Italians have found me. My family is in danger," "What?" she replied. "I'm sorry, I never knew you had hefty problems... I'm sorry, I'm not usually an asshole," Zeta was almost having a panic attack. Viktor placed his hands on her arm in a reassuring way, looking into her pitch-black eyes with his honey-brown ones. Lost in the moment, they both lost themselves in their eyes, in their minds, in their thoughts.