Detective Freak

Ch. 30: Burned Memories

Lena

"Father, it seems that Ariana and the others were taken by The White Ravens. They've increased their security, and I believe they are expecting us," I stated as I seated myself in the chair facing my father's desk.

He nodded, but his eyes weren't on me. They focused on the injection needle in his hands, and he was twirling it through his fingers.

"Do we attack the organization? Or do we stick to our plan?" I asked. This time, he lifted his eyes from the drug and settled them on me.

He shook his head while placing the needle on the desk. "No, we stick to our plan. You know what to do, right, Lena? You have things under control?"

"Yes, Father, I'm having Ariana watched closely," I informed him.

"Very well then. Take this," he said as he handed me the drug. "Keep it safe."

I was about to turn around to leave, but a question burning in the back of my mind made me stop. My father snapped his head to look at me, noting the conflicted look on my face. "Are you alright, darling?"

"Father, remember the day when the greenhouse burned? The plan was supposed to lead Joey there, but I called you to say that I was at the greenhouse and to inform Carl and make him wait until I was ready. But..." I trailed off, not sure if I should be asking this.

"The moment I finished the call, the greenhouse was already starting to burn. Did you tell Carl the things I said? You wouldn't have ordered him to set the greenhouse on fire if I was there, right?"

My father smiled at me and moved to stand in front of me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and kissed my forehead. I knew this action was supposed to make me feel assured, but something cold seeped within me, and my body stilled. Whenever he showed this kind of affection, it never settled with me. And something at the back of my mind told me it was because he was only pretending.

I shook those thoughts off, raising my head to look at my father's darkened eyes.

"Darling, how can you ask such a silly question? Of course, I would have ordered Carl to wait if I knew you were there. I called him the minute we finished talking, but it was already too late. Why would you think that I would do that to my own daughter?"

"Well, you didn't come to visit me at the hospital," I countered.

"Trust me, if I could, I would have. But we couldn't blow our cover. You must know that I was very worried about you."

There was a part of me that could hear the false concern in his voice that made my eyes almost teary. But I couldn't afford to cry in front of him.

He kissed my forehead once again then went past me. I heard the sound of a door being opened then shut. I just stood there with the drug in my hands, staring at the floor beneath me.

"She saved me," my voice was very faint as I whispered to myself. It was a sudden thing to say. Her face flashed in my head, and my chest tightened. And the feeling worsened when I recalled her smile, the one she always greeted me with in the morning. It was something I had never experienced before.

I've always been rejected. Everyone kept their distance from me, and no one bothered to befriend me. I had no friends, absolutely no one. I was alone, ever since I can remember. Even my father does not want me. I know that he doesn't show it, but deep in my bones, I knew that he resents me.

Does he really hate me that much to want me dead? Does he even care, just a tiny bit, about me?

Thanks to him, I can tell when people hid behind a mask. Everything in my world was filled with fake smiles, fake sentiments, and deceptive promises.