(INT) means "In Thought" as in thinking.
(MRY) means "Memory" as in remembering something.
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Timeskip(Afternoon.)
Kade exited out of his car and into the second home he had owned which was a penthouse, as he entered the place he noticed how untidy the place was, there were several empty bottles, clothes and sheets all over the floor. Kade had forgotten that he had party in his penthouse last night.
He walked through the trash to press onto a cleanup staff call.
Kade Northwood(INT):
"They didn't even bother cleaning my place while I was away? I'll have a talk with the-"
???:
"Hey, Kade~"
Kade slowly spun around, confused and slightly surprised, to see a beautiful woman with a lightskin complexion. She had a moderate height, an hourglass figure, long curly brown hair, and piercing hazel eyes.
Despite the womans beauty, he was unfazed by her appearance, he raided an eyebrow at her.
Kade Northwood:
"And... who are you?"
Aaliya Smith:
"It's me, Aaliya. Don't you remember~?"
Kade rubbed the back of his head, trying to recall who this Aaliya woman was, and then it finally hit him.
Kade Northwood:
"Oh right..."
"You were there at the party last night."
Aaliya Smith:
"So you do remember~? And that time when we–"
Kade Northwood:
"Yes, I do."
He secretly pressed the staff call button two times before putting his coat on the coat-hanger.
Kade Northwood:
"So what are you still doing here?"
Aaliya Smith:
*Sigh*
"Don't tell me you don't remember everything???"
Kade Northwood(INT):
"All I did was play around with her and thought I'd be done with her last night."
"Just what did my bastardized drunkard self say???"
Aaliya Smith:
"...Well, if you want me to remind you..."
Aaliya stepped closer to Kade to touch his chest, she moved her fingers down to his stomach and stopped at his belly button near his crotch area.
Aaliya Smith:
"You said you'd do anything for me~ and how you loved me out of any woman you've ever been with~"
"So of course I had to stay here, for my future husby~ my little old man~"
Kade Northwood(INT):
"Damn, she really believes that I wholeheartedly said all of that."
"I was drunk..."
He rubbed his eyes and softly chuckled before stepping away from her.
Kade Northwood:
"Well, it was nice having you, but—"
Kade grabs Aaliya and pushes her out of his penthouse door and into the hallways.
Aaliya Smith:
"H–hey!"
Kade Northwood:
"You can go away."
"Like... right now."
Aaliya Smith:
"B-but I left my boyfriend for you!"
Kade Northwood:
"Jeez...now why would you do that to the poor guy?"
Aaliya tried walking back into Kades penthouse but as she tried entering, her face was met with her clothes and her high heels being chuck at her and pushed back.
Aaliya Smith:
"You said you loved me!"
Kade Northwood:
"I did, but I don't...?"
"I mean, you gotta' understand that I was drunk, right?"
Aaliya Smith:
"You..."
"YOU MOTHERFU##ER!"
Kade looked around the hallway and shouted in a deadpan expression, as if he could care less about what's happening.
Kade Northwood:
"Could you yell any louder?"
Aaliya Smith:
"YOU RUINED MY LIFE! YOU F##K!"
Kade Northwood:
"Oh no, the profanity."
"Just how am I going to mentally recover from this?"
Finally, the cleanup crew arrives along with some staff members as they calmly intervene.
Kade Northwood:
"Someone, please take this crazy woman out of my premises."
Staff Member:
"Ma'am, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You are not authorized to be in this penthouse, and I'm afraid I will have to–"
Aaliya Smith:
"Piss off! I'm leaving, alright?!"
When Aaliya picked up her clothes and pushed the staff members out of her way, she stops and looks back at Kade with the meanest glare.
Aaliya Smith:
"No matter how good things may seem now, there will come a time where you're no longer as happy as you're now."
Kade nervously smirked at Aaliya's words as he turned back into his penthouse and shuts the door behind him.
Kade Northwood(INT):
"Whatever... as if I would take the word from a woman who throws her body away easily."
Although Kade gave the appearance of being unbothered by Aaliya's words, deep down, he was slightly unsettled by them. It was the first time he had felt this way, and it was evident in the way he held himself slightly differently than usual.
Kade quickly regained his composure and put the woman's words behind him. As he resumed his business in his penthouse, the cleanup crew went about their work, restoring the space to its former order.
Timeskip(3 Hours later.)
After completing his business, Kade retired to his lounge, taking a seat on the sofa and turning on the TV. He poured himself a glass of gin and took a few deep, satisfying sips before settling into his relaxed state.
News Channel:
"A tragic accident occurred had just occured just four hours ago in New York."
"Seiji Shinoda, a fourteen year old Japanese exchange student studying abroad in Manhattan, who was struck by a truck, was met with shock and sadness by the community he left behind."
Kade swirled the contents of the glass in front of him, taking another sip of the gin. As he swallowed the liquor, he couldn't help but let out a small smirk on his face.
Kade Northwood(INT):
*Scoff*
"Poor bastard."
"Guess death is out for us all, even for the young."
He took a few more sips of the gin in his glass before slowly drifting off to sleep on his sofa.
Cut to Heiden Lathers, still in the N&L Investments building(same time).
Heiden, still diligently present in the N&L Investments building, dedicatedly assists his employees in tidying up, ensuring they can depart for a well-deserved rest; spotting a young lady, he kindly encourages her to head home due to the advancing late hour.
As he walks around the corner, carrying a cardboard box filled with various items, he unexpectedly encounters Kade's office that was open.
Heiden Lathers(INT):
"Heh, he left his door open."
"Don't know why that's funny to me."
Heiden softly chuckled to himself.
Heiden Lathers(INT):
"I guess his age finally did catch up to him."
He placed the box down near the pot plant outside of Kades office, initially intending to shut the door until a sudden "ding" emanates from Kade's computer, capturing Heiden's attention.
Heiden, a curious mouse by nature, strolls toward Kade's computer, wondering about the reasons behind Kade leaving it powered on.
Heiden Lathers(INT):
"Okay, I was joking when I said that his age was finally catching up."
"But this sorta takes the cake."
Succumbing to his curiosity, he grapples with a tinge of guilt as he goes through Kade's emails and messages, compelled by the intrigue of the notification that led him to this unanticipated exploration.
Heiden Lathers(INT):
"I know Kade wouldn't like me going through his stuff."
"But I feel like something's compelling me to do this..."
As he goes through Kade's emails, he sees a message titled: "A Thank You Message." He slightly tilted his head, wanting to know what this mysterious and somewhat ominous message meant.
As Heiden, driven by curiosity, finally delves into the notification in Kade's email, the message titled "A Thank You Message." unveils itself, causing his eyes to widen in sheer shock; recoiling with an involuntary gasp, he instinctively flies backward, his hand instinctively covering his mouth in horrified disbelief at the unsettling contents in the message before him.
The silence in the room grew louder, to what he saw a disturbing picture of Lena Hertford's naked, mutilated, and dirt covered body.
Heiden Lathers:
"N– no..."
"Oh G– God!"
Overwhelmed by the unsettling and disturbing images of the person he once knew, Heiden finds himself unable to do anything but succumb to tears and an involuntary bout of vomiting, the sheer terror gripping him as he grapples with the realization that he may be on the brink of discovering Kade's involvement in Lena's disappearance.
Another sudden realization strikes him—over the years, he observes a pattern where rival companies inexplicably vanish, and employees within the business mysteriously go missing or discreetly "quit" their jobs without any explanation, intensifying his sense of unease and suspicion.
As Heidi grapples with the increasingly undeniable reality of Kade's involvement in the unsettling pattern of multiple people going missing, his initial resistance crumbles, giving way to a flood of tears that stream down his face—his sorrow not confined solely to the victims but extending to Kade, his once-closest friend from a young age.
The shock and disbelief intensify as Heiden confronts the stark truth that Kade, someone he had never imagined capable of committing such heinous acts, is now entangled in a web of darkness. Gripping onto the table, he grits his teeth in a tumultuous mix of anger and profound sadness, grappling with the shattering of his perception of the person he thought he knew so well.
Heiden Lathers(INT):
"Kade... I'm sorry..."
"But I won't stand by..."
"As you take another life!"