I can't stop reading his message even at home.
My eyes are glued to my phone screen, reading the words I've been desperate to hear for months as I lay against the mattress in an immobile state.
The rate at which my pulse is beating is similar to the sensation one experiences during a parachute.
After months of internal suffering, not only will I get to see her on a video which will raise high hopes of wanting her alive but I'd also be one step closer to uncover the murderer's identity.
Despite the good news, why do I feel somewhat anxious and fearful of the upcoming events?
It's like I'm about to open Pandora's box for some weird reason.
This is what you've wanted from the very beginning, Anaya.
Trust Detective Landford to handle this.
After another round of internal pep talk, I end up perched at the edge of the bed and attempt to gain some much-needed rest.
Nonetheless, not even my cat's gentle head rubs against my calf are enough to shift my focus to anything but the message.
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"Let's change room. This meeting is strictly confidential."
I nod, agreeing to detective Landford's suggestion as soon as he bursts into my office the next day.
Since my office comprises glass doors with little to no privacy, his statement is justifiable.
His aura today is different compared to his usual approachable behavior. Additionally, something about his tone is increasing my level of anxiousness.
He seems rigid with a dominant scowl on his face.
I motion for Vanna to exit the room to which she does in rapidness.
"There's a private office next door," I suggest once I arise from my seat.
He doesn't say a word as he stands statue still with his unreadable gaze still fixated on me.
With furrowed brows, I translate his motionless state as his way of telling me to lead the way.
He follows suit after me once I step outside my office before we arrive at an enclosed room seconds later.
The room is notorious for possessing glass doors that block outside visibility. Hence, many employees at the top floor mostly come here to take private calls.
Detective Landford wastes no time removing his laptop from his briefcase before placing it on a desk and redirects the page screen to a paused video.
Upon scrutiny, my heart begins to pound fast as I recognize the dark atmospheric setting in the footage.
My respiratory rate increases profusely triggering my inability to form a coherent thought as my feet become crippled.
"Snap out of it." It's not until Detective Landford orders for the umpteenth time that I grow cognizant of the trembling sensation that shakes my form.
"H-how did you get a hold of the video?" I manage to query in a delicate tone that I barely recognize with my eyes still glued to the screen.
He peruses me in a moment of silence before revealing, "Requesting the CCTV footage to authorities was a real task since they claimed they had no access to it. After months of doing some digging, I discovered the culprit paid them a large chunk of money to permanently erase the footage from their records.
"Luckily, someone from their camp privately confessed to having the footage in their archive but demanded a higher amount of cash." he finishes as he stares at me impartially.
The sudden tightness in my throat increases as the allowance of any substance to pass through my larynx becomes unbearable.
An expression of disgust transforms my face as I ask, "How much did they ask for the footage?"
"50 grand," he reveals which causes me to clench my fists.
Why does money make people do the most despicable things?
No wonder the police proved to be useless before I hired Detective Landford.
Looks like I'll be doubling his salary in the next hour.
"Watch the video carefully," he commands before pressing the play button on his laptop.
As expected, the video quality is not the best due to the lack of high definition. Since this particular event occurred late at night around an isolated mansion, it's a bit challenging to depict the sudden frames of two females appearing on a high road.
Once I grow to identify them in less than a minute, memories of that night begin to flash in my mind almost like it is unraveling before my very eyes.
One of the victims who I instantly recognize as my sister is engaged in a heated argument with me as we were heading towards a vacant road located near a forest.
This past version of myself is unfamiliar.
My eyebrows furrow in confusion as I'm finding it challenging to remember this specific episode of the incident.
Why can't I recall this?
In dejection, I capture the last image of her state as neither of us could foresee the havoc soon to befall us.
In the span of a nanosecond, I watch a vehicle speed towards our direction on the road, exceeding the speed limit.
Unbeknownst to my surroundings, the next thing I see is Lolita propelling my body with all her strength onto the other side of the road but before she can save herself, the car enters into a vicious collision with Lolita, sending her body into a violent leap effect.
I squeeze my eyes shut as I begin to tremble uncontrollably, no longer possessing the mental capacity to watch any further.
If only I had the power to undo it.
If only I was vigilant enough to stand my ground that night and protect her from the impact of the crash.
I feel so powerless witnessing the accident without having any tools to prevent it from happening for the second time in a row.
"The footage isn't over, open your eyes," he orders and it's not until I oblige that I grow cognizant of my blurry vision, as silent tears find refuge on my cheeks with some cascading past the crook of my neck.
Before I can vocalize for him to make it stop, the scene that ensues summons my animosity.
In a state of unconsciousness, Lolita's body temporarily undergoes a rotative movement on the ground before it becomes inert.
The car makes a reverse movement before the driver exits the vehicle.
Since the scene occurred past midnight, I can't uncover the identity of the driver appearing to have a masculine frame.
His face is untraceable due to him wearing a mask and black cap, thereby shielding his identity from the surveillance camera.
He seems to find a thrill in watching my sister's lifeless form before I watch him approach me as I attempt to crawl towards her.
Afterward, he retrieves what seems to be a pistol without wasting any time in targeting my waist with a shot. My body becomes immobile as he stands still for another set of seconds.
A mixture of panic, terror, and disdain all seek to fight for dominance on my face as I keep shaking my head in denial at the present moment.
I can feel my body quiver with so much rigor.
Why can't I remember any of this?
My trembling hands currently move towards the hidden scar on my waist as the only symbolic memory I have of that night, after being rushed to the hospital by paramedics as everyone was certain I wasn't going to survive.
"Please just make it stop. . ." I plead in agony while pressing my fingers onto each side of my cheeks in a quivering motion.
Detective Landford pays no heed to my words and urges me to keep watching.
Once the driver notices no movement from my lifeless body, he approaches my sister.
My body curves into a defensive position as the murderer aims his pistol at Lolita before blackness engulfs the screen.
"Who is this corrupted fuck?" I scream at the top of my lungs, "Where is the rest of the video? As if hitting her with the car wasn't enough, what did she ever do to deserv—"
"Anaya let's just calm down," he suggests in a softer tone as he raises both hands, "For now, this is all the data I could retrieve from that night"
My emotions take control and before I know it, sobs begin to escape me as the air in the room becomes suffocating.
His words become a faint background noise because, at this point, I'm unable to shift my focus to what I just witnessed.
He just stands there like a statue as he waits for me to come to my senses but I long seem to have lost my sanity the day Lolita abandoned me.
"In your narration of the event, you never shared anything about you and your sister arguing after your aunt's traditional wedding occurred," Detective Landford states in accusation as he seems unfazed by my current emotional breakdown.
"Additionally, you never shared coming into contact with the murderer. All Details Anaya, are very important in a criminal investigation like this."
My eyes widen as his voice raises by an octave, almost like he's holding me accountable for something.
"I don't know what to say," I counter once I'm able to catch my breath, "The last thing I remember is seeing the car hit her. I don't remember being shot despite doctors confirming this after I underwent surgery. None of this makes any sense. . ."
He folds his arms as he examines me attentively, "What were you and your sister arguing about? Think. Even if you were shot, I'm sure your memories came back eventually."
As the words leave his tongue, I try to force my brain to remember as I close my eyes.
However, this renders to be useless as I can't seem to accomplish the task.
Dammit, why can't I remember?
"You've been pressuring me to find the footage for months only to discover there were a lot of loopholes in the story you gave me." he infers in a raucous voice, his forehead creased from frowning so hard.
"Detective, as I've said before I don't remember any of this," I assert with much more confidence as I stand my ground.
The tears on my face are still invading my cheeks but I'm much calmer compared to earlier.
He tightens his jaw as he squints his eyes.
"Fine," he concedes seconds later before continuing, "Is there anyone within or outside your circle who you think is targeting you?"
I shake my head which urges him to press further, "Due to the low quality of the video, I can't uncover the car's plate number. However, it appears the brand is an Audi 2016. Since I can't uncover the plate number, you listing all your enemies and close friends could help me narrow down potential suspects."
He pauses for a few seconds before retrieving a mini notebook with a pen from the pocket of his suit.
"Start by listing your close friends or family members," he suggests as he's prepared to scribble down everything I'm about to tell him.
I run my fingers through my tresses as I throw him a dumbfounded expression, "That won't be necessary. I trust them all —"
He growls in frustration as an impatient look overtakes his face, "Dammit, you're so compartmentalized, you refuse to believe in the possibility that whoever did this could be someone within your camp."
His statement is enough to make me fall into a deep mode of reflection.
He's a professional and I need to start trusting he knows what he's doing.
His words somewhat apply to my recent experience of breaking all ties with Tatiana after she blindsided me at Stalon's party. Although I know she could never commit a crime like this, she did betray me immensely whereas never in a million years could I have expected this from her.
A doleful sigh escapes me before I end up shifting my relentless gaze towards Detective Landford.
"Fine," I concede before listing all the names of close allies that I can think of starting with the Devereauxs (who are my family's closest friends), other friends and acquaintances.
"Good," he mutters as he quickly scribbles down the last name in the ally category, "now on to the next group."
"They're more like business rivalries," I hesitate to continue but with the sharp gaze he's throwing me, I'm tempted to comply, "The CEO of Onelife, one of the members of the board Mr. Ricardo, Ludovic Delmore CEO of ReadySet. . ."
He stares at me expectantly as he waits for me to continue. When I fail to do so he presses on, "What history do you have with Ludovic Delmore?"
An inexplicable rush of defense surges within as I stare at him in puzzlement, "How is this relevant?"
The detective curses under his breath as a scowl is still dominating his features. "Dammit, we don't have much time. It's only about a matter of time before the culprit will find out we have the footage. So please, cooperate with me."
Sighing in defeat, I avoid his gaze by inspecting the floor, "We went to the same college years ago. Due to separate goals, we parted ways. . ."
Upon my second attempt to stop the conversation, he taps the pen against the surface of his notebook repeatedly, "Work with me, Anaya. I need more details to work with."
The tinge of desperation in his tone compels me to give him the missing piece of the puzzle, "A year ago, I wrote him a letter explaining the incident. I practically begged for his comfort but in his response, he pretty much told me to fuck off and didn't even acknowledge what happened to my sister."
Getting the words off my chest somewhat feels liberating since I seem to have blocked the memory in a very deep corner of my brain.
I wipe my tears with my palm as detective Landford's expression transitions into a look of bewilderment.
"That's a very uncommon reaction," he comments in shock as he slightly tilts his head, "do you still have the letter?"
"I do but not here. . . it's at home." I respond in a doleful tone, desperate to end the conversation as soon as possible.
He falls into deep thought before he flickers his calculative gaze to mine, "The first thing you do when you get home is send me a picture of that letter, understood?"
I throw him a dumbfounded expression, "Is that necessary? Look, there's no need, he wasn't even in the country when the incident happ —"
"This is me doing my job," he interrupts me as he begins to collect all his belongings from the desk, "You put so much pressure on me to find the killer but you refuse to give details. Although you losing your memory complicates things, I still need all the information I can get."
Even if Ludovic and I have a messy past, I just can't bring myself to believe he could do something like this.
I know he wouldn't go that far despite his hatred for me.
What fuckin letter are you referring to exactly because it doesn't ring a bell.
Were Ludovic's exact words when I confronted him about the letter yesterday.
Despite my best attempts to suppress this memory, why can't I erase his words from my mind?
"We're done for now," Detective Landford announces as he grabs his briefcase from the ground before regarding me, "You can't tell anyone about this meeting Anaya. Make sure to do what I requested about the letter and one last thing . . ."
By the time he's standing in front of the door, his glacial eyes entrap me as he says, "Don't trust anyone."
Before he can exist, my call pauses him on track.
"Detective?"
He throws a glance over his shoulder to meet my gaze.
"Thank you." I tell him with full sincerity.
He doesn't say a word as he stares at me with an unreadable expression before disappearing in a blink of an eye.
As I reflect on the current events in solitude, the video replays in my head over and over again like a broken record.
If only I didn't pressure her to attend our aunt's wedding that night, she'd still be alive.
Why did you have to leave me, Lolita?
Before I know it, my vision becomes blurry all over again.
I need to get the hell out of here.
Thankful I brought my purse with me, I retrieve my sunglasses before putting them on.
I can't allow any of my employees to witness a trainwreck.
Not on my watch.
Once I make my exit, I immediately send Vanna a text indicating for her to cancel all my afternoon meetings.
Ignoring the curious glances thrown my way by employees, I march towards the elevator desperate to leave the building as soon as possible.
Suddenly, my craving for ice cream reaches an all-time high.
Leave it to me to crave junk food when I'm in a bad mood.
The first person to greet me at the lobby with so much enthusiasm is Zel at the reception.
"Have a great lunch session madam chair, elveda," she says the last word in Turkish as she throws me a wide grin.
Out of all my employees, she's the only one to address me like we're the best of friends.
I usually return her enthusiastic greetings but all I manage to do is offer her a thumbs up before making my way towards the building's exit.
I'm two seconds away from breaking down hence, not talking is my safest bet right now.
I freeze right in my tracks as soon as the sight of a familiar male figure greets me by the time I'm outside.
Crap.
This day is quickly turning into a fiasco.
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I hope you guys are staying safe and indulge in less outdoor activities. Please be safe and take all the precautionary measures against this pandemic.
On a side note, thank you all so much for reading and being patient. I truly appreciate every vote and comment. I know updates take time but this book is one of my favorite books to write and I want it to come out exactly the way I envision it. Hence, crafting takes time.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. PS : 'elvida' means goodbye in Turkish. Thanks google translator.
How are we feeling about detective Landford?
Any theories of the night of the incident?
Thank you so much for getting TBIAIQ to 12k+ reads. I am so incredibly grateful.
The new chapter will be posted this Tuesday.