Chapter Three

***TWO YEARS AGO***

"Excuse me." I gasped, my voice breathless as I approached the nurse at the reception desk. Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead, evidence of the frantic sprint I had just made from my studio to the hospital.

"Um, excuse me, ma'am," I stammered, struggling to catch my breath. "I'm looking for Diana Miller. Is she here?"

The nurse glanced up from her computer screen, her eyes scanning the monitor. "Are you... Rihanna Jones?" she asked, her tone slightly skeptical.

I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest. "Yes, that's me. I received a call that my best friend is here. Can you please tell me where she is?" My words came out in short bursts, a mixture of anxiety and concern evident in my voice.

"Ms. Miller is stable." The nurse reassured me, her voice calm and composed. "But before you can see her, there are some questions the police would like to ask you."

My heart skipped a beat as soon as I heard the mention of the police. A surge of panic coursed through my veins as my mind raced through the countless possibilities of why Diana would be involved with law enforcement. "What happened to Diana?" I blurted out, my voice trembling. "Is she in trouble? Did something bad happen to her?" I was all she had in this world. She had grown up in an orphanage, without any parents or siblings. I couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to her.

"Please come with us, Ms. Jones," one of the officers said, his tone firm yet gentle. Reluctantly, I followed them into a small room, accompanied by a hospital staff member.

"How are you related to Ms. Miller?" The first officer asked, his voice stern but calm.

"She's my... I mean, I'm her best friend," I replied, my thoughts racing with worry. "We've been friends for ten years,l. " I added.

"Have you noticed any unusual signs in Ms. Miller?" the officer continued, his gaze fixed on me.

"What do you mean by 'unusual signs'?" I asked, my eyes darting between the officers and the hospital staff, my anxiety growing.

"Signs of depression? Anxiety?" the officer clarified, his tone serious.

My heart started to race even faster, my blood boiling with anxiety. Slowly, I shook my head. "Diana has always been full of life," I said, my voice trembling. "Even when she was unjustly fired by her boss, she didn't let it get to her. What's going on? You're scaring me, please." I pleaded, tears welling up in my eyes.

"No need to be scared, Ms. Jones." The staff member reassured, but her words did little to ease my uneasiness.

"What do you mean by 'fired unjustly'?" the other officer inquired, his voice curious.

I was at first skeptical about answering their questions but then I realized that nothing could go wrong after all they protect the citizens.

"About a week ago, she was fired by her boss after working so hard and having sleepless nights for years. The bastard fired her saying he no longer needed her service." I clenched my jaw as memories of that day she had walked in crying telling me about how her boss had fired her resurfaced.

"Where did Ms. Miller work? Who is her boss? And what work did she do?" They pressed on.

"She worked at Clarkson's Pharmaceuticals." I said, sure that they already knew what the name of her boss was, the owner of the multibillion-dollar company. Everyone knew that bastard. "David Marchetti, I believe that's the name of her boss." Both officers exchanged weird glances.

"I don't really know the full details because medicine and drugs are not my line but, Diana had been working on the discovery of a cure for some rare disease since she was in University, and apparently finding this cure could get her a lot of money." I said taking a short pause.

"David Marchetti somehow found out about her research and offered her a contract with the advantage of better equipment and technologies to help with her research. She accepted his offer 'cause Clarkson's pharmaceutical was her dream. Only for the bastard to fire her after she succeeded, saying he no longer needed her service. She worked on this research for five years and all was taken from her overnight."

I paused for a moment to process the unfairness. "And to make matters worse," I began, "there was some sneaky clause in the contract that gave Clarkson's Pharmaceuticals complete ownership of her discovery."

A heavy silence hung in the air as if the weight of the situation was too much to bear. The officers, their expressions stoic, finally spoke. "Thank you very much for your cooperation, Ms. Jones." They said in a formal tone.

Feeling a mix of anger and curiosity, I couldn't help but ask, "Are you going to tell me what happened to Diana now and why the police are involved?"

The officers exchanged a glance before delivering the devastating news. "Ms. Miller was found in her apartment. She had attempted to take her own life."

My heart sank into the depths of my stomach, a wave of shock and sadness washing over me.

"Wait, what? Diana tried to take her own life?" I couldn't contain the tremble in my voice, overwhelmed with shock and concern.

"Fortunately, her neighbor found her in time." the staff informed me.

She led me to Diana's room and as soon as I saw her lying vulnerably on the hospital bed, I burst out in tears.

"Oh, come on, don't be such a baby," Diana teased, pulling me into a comforting hug.

"How could you even think of leaving me?" I sobbed into her shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me anything? Why did you pretend to be fine when you were deeply affected by what happened? I'm supposed to be your best friend!"

"I'm sorry, Rih. I wasn't thinking clearly. I would never try to leave you. I mean, how would you survive in this wicked world without me?" She tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

I lightly hit her on the shoulder. "It's not funny. You almost died, and here you are cracking jokes."

"I'm sorry. I promise I won't do that again. Never again, I swear it."

**********

***PRESENT***

Diana made the difficult decision to forgive David Marchetti and move forward, but I couldn't bring myself to do the same. I couldn't forgive that bastard who had almost caused me to lose my best friend. So, I resorted to what I knew best - hacking.

For weeks, I tirelessly worked on infiltrating Clarkson's Pharmaceuticals' highly secure system and archives from the comfort of my room. It was a daunting task, but I eventually succeeded in gaining access to the company's crucial documents.

My mission was clear - find and delete the formula and production process for Diana's groundbreaking discovery.

I had slyly asked her the name of her invention a few days prior, so I knew exactly what I was searching for.

However, what I didn't anticipate was that David Marchetti would have given the cure an alternate name. It threw a wrench in my plans, leaving me with no other choice but to wipe out every single file on their system.

While I felt a twinge of guilt about my actions, I knew deep down that it was the retribution he deserved for using and hurting my best friend in such a callous manner.

Two hours was all it took them to track me down. I was kidnapped, and beaten and if it weren’t for that masked man, I wouldn’t be here today. He had rescued me, throwing me the keys to free myself from the chains that bound me.

After my escape, I immediately fled the country with Diana. But even in our desperate attempt to stay safe, tragedy struck. That relentless man, unable to locate me, ruthlessly took the lives of my parents.

And now, after two long years filled with fear and uncertainty, we meet again. I know deep down that he is incapable of forgiveness. Men like him never let go of their grudges, and I’m certain that he won't rest until I’m six feet under.

But before I allow that to happen, I am determined to seek justice and avenge the death of my parents. After all, that is the reason why I came back to the country. I won't let their sacrifice be in vain.