Alessia's POV

I woke up startled. I had a dream, a dream about what happened last night. It felt so real that I woke up all sweaty. In my dream, the man from last night had spotted me behind the recycle bin. His dark eyes held mine as he lifted the gun and pointed it in my direction. Before I could say or do anything, he pulled the trigger and I jumped in fright.

It was at that moment that I woke up. I sat up in bed for a while trying to catch my breath before I stood up and headed for the bathroom. I glanced at the wall clock on my way and my eyes flew wide open in shock.

"Past ten!" I gasped. I am already late for work. I rushed through my daily routine of getting ready, picked out an outfit and gulped down a cup of coffee. My uncle had already left for work, he always left before me and returned before me. The TV was turned on while I was in the kitchen making toast.

I could overhear the news on TV, fear gripped me when the news about the murder came on. I left my toast on the counter and headed to the living room, my eyes glued to the screen.

The police were already at the scene and the alley had been taped off. I watched as three men brought out a wrapped dead body on a stroller. I couldn't believe it, they really didn't get rid of the body like that man had ordered.

My heart began to race. What could this mean for me? I wanted to forget about that night, but now that the police were calling for witnesses or anyone that could tell them anything about the case, what am I going to do?

I turned off the TV, picked up my bag and totally forgot about the toast until I had locked up and was walking down the street.

I took another route to the bookstore because I was specifically avoiding that alley. But even though I had avoided the alley, every single person that came to the store wouldn't stop talking about the murder. A particular lady had been so annoying that I had to lie about closing the shop before I could get her to leave.

The whole area was swarming with police and reporters. The police had the area taped off and trying to maintain order among the residents of the area while the reporters were pouncing on anyone that so much as walked past, asking them questions, one would think they were the detectives in charge of the case.

As if that wasn't enough, detectives went around asking questions about who had seen anything and asking everyone to provide proof about their whereabouts during the time of the murder. It was so bad that I had to turn off the TV in the bookstore and stayed away from my phone like a plague throughout the day.

The detectives visited the store but they simply asked to check the CCTV camera footage. I allowed them access but when they asked if I had seen anything last night, I suddenly couldn't talk, my palms were so sweaty, I was surprised that they had not noticed, they mistook my reaction as fear and promised me that they would get to the bottom of the case.

Even though I was itching to lock up and go home, I struggled to stay put until the day was over. I locked up the store and headed home, avoiding the usual route like I did in the morning. I couldn't wait to get home and finally confide in my uncle about the whole thing. I had made up my mind earlier in the store to get his opinion about going to the police.

The moment I stepped in front of the house, I knew something wasn't right. The lights were turned off, which is not right because my uncle is supposed to be at home. I was about to turn the door knob when the door squeaked open.

Goosebumps broke out all over me as fear gripped me. I pushed the door wide open and stepped inside. The darkness enveloped me.

"Dad!" I call out, but no one replies. "Dad! Are you in there?" I called out again, but no reply. I felt my way around the room to the switch and turned on the lights.

I gasped in shock at the state of the apartment, it was as if the whole house had been ransacked, everything was scattered, even the couch was turned upside down, the vases that my uncle cherished so much had been shattered.

I couldn't bring myself to look around any further, someone had broken in, but what scared me the most was the whereabouts of my uncle. He always came home before me.

I turned around and went back out. I hurried down the road, heading for the factory where he worked. Maybe he had not come home. I told myself as I prayed from the bottom of my heart that nothing had happened to him, he is all I have left. If anything happened to him now, I don't know how I would live through it. He is the reason I have lived through the ordeal of losing my parents.

The factory wasn't far off so I got there quite fast. I couldn't find anyone there except for the security man who came out immediately. He spotted me approaching the gate.

"Is there a problem, ma'am?" He asked, he moved closer to me and his face lit up with a smile when he saw me, "Ally! It's so good to see you. Did Marcello forget something this time?" He said fondly.

"No... My dad didn't send me here. In fact, that's why I am here. He wasn't at home so I thought he would still be in the factory." I replied, panic visible in my voice.

"Oh! He isn't here, maybe he wandered off but..." He paused mid way in his sentence, "that's so unlike him, the moment he leaves the factory, he always heads home."

That's exactly why I am worried, I know my uncle, he doesn't go anywhere other than the factory and the house. "Maybe you could...." The security man continued but I wasn't even listening, I had turned around and began to walk home.

Does this have anything to do with the murder I witnessed last night? I asked myself but I couldn't think of anything that would bring them to my house. They didn't even get a good look at my face, they didn't even see me.

I had to talk to someone, I had to do something, maybe I could go to the police and tell them what I had seen and get them to find my uncle or maybe I could... I could....

My train of thoughts was interrupted by my cellphone buzzing in my jean pocket. I pulled it out and the caller was none other than my best friend, Bianca. We've been friends since high school.

Why didn't I think of her before? I asked myself as I answered the call, her voice rang out from the phone.

"Hey Ally! Can you help me check out the..."

"My uncle is missing and I witnessed something I shouldn't have last night." I blurted out before she could complete her sentence. She went silent on the other end. She remained silent for a minute or two, all I could hear was her rapid breaths before she finally spoke.

"What do you mean by that? What did you witness?" She asked and before I could reply, "Come to my place and we'll talk better." She added rapidly and hung up the phone.

I turned in the opposite direction and headed towards Bianca's apartment. She was waiting for me at the doorstep when I arrived. She invited me in and I had not even taken my seat when she began to ask me questions. I patiently recounted everything that had happened for the past two days.

"You need to be careful, Ally," she said, "I saw the news this morning, it's the talk of the town, every single newspaper and news outlet is looking for something about it. You've really gotten yourself tangled up in a dangerous mess." She added, with a far-away look as if she was lost in thought.

"I really don't know what to do, I am so worried about my uncle." I could feel a headache coming on but I really couldn't think about myself at the moment.

"Get some rest, Ally, tomorrow we will go to the station. I am sure the police would be able to help." She replied, stroking my hair gently. I had never felt so indebted to someone than I have to Bianca. This isn't the first time she has supported me like this and she has always been there through some really tough times.

"Had anything to eat yet?" She asked as she stood up and headed for the kitchen. I didn't reply because I wasn't even listening, "Ally," she called out my name and I was forced to look at her.

"Trust me, everything would be fine. We would find your uncle and everything would go back to the way it was." She said reassuringly and I nodded in response, sincerely hoping that she would be right about this one.