chapter 4

THE ROLLS-Royce Phantom was the brand name of the car that escorted her home the night before the murder.

When Althea woke up from a long sleep, the first thing that greeted her the next morning was an invitation to the police station.

"Good day, may I ask if this is Theodora Althea Corazon?" Upon opening the door to the sound of a person knocking early in the morning, she saw two men dressed in blue uniforms looking at her with a stoic expression on their faces.

"Yes, how may I help you?" she replied, still rubbing her eyes. It was obvious that she went straight to the entrance when someone started knocking on her door.

The man scanned her from head to toe, observing each and every nook of her body.

It looked like they were not going to joke around with her, so she remained expressionless.

I don't want to waste our time, so I'll get straight to the point. Do you know a man named Peterson Gomez? " The police officer asked her, and so a crease formed on her forehead.

What does that man have to do with her?

"Yes, I know him. "May I ask what he has to do with this?" she replied, confused about what was happening. "I haven't heard from him since last night and I'm beginning to worry about him."

Half of her words were true and half of them were lies. It was true that she hadn't heard from him since last night and she expected him to bombard her cellphone with countless text messages and missed calls with death threats due to what she did, but it's a lie that she's worried.

What does she care about that jerk?That man just played with her last night, and she's still pissed off about it.

The man continued to stare at her with an indifferent view. It looked like he wasn't going to spill anything on her, and so she was just about to open her mouth when he finally broke the ice.

"Peterson Gomez was found dead in a car near the entrance of this town. Some people have pointed out that you were the last person seen with him.

And they say that people will point fingers at you, especially when they want you erased from their sight.

The moment Althea heard those words, her heart started to race while her eyes widened at the scene of the crime.

The police showed her a photo of the body strapped with countless ropes while gunshot wounds were found in his neck, forehead, and even his mouth.

It was obvious that the man died instantly, but what caught her eyes the most was the vehicle the body was lying in.

She's inside a luxurious car, not the one she rode with Peterson towards the gala but a Rolls-Royce Phantom car, and she can't be mistaken. It was owned by the man who escorted her home.

Israel Sibal.

Her knees almost gave in on their way to the police station. They wanted to interview her, but she doubts it was any ordinary questioning.

She knows for a fact that these people wouldn't even target her if it weren't for Gomez's family backing up the whole crime scene.

This was an interrogation.

They labelled her as a person of interest in the death of Peterson Gomez, emphasizing that she had shared a close relationship with the old man.

"So how long are the two of you going out with each other?" The police officer mentioned this as he crossed his arms in front of her.

Meanwhile, she just looked pale and restless in her seat, unable to contain her fear while the man continued to question her.

"I'm asking you, how long have you two been together?" The officer repeated what made her flinch. She slowly lifted her gaze to stare at the man before she weakly answered.

"A-a month and a half," she replied, her voice sounding like a whisper.

Althea couldn't help but run her mind over and over the incident last night. It wasn't even that long ago when she was so pissed off that man, and now, she suddenly receives word that he has died, and she was close to the case.

"You mentioned that you attended a gala last night with Mr. Peterson Gomez. Have you ever noticed anything strange throughout the party? " The man continued to ask questions that made her immediately lift her head again.

Her body started to shake with nervousness. Her heart was pounding hard while her body was shaking.

Should she tell the police about him? It's only a hunch, but it just feels so right that she couldn't be mistaken.

"There... there wasn't anything strange," she started. "But..." she bit her lip in fear.

If she's right and she gives the information to the police, will the man run after her then? What if the man takes revenge and kills her in her sleep?

A chill runs down her spine when she suddenly remembers how the man stared at her with a smile.

There really was something in his smile that screamed creepiness instead of captivating beauty.

"But what?" the officer trailed. She turned her head to look at him.

"Peter transacted throughout the gala because it was made for business management," she narrated. "I was with him that whole time because he wanted me to enjoy the party," she added.

"Do you know the people he has talked to? Does he have any people he has grudges with? "

Again, she fell silent. How is she supposed to answer that when she knows full well that if she mentions that name, then she might not live another day after?

After a short while, she let out a feeble sigh.

"C-Can you promise to put protection over me? "I'm scared that something might happen to me," she said, stuttering. She was even roaming her eyes right and left, checking if someone was acting suspicious in the police station.

The man then leaned forward due to her action.

"Why? Is there anyone suspicious last night? " He repeated it again. This time, it sounded more like a whisper.

Althea nodded her head slowly.

"Tell me the names."

* * *

A shot echoed throughout the area, leaving the animals fleeing their posts. The birds were chirping right across the sky while small creatures would run on the ground to escape the horrifying sound they'd just heard.

In one instance, the place was wiped out of life except for the sound of nature rustling and him standing at the very middle of a practice corpse target body.

"Jefe." Just as the gun was still hot from the recoil of the bullet, smoke emitted through the tip showed how bullets can be deadly in one shot.

Immediately, he turned his eyes towards the man's direction before he pointed his gun, stretching at his right hand man, Carlo.

"What?" he mumbled shortly. His stare was as cold as the ice that would not break from just the simple daylight.

It was obvious that with his finger right across the trigger, he could kill his subordinate without the blink of an eye.

Carlo uttered, "The police are looking for you." That just made him tilt his head a little.

His face was still morbid, lifeless, as though there was nothing surprising about the matter.

"And?" he replied, his hand still raised to the man's forehead while he remained unbothered. Israel was imagining himself planting a bullet on his right man's-no, his childhood friend's forehead.

"A woman named Althea Corazon pointed to you as one of the suspects behind the murder of Peterson Gomez," he uttered, and upon the immediate mention of the woman's name, his eyes blinked for a second.

He slowly withdrew the gun from the man's forehead as a sinister smile slowly flashed through his lips.

Immediately, his mind flashes to the same woman who looked at him that night with those fearful eyes and a nervous chuckle from those bloody lips.

She was trying her best not to tremble in front of him.

Israel sneered at the thought of that same woman.

"Jefe, do you know this woman?" the man asked, which made him turn slowly towards his direction.

He just stared at his subordinate, who had curiosity in his eyes, before he tilted his head a little, his jaw clenching.

"Let bygones be bygones," he uttered shortly, his hand rising again to the level of the man's forehead.

In one instance, Israel pulls the trigger of his gun, the bullet scraping the edge of his right hand man while a body falls down close to the tree.

"Enough questions, clean up the mess," he added before he finally turned away from his men.

Carlo, who was used to the idea, just wiped off the blood from his cheek as he walked, following the man's shadow.

His eyes happened to meet the other subordinates and so, using his eyes, he ordered them to clean off the corpse quietly as they headed straight to a black luxurious vehicle.

One of the attendants dressed Israel in a fur coat as he lit his cigarette with the most expensive lighters in the world, and with that, they all exited the place.

Carlo's eyes stared back at the scene of the corpse while men disposed of it somewhere that no one could ever find anymore.

Whoever the woman caught his eye, he is sure to think that she'll meet her doom, considering that his boss was a cruel man. . . even killing his own kin for the sake of his own beliefs.