(from now on, i'll use past tense instead of present, it's a lil bit confusing for me to write in a different style, so i'll revert back to past tense, ok? :p)
Blake went back to his office after his fateful meeting with Naomi with a heavy expression. His blue eyes were fixated on his computer screen, as he ran a background check on her. 'She's pretty much clean..' he thought. However, as his clicker randomly rested on a tab about 'next of kin', he went ahead and opened it. He furrowed his eyebrows as he read what was written on the screen.
"No wonder she was acting a little bit cold towards Jacky."
He decided to print out the page for some light reading at home.
Meanwhile, Naomi was lying on her bed, scrolling through a bunch of e-mails that Blake just sent out. She let out a big sigh. It's been over seven years since the incident happened and she had never thought that she would be reconnected with one of the Carsons - no, more like she would be involved with them for a while. Her eyes shifted at a photo frame on her left bedside table.
"It's been seven years Dad..." she choked on her words. "If you're still alive, i know you won't like me doing this."
She dropped her arms beside her and stayed still. Her mind was rolling out past memories that she had buried deep, one of the most painful memory of her Dad. A bead of tear escaped the corner of her eye. She realised how much she missed her father. Although she still has a living relative, which is her mother, she was always closer to her Dad. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and reminisce about that day...
It was a gloomy evening, rain was pouring since the afternoon and young Naomi was walking home from high school, together with her close friend, Kim. Both of them were neighbours and they used to live in a cheap housing estate, near the Olinda reservoir. There was a new development in the area, to build a holiday resort around the reservoir. Who was the developer for the construction? Altheda Holdings. The two girls stayed out way past their curfew due to an extra-curricular activity that took longer to finish. Around the construction area, there was a drunk tradie (Australian for tradesman) with two other men, drinking some booze in the worker's camp. Out of the blue, one of the man appeared to be possessed by lust and he stepped out of the camp, blocking the girls' only way home. They were taken aback, they were frightened as he wielded a bottle of liquor. Naomi could not remember every detail anymore, but she remembered her feeling scared and helpless as the man lured Kim into the tent, threatening to hurt her if she refused. Naomi was held by the other two men, her helpless cry and violent struggle did not loosen their grip. Her mouth was stuffed by a piece of dirty cloth, to muffle her scream for help. Kim was tied with a rope - her wrists were chained and her legs were spread apart, tied to a pole with a rope. The man proceeded to undress her and then eventually raped her, right in front of Naomi. The two other men forced her down on her knees, tied her hands behind her back as she wailed and sobbed for her best friend. She saw blood, she heard Kim's chilling screams as her virginity was forcefully taken. Due to her constant struggle and defiant behaviour, the man got very agitated and slapped Kim across her face, knocking her unconscious. The man was first taken by surprise but his lust was still burning hot that he advanced to explore Naomi's body. The fighter spirit in her did not die, the more they restrained her, the more violent her struggle become. She managed to break free from them and ran out to the street in pitch black. She screamed for help over and over again till her voice cracked. She kept running towards the direction of their house and her Dad was standing in the driveway, anxiously checking the street, waiting for his little girl to come home.
At the sight of his daughter, Lee Seok Beom, came to her rescue and alerted the neighbours. Kim's mother called the police while Naomi's mother took her inside the house and wrapped a blanket around her freezing, shivering, battered body. Naomi was the daughter of a Korean man with an Australian born Chinese mother. She had a brother who was two years older than her, who was studying in Melbourne at that time. Naomi tried to recite the unfortunate event to her mother, while still in shock. The incident woke up the whole neighbourhood, few other parents went out of their way to the construction site with Mr.Lee to find Kim. There were altercations between Mr.Lee and the perpetrators, while Kim's parents ran to her aid. Kim's mother was devastated at the sight of her daughter, barely conscious with blood on her body and ropes around her wrists and ankles. The ambulance came together with three police cars, five minutes later. The perpetrators were arrested and the police took Naomi's statement along with her dad's and Kim's parents, as other witness at the scene. Both girls were taken to the hospital, a few kilometres away from their high school.
Naomi was left bruised and broken, mentally she was shaken up. Kim had it worse. She was admitted into the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) to treat her wound and internal damage. One of the man shoved a hard wooden tool into her genital, causing an internal haemorrage. Kim's mother was hysterical, while the two fathers were furious at the whole incident and vowed to sue Altheda Holdings for negligence and assault. Unfortunately, after two nights spent in prison, the three culprits were bailed out by Altheda's very own legal team, under the leadership of Jacky Carson. The whole incident was reported in the news and while the criminals were enjoying their temporary freedom, Kim's family was in mourning. Kim succumbed to her wounds and never regained consciousness. The knock on her head that rendered her unconscious was a fatal blow that lead to her being declared brain dead. Naomi could no longer shed a tear. She lost her best friend that day.
Fast forward to the trial date, where Mr.Lee and Kim's parents' lawyer sought justice for the two young girls' ordeal. One of the man was found guilty of manslaughter and aggravated assault, while the other two were found guilty of aggravated assault resulting in grievous bodily harm to the victim. While two of them got locked up behind bars, one of them was released on community service due to his young age. That day, Naomi was present in court, watching the whole session with a blank expression on her face. She remembered vividly, Jacky Carson was the defense attorney for the accused. Naomi's and Kim's parents were opposing the verdict, insisting that the other man, Jason Kirk, who was only 20 at that time, to be incarcerated instead of doing community service as he had the potential to repeat his crime and do more harm. However, Jacky managed to rebut their pleas and so Jason walked away with 300 hours of community service.
Two months after Kim's funeral, Naomi was leaving her house when she noticed a familiar figure, Jason, lurking around her neighbourhood. Alerted by Naomi's appearance, Jason gave her a creepy smile before turning around and walked away. Mr.Lee was made aware of the situation and he was not impressed. Kim's mother mentioned that boy might be mentally challenged - a psychopath - who wouldn't stop until he got what he want. Jason was stalking Naomi for a week before he was confronted by Mr.Lee. They exchanged punches and kicks, the noise drew the residents to gather on the street where they were fighting. Naomi cried out to her father, begging for him to stop and let Jason go, but Mr.Lee was determined that nobody would hurt his daughter again. Jason got lucky, he found a rock and hit Mr.Lee on the head with it, making him to lose his balance and then he charged at him. There was a piece of broken metal from an old mailbox on the ground. Jason grabbed it and stabbed Mr.Lee multiple times on his chest and abdomen. The coward then ran for his life, leaving Mr.Lee to bleed to his death.
A neighbour happened to record the whole fight scene in her smartphone, which was presented as evidence to the court. However, Naomi's family can't afford to hire a top lawyer to argue their case, to seek justice for Mr.Lee's unfortunate death. Meanwhile, Jacky Carson was under scrutiny for setting Jason free to roam the streets, and murdered an innocent person. Nevertheless, the power of money triumphed and Jacky managed to save his face and Altheda Holdings' name for the crime committed by their employees. Naomi had never hated someone so much that she almost lunged at Jacky outside of the courthouse. Altheda paid a generous amount of compensation to Naomi's family, which her mother accepted in grief, but Naomi never forgave them. With the money, the family moved to another suburb, paid for Naomi's tertiary education and living cost until Naomi's brother, Kris graduated from the university and returned home to support his family.
Naomi hugged the last photograph of her and her dad. She cried in silence.
"I will find justice for you Dad... I will pull Altheda and the Carsons down with me."