'Ghad... I miss him', what was Summer thinking throughout the day.
It was exactly 8 pm. Everyone was gathered at the function hall of the exclusive hotel that their director rented. (It was his daughter's, so it's not that expensive). They were celebrating their last night of the shoot and the success of their movie.
Summer was silently seated at the right corner of a long table. They just finished their dinner and now the others were dancing to the disco theme music.
Colorful blinking of the lights, loud music, and the laughing crew members was at the center. Summer on the other hand couldn't stop checking her phone, waiting for Tristan's reply.
They haven't seen each other for five days since she was busy shooting the finale scenes. Also, Tristan was out of reach for two days and she's slightly going insane worrying about him.
Even though Trish and the others reassured her that he was okay, Summer wasn't contented. She wanted Tristan to confirm it himself.
Yeah, dear readers... Love is slowly driving her crazy. Well, some people will really reach that phase, aren't they?
Reign—(her stepsister) who was also part of the movie—approached her with a usual look on her face; cold and intimidating.
"If you're looking for Heidi, she just left" Summer told without taking her eyes off of her phone.
"Why?"
"Dunno. She said she was going somewhere... To her doctor, I guess?"
"At this time?" Reign doubted. Summer lifted her gaze and raised one of her eyebrows.
"Why don't you ask her yourself? Aren't you two have numbers of each other?"
Reign just clicked her tongue then left. Summer also jolted as she received a message.
[From Tristan: I'm fine. How are you?]
With her eyes sparkling in delight and her heart jumping in excitement, Summer's ears were closed for the unnecessary noise around her.
Missing him so much made her hear only his voice through his texts. It was so loud and clear in her ears that she could even imagine the expression on his face before sending the message.
Have you ever experienced hearing someone's voice as you read the message they sent? Yep, that's what happened to Summer.
She absentmindedly left the hall while wearing a wide smile on her lips then she replied.
[To Tristan: I'm more than fine now that I read your message.]
.
.
Meanwhile, Reign was restless while ringing Heidi's phone. How many times did she call her? Still, no one's answering.
Was she worried? Maybe. Was she wondering? Probably. Though Reign was expressionless on the outside, her inside was a muddled-up emotion.
Heidi would never let her calls be missed. 3 missed calls were too many, and that only happens when she was extremely busy.
'Shit. Where the hell are you?' she thought, ringing her phone once again.
She paused as the ring suddenly cut off then she heard breaths on the line. [R-Reign]
Heidi's voice was cracking and was too weak. Her heavy breaths echoed to Reign's ears.
"Where are you?"
[I... I... I think he's dead... He's dead!... What should I do? What should I do?]
Heidi burst into tears and was now sobbing. Reign's brows furrowed at what she said. She was too calm even after hearing that someone is dead.
"Stop crying. Tell me where you are."
[I'm at the c-clinic. Roy's clinic.]
"Alright. Just stay where you are and wait for me." Reign told then hung up. She immediately went into her car and drove as fast as she could to the clinic.
As she arrived, she secured the outside of the clinic. No one was there. The place was too dark and quiet. She slowly headed to the clinic, searching for Heidi.
"Heidi." She called. She then heard steps in the room in the left corner of the clinic. Her gaze instantly looked in its direction. There she saw the disheveled figure of Heidi, coming out of the room.
"What the hell happened to you?!" Reign ran towards Heidi then she fixed her torn sleeve and messy hair.
Her eyes widened as she saw the man lying inside the room, behind Heidi. His head and the floor were covered by his blood.
She seriously looked at Heidi's eyes then asked, "Tell me what happened."
"He suddenly collapsed. I-I think he hit his head on the table."
Reign glanced again at the scene then returned her gaze to Heidi. "I told you to tell me what EXACTLY happened."
Heidi flinched. Her sobs were gone and her eyes were averted but still, her tears were streaming through her cheeks.
"That's what happened. What else do you want to hea—"
"I am here to help you. So, don't lie to me."
Heidi was silent for a moment. She slowly looked at Reign's eyes. "I... I killed him"
"I know... Why?"
"I noticed... H-He was switching my medicine to an unfamiliar one. I guess he wanted to drug me. I tried to excuse myself and leave but he didn't let me... I refused to drink the medicine but he was persistent until he used force on me... I reached for his phone and hit his head... Then... Then... he collapsed."
Reign stared at Heidi for a moment. "Heidi... You're not scheduled today"
Heidi was stunned. Her throat dried up and her heart gradually beats faster. Reign's aura was intimidating, her gaze was blank but it's giving her chills.
"You're really bad at telling lies." Reign added then walked towards the man's body and squatted. She tilted the nameplate on his chest to read it.
"Dr. Janrei... He's not your doctor, is he?"
"D-Dr. Roy is on leave... He's the substitute"
"Mhm." Reign stood up. "The clinic was too dark and quiet to entertain a patient. And, as far as I know... Their clinic hours ended an hour ago. Well, unless you book a private session."
"Heidi... Don't you trust me?" Reign asked that soften Heidi's uneasy expression. "I am asking you one last time. What really happened here?"
Heidi wiped her unstoppable tears then clenched her fist. She took several sighs before answering "I told him I will have my session in advance. And I arranged the schedule after closing hours. How stupid of him to agree with it."
"How did he die?"
"I told you, I hit his head with his phone... Several times"
"You planned it all beforehand. You even managed to turn down the electricity."
"I didn't. The electricity went off on its own. It was the clinic's constant problem."
"Mhm... So, Why did you kill this poor man?"
Heidi stared at Reign. "He's not a poor man! He raped my sister and killed her. That bastard! Because of his wealth, we lost in the court and justice couldn't get a hold of that filthy asshole! He wasn't just proven not guilty, he was also having his better life! He ruined ours, so I strived to be in this state to find that man and ruin his! But when I found him..."
"I... I... Couldn't control my anger... My vision darkened when I saw him. So, I went this far... Believe me, Reign. I just wanted to confront him but my body did the opposite" Heidi cried, sobs were heard again from her. Reign walked towards her and hugged her tightly.
"Shh... Don't cry... You did great... It's not your fault... It's his... You did what he deserves. You shouldn't feel sorry about it... But, your body moved to what you really desire..."
"What are—" Heidi flinched when Reign hugged her tighter than before as she was about to distance herself.
"You know I hated it the most when you're lying to me, right?"
"R-Reign..."
"You're a good actress, Heidi... You're so good at manipulating your emotion... That, if you're talking to an idiot... You just wanted to confront him? Do you think I will buy that? I'm not a fool." Reign loosened her hold and coldly glanced at Heidi's hands then returned her gaze back to her eyes.
"Next time when you want to manipulate a situation make sure to remove everything that would make you suspicious... Just like these gloves"
Heidi was startled as Reign abruptly pulled the plastic gloves she was wearing out of her hands. Her eyes widened and dumbfoundedly stared at her bare hands.
"Are these to prevent your fingerprints from being left behind? Whoa. I'm impressed... You're clever enough."
Heidi couldn't react at the moment. She was blank and nervous. Not that she was busted, but Reign's aura and words were like sharp knives, ready to stab her into pieces.
"You intended to kill him, not just a simple confrontation... Right, Heidi?"
Heidi slumped to the floor and whimpered.
"P-Please... Don't be mad at me."
Heidi reached for Reign's slocks and grabbed them. Her chest felt tight and she was barely breathing. She was indeed more afraid of Reign's anger than the fact that she killed someone.
After the death of her sister, her mother followed only a month later. Heidi became hopeless and was more miserable when her father left on the last day of her mother's wake.
Heidi has this beauty that could bring her fame, so a well-known producer no longer hesitated as soon as he saw her. Although she was bathed in sweat while rummaging a bin to find something to eat, he approached her and offered her an opportunity which she quickly accepted.
A 16 years old girl who had a deep grudge against the man that ruined her life didn't think anything else but to make him pay in the future. And that rare opportunity offered to her was an absolute chance to make it happen.
Heidi has a natural talent that boosted her career like a flash. She was busy putting herself together and working hard to improve each day while slowly stepping towards her goal.
She was an empty soul, numbed by all of the happenings... But everything changed as she met Reign.
Anguish became happiness, anger became a pleasure. Reign filled her emptiness with love that only they could understand. The contentment that Reign was giving her made her almost forget what she intended to do at the very beginning.
Her goals became further and further, her path was slowly leading her to a detour. Reign indeed healed her. And that's when she became her everything...
Reign looked down at Heidi's hand, gripping onto her slocks. She kneeled down and removed her hand, then she put her finger under her chin and lifted her face. "I won't"
Heidi was surprised at Reign's reply. "What?"
"I will let it slide this time since I considered your reason. Besides, I told you I'll help you." Reign held both of her hands and guide her to stand. Reign wore Heidi's gloves and took the phone of the man, placed on top of the mini-table beside the hospital cot.
"So, you already wiped the blood on the phone."
"Yeah." Heidi responded.
"Did you put that blood at the edge of the table on purpose?"
"No. He landed there first."
Reign nodded then raised the phone she took and dropped it to the floor. Heidi was startled at what she did. She unbelievably stared at Reign.
"What did you do?!"
"Helping you. You used it to knock him off, so its LCD might be broken or damaged. Who knows... Just in case."
Reign roamed her eyes around the room, making sure she did not overlook something. As she assured, she glanced at Heidi.
"Let's go"
"Hah?! B-But... What about the body?! Shall we just leave it there?"
"Yes" Heidi was paused at Reign's immediate response.
"Are you kidding?"
"No. What do you want me to do? Clean the crime scene and throw the body somewhere? Are you nuts? It would be obvious that he was really murdered. Also, it's dangerous as someone might see us... Leave it as that and let them think he just collapsed and hit his head accidentally... Well, even though they'll discover he was murdered, no one will point a finger at you... You used gloves remember? Their CCTV was useless, too."
Heidi couldn't sink in everything Reign said. She wasn't on the right sane to process every word for now. So, she just agreed and protest no more.
"Go ahead first." She told Heidi while her eyes were glued at the nameplate. Reign noticed her fingerprint was left there. She almost forgot she held it earlier when she read his name.
After Heidi left, she once again squatted and wiped the nameplate using the alcohol and the tissue of the clinic. As she was about to leave, the man suddenly breathed and moved a bit which made her bothered a little.
"So, you're still alive?" She whispered to the man. "Hays... You should've moved after I left."
Reign rummaged the hanging cabinet in the room and took some bottles of medicine, she then poured all of the tablets and shoved them to the man's mouth and harshly covered it with her hand while her other hand pinched his nose.
The man was struggling to breathe while his body was shaking a bit. He wasn't fully conscious so he was too weak to reach for Reign's hand and remove it.
After a moment, all of the tablets in his mouth vanished then a disgusting foam came out. Reign remorselessly stood and calmly left the clinic.
"What an idiot." She whispered to herself, then got into her car.
Heidi—sitting at the front seat—confusedly stared at her. "What took you so long?"
"I..." Reign turned her head to her. "Delivered him well to hell"
Reign smirked then started the engine.