An eerie and uncomfortable atmosphere settled over the old yet distinct grand study room. The dimly lit four vast corners echoed with the whispers of forgotten secrets as dust particles danced in the stagnant air. The faded portraits on the walls seemed to watch my every move, their eyes filled with a haunting melancholy that sent shivers down my spine.
"This is beyond creepy! A perfect representation of a serial killer's hideout." I mumbled between heavy breaths as I moved quickly around to check every possible hiding spot, pacing fast at the small library, to the pile of folders on the table, then down the drawers of the table, and finally underneath the small couch sitting beside inches by the door.
The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the sound of my heartbeat pounding in my ears. As I continued my search, a sense of unease settled over me, making it hard to ignore the nagging feeling that I had to be fast and somehow be done with it.
The creaking floorboards and flickering lights added to the unsettling feeling that something was not quite right. Shadows danced on the walls, creating a sense of foreboding, as if the house held dark secrets waiting to be uncovered.
Then, unexpectedly, as I leaned against the walls between the shelves, a resounding click echoed through the room, causing me to jump in surprise. My heart raced as I turned to see a hidden door slowly swinging open, revealing a hidden chamber that seemed to have been neglected for years yet was maintained.
The room was filled with sets of computers and dusty bookshelves. All the computers were shut down except the one facing in the middle; it was as if it had been used recently, and they didn't bother shutting it down.
As I cautiously stepped inside, the air grew colder, and it was stale and musty, as if it had been trapped within these walls for ages. It was clear that this hidden chamber held more than just abandoned technology; it held secrets waiting to be unraveled.
My knees trembled as I approached that one computer in the middle, and I didn't mind looking around anymore. Something in me knew, or hoped, to be exact, that the thing that I was searching for was here.
I slowly inhaled, grabbing the mouse with blinking red lights and hovering across the desktop of the ancient computer. The screen flickered to life, revealing a series of encrypted files and folders. As I clicked through them, a sense of anticipation grew within me, knowing that the answers I sought could be hidden somewhere in this pile of folders.
It was quick as I kept glancing at my wristwatch; my time was running up, and I knew William would soon think suspicious if I ever took too long in the comfort room.
However, the files seemed unending, and I could not even distinguish what files I was opening; I just needed a video or a recording. "Wait!" I gasped as I remembered Cavin telling me to search on the PC thing when I felt too lazy to look for files I made but immediately forgot where I put them.
I slowly typed the word MP4 in the blank space, and voila! Hundreds of thousands of videos appeared one by one on the screen, which somehow made me hopeful and, at the same time, torn. How in the world could I possibly find what I was looking for among this overwhelming number of videos?
I took a deep breath and decided to start scrolling through the list, hoping that luck would be on my side. As I clicked on each video, my anticipation grew, and I wondered if any of them would hold the key to what I needed.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a video caught my eye. My heart strained in the hope that the video was the one, so I eagerly clicked on it, and my heart raced as the video began to play. It was indeed the recording of the accident years ago, around the corner of Salvador's casino, where I tried to flee for a new life. In the video, I was running beside the road, and the rain was pouring. However, what I noticed next struck me the most. As the camera panned, I saw a male figure running beside me, except for my father and his men. The male figure, as it grew closer to the camera, almost stopped to realize that it was William, and behind him was the car that hit me. It was driving so fast in my direction, but my eyes were glued to William. He was fast approaching me as if he were trying to save me. As if he knew that I was planning to be hit that night!
I focused on the car as a small sweat started to form on my forehead while I kept gulping down my dried saliva. My heart raced with a mix of fear as the car started to swerve toward me, then back in William's direction. It wobbled as if it were struggling to maintain control.
However, the video seemed to be cut off abruptly to the part where it hit me, and the only thing played after was Nick being strangled by officers, pulling him out of the car, and even trying to fight.
"What the f*k! That's it?" I mumbled in frustration, but I wasn't able to explore more when I heard William's voice call.
I immediately returned the computer to the way I found it and rushed outside the room, carefully closing it to avoid unnecessary noise before fixing my uniform and making my way down, acting calmly as if nothing happened.
"What took you so long? I thought..."
"You thought I left? What for? I just needed to breathe, so I enjoyed their comfort room, which looks like the size of my entire apartment." I smiled weakly and let out a deep sigh before grabbing one of the luggage.
My eyes caught Cavin somewhere in the kitchen, and I was not surprised to see the maids drooling at him. His ways!
"No, I thought you were so tired, you might have fainted. I was worried!" He said sincerely, his eyes filled with genuine concern. "I'm glad you're okay, though. Let me help you with the luggage."
But as soon as he grabbed the luggage from my hand, I saw his face twitching in pain and his right arm almost fell off, causing the luggage to slip from his grasp and crash onto the floor. I quickly rushed over to support him, concerned about his well-being. "What's wrong?"
He winced in pain but quickly regained his composure. "It's nothing," he replied, trying to brush off the incident. However, I could tell that he was hiding something, and I insisted on helping him with the luggage, determined to find out what was causing him such discomfort.
"What's with your arm?" I asked, but he kept quiet and ignored me. I saw his face twist into a pained expression. Worried, I gently touched his arm and felt a sharp jolt of pain shoot through him.
"You don't have to know everything, Heureu!" His voice sounded strained as he finally spoke up. I could sense the frustration in his words, but I refused to back down. "I may not need to know everything, but I care about you, and I want to help," I said firmly.
He rushed to the car and left me hanging with my question, so I asked Ferine instead.
"You!" I slammed the car's door after forcing myself in and looked at her with a very serious face. "What's with William's arms?"
Ferine looked at me for a bit before breaking into a devious smile. "Well, it was because of the accident years ago. As much as I don't want to talk about Nick, I felt you needed to know a lot after falling for him so take it as a girl-to-girl concern, for which I felt sorry for you in advance and I intend no harm, he loved me."
So she knew Nick loved her.
"And?"
"Hey, I don't intend for you to get jealous, but I always feared Nick and his mental instability. After knowing that I could not love him back, in so much frustration and dismay, he tried to hit William that night because I told him that I was in love with William; however, he lost control of the car since it was raining and unfortunately hit someone else. But, since it was a close call, William's right arm was injured in the collision! It was said that William even tried to save the girl. If you still don't believe that Nick had tendencies to kill, here is the short clip taken from the night he tried to kill me."
The video showed how Nick was fighting with Ferine with a knife and eventually ended up being stabbed due to the intense struggle. The video captured the chaos and fear in the room as both Nick and Ferine fought for their lives. It was a horrifying scene that left no doubt about Nick's violent tendencies and the danger he posed to those around him.
"I'm sorry if I had to break it to you, but you need to see the truth. This video serves as undeniable evidence of Nick's potential for extreme violence and the need to take precautions to ensure everyone's safety."