24. No One, Nothing
24
No One, Nothing
T HE chill wind played with Roselin’s hair, but even with the cold, there was a clear blue sky in honour of Nadia. Something she hadn’t seen in a while, as the clouds would darken the city during most of the seasons. Roselin took a moment to appreciate the cloudless sky. It was fitting and brought a tear to her eye.
Ah Lam pulled her arm. They walked in a long line from the church to the cemetery. Nadia’s parents, who flew in, were in the front, followed by Nadia. Her white coffin drowned in a bunch of flowers left by her loved ones. Roselin was stunned when she found a huge bouquet signed with her name. God, she really needed to thank Ryu.
Guilt tugged at her heart during the sermon. The priest nailed every bit about Nadia’s life and how the perpetrators would suffer. How she’d be punished for what she had done.
Ah Lam trudged beside Roselin, her arm intertwined with hers. The eyes of Abasi burned on her back. Nadia’s aunt invited her to walk behind the coffin. Abasi disagreed, making sure she knew his objection with glares and mean faces. He should have given it to the fake friends who showed up. They didn’t know Nadia at all.
Roselin kept her gaze forward, chin high, and repeating in her mind, ‘It was Gale, not you’—perhaps a bit her. No! Not her. It was Gale, she tried to convince herself, as she felt like throwing up again. Damn it. She was here to bury her best friend. Gale should be the last thing to cross her thoughts today. Her cheeks burned red. Anger filled her step. She didn’t even notice they reached the graveyard. They stopped at the pre-digged hole in the ground between two beautiful oak trees.
It was a good spot. Nadia would’ve liked it… Nadia would’ve liked being alive more. Her nails dug into the soft skin of her palms, and she shook the thought away. After burying Nadia, she was allowed to drown in self-pity and guilt again.
They gathered around, and the priest started his monologue. Nadia’s mum let out a sob that sent chills through her bones. A pain shot across the graveyard that was somewhat familiar, yet different. They both lost loved ones, but a daughter was not the same as a mum or a friend.
Roselin averted her eyes as she bit back her own tears. A shiver ran down her spine, but not one from the cold or Nadia’s mum’s bone-chilling cries. A man standing further away behind the priest caught her eye. The blood drained from her face. It was the officer from the hospital. Not the kind one—what was his name? Ivanov? He wasn’t wearing his uniform, but the two who did, joined him.
Were they coming for her? Did Gale tell them it was her, and now they were here to arrest her? Roselin squeezed Ah Lam’s hand. Why couldn’t they let her bury her friend in peace?
Tears broke through her mask, and Ah Lam rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. Fear gripped her heart, but the police officers just stood there, staring… and did he hold a phone? The bastard. How dared Ivanov record the funeral? And why? Being here and videoing this couldn’t be part of the investigation. Was it even legal? Where did they get the audacity to disturb a funeral like this?
Although no one else seemed to notice. A lingering sensation was telling her something was wrong. Come on , piece the puzzle together, Rose.
Ivanov was with the police, and parts of the police were working for Gale’s father, the great justice attorney Russo—Gale was his son—Gale wasn’t here, thank God , but he probably wanted to? After all, he blamed Roselin for what happened and took no accountability himself.
The priest asked them to join in prayer. People lowered their heads, closing their eyes, but Roselin seemed incapable of looking away. If Ivanov worked for Gale’s father, he might know where Gale was. Especially if he recorded the funeral for him.
Or did she turn crazy? Seeing conspiracies left and right. But some suspicious thing was happening, and she was unable to ignore it. Out of her pocket, she grabbed her phone.
Roselin: Something is up at the funeral. Officer Ivanov is here. Someone should follow him. Maybe he’ll lead you to Gale?
In under a second, the Driver responded.
Unknown number 6, the Driver?: It’s okay. Delete these messages.
It’s okay? Were they serious? Roselin ground her teeth. Nothing was okay. Still, she deleted the messages. Her stomach turned, and she fought the urge to run to Ivanov and his friends.
Bastards.
“Amen,” the priest said, and they all mumbled ‘Amen’ in response.
Roselin’s eyes snapped to the coffin. A shaking breath left her lips. They lowered Nadia into the ground as Roselin made her a promise she might never be able to keep. No matter what she had to do, she’d bring Gale to justice. One way or another.
The priest spoke the last words as the ceremony came to an end. Each of them threw a handful of earth on Nadia’s grave. The final goodbye. A shaking breath pushed itself past her lips, and her nails punctured her palm. A cold wave of emotions hit her, and she attempted to focus on anything else. Her eyes searched the graveyard, but Ivanov and the other police officers were gone.
Shit.
Her broken wrist ached, the cast around it annoying her to the point she just wanted to rip it off. She could’ve taken more painkillers. She hadn’t wanted to. Her lips pressed down in a thin line, her brows inching closer to each other.
“You look like you’ll punch the first person who will slightly inconvenience you.” Ah Lam rested her hand on her shoulder.
Had Ah Lam felt how she was feeling? After all, she was a Mageía. Ah Lam had known the emotions flowing through Roselin when she’d come home scared after seeing Ryu kill someone. Or every time a wave of panic surged over her when she thought back to her mum. Yet, Ah Lam didn’t press her further.
“Are you coming to the bar?” Ah Lam asked.
Roselin’s eyes darted to Abasi and the group of friends waiting. “No, you go,” she said as she stared into the distance.
“Rose—”
Roselin wrapped her arms around her friend. “It’s okay. I’ll drink something to honour Nadia at home.” Probably Ryu’s whole liquor stock when she found it.
Ah Lam pulled back, holding Roselin at arm’s length, her gaze chipping pieces away from Roselin’s mask. Was Ah Lam using her Mageía abilities?
“Thank you, Ah Lam, for picking me up—being my friend and all that.” Roselin needed it more than she’d like to admit. However, someday, she had to grab tea with Ah Lam, ask her what she knew about Ryu, and talk about her powers.
“Of course.” Ah Lam squeezed her arms. “Are you sure you won’t come with us?” Ah Lam double-checked, but Roselin shook her head, the words catching in her throat. Ah Lam shot her a weak smile. “Take good care of yourself and don’t be a stranger. We should meet up soon.”
Roselin nodded. “Promise.”
She gave Ah Lam one last hug before she made her way to the car. Roselin bit her tongue, stopping herself from cursing at the Driver. Why was nobody following Ivanov? She could’ve walked home. But no, everything was okay…
Nothing was okay.
The Driver opened the door for her. Turning to him, she crossed her arms. “Why didn’t—” she started, unable to let it go.
The Driver signalled her to be quiet and get in the car. For a moment, she hesitated, but gave in. The vehicle was warm and a better place to discuss this.
She put her belt on and waited for the Driver to explain himself. He handed her his phone through the lowered window, separating the front and the back seats. Typed but not sent was a note; Nick is following them. Did you delete the messages?
She sighed in relief. “I did.” Quickly, while everyone was praying.
Perhaps she was less crazy than she thought. So many questions bombarded her mind. “Ryu has information on the Brotherhood and Gale, right?” Ryu had to. It basically was his job. The Driver nodded, and she continued, “I want that information.” She wasn’t sure what to do with it, but she needed to know if there was anything she could do.
At home, she kicked off her heels and put on something more comfortable. Determined, she sat behind Ryu’s desk, swirling the whiskey in the glass. The Driver brought her a heavy-looking box.
“Wouldn’t that leave a paper trail?” she asked. What if they found it with the raid the police did a few weeks ago?
The Driver gave a subtle shake of his head with a smile. Her mind immediately went to secret rooms and hidden cabinets. Guess she really was out of the loop.
She opened the box stuffed with files. Where was she even going to start? Paper and pen; that was what she needed first. In the drawer, she found several notebooks. A blush heated her cheeks as the corner of her mouth twitched up. Under a notebook lay one of her ripped panties. A photo was next to it…
God, Ryu.
It was her and Ryu standing close, his hands resting on her lower back. She hadn’t even realised someone had taken their photo at the fundraiser. Ryu looked as stunning as ever, with a big grin and a happy twinkle in his eyes as he watched her.
Her bottom lip quivered. She missed Ryu—she missed laying next to him, his hand cupped around her bare breast, his scent filling her nose, and the way he made her stomach flutter—she missed his soft moans, his naked body pressed against her. She missed him insisting on carrying her to the shower and how he watched her eat breakfast with that intense look on his face. But she couldn’t think about that right now.
Unsure what to look for, she rummaged through the papers and photos in the different files. Every piece of information could help. But each detail caused her guilt to grow, pressing on her heart. She should’ve kept Gale away from Nadia. No , she should’ve had Ryu kill him. He had told her the truth. Ryu investigated everything thoroughly. People called it unethical; she called it unethical, but was it morally right to let all those innocents die because one kill was unethical? Her fingers raked through her hair.
All the lines were blurred.
A knock came from the door, and her head jerked up. “Hugo?” Tears burned in her eyes as she stood up. “I didn’t know you had returned already. I’m so sorry—”
Hugo held up his hand, and she sat back down in her chair. “Don’t apologise. You’re not the one who killed my brother.” Walking over, he threw a file open on the desk. “I assumed you might want to see this too.”
She blinked at the file: a note with an address, photos of Ivanov, two other people she failed to recognise… and Gale. The building they walked into resembled the British-style area of the city.
“You found him?” She thought Nick investigated the lead.
Hugo sat down in the leather chair across from her. “Apparently, his security isn’t the best. Guess Mister Russo didn’t care that much about his youngest son.” Hugo took her whiskey and chugged it. “Although it’s hard to find someone good when you can’t hire Hogo.”
Her finger tapped against the desk. The thoughts flashed through her mind like a thunderstorm mixed with a whirlwind of information, scenarios, and possibilities. She penned some things down as she searched for the address on her phone’s map.
Hugo watched her closely, and she met his gaze. “Could you get me something from my old apartment?” She couldn’t force herself to go. She wasn’t even sure if the police had released it yet. “If it’s not too much trouble.” After all, his brother died there too.
Hugo nodded, standing up from the chair. Roselin quickly wrote what she needed and the place where he might find it.
As he read the note, Hugo stopped at the door opening. He turned to her. “You don’t—”
“Yes, I have to,” she said.
“There will be consequences.”
“I’m already living with it.” She made an effort to smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “My responsibility.”
Hugo nodded, understanding reflecting in his eyes. “Don’t tell Ryu.”
“I’m not telling anyone. Are you?” She asked.
“No one, nothing,” he replied as if it was a catchphrase he had said before.
Turning around, he left her alone with her plan. This time, she didn’t pour the whisky into a glass, but drank the strong liquor straight out of the bottle. The fountain pen shook in her hand as it touched the paper. Ryu deserved an explanation. One last goodbye.