Chapter 1 #4
She was the woman who contacted her earlier. Inari had no idea this was the person on the other side of the phone. She was covered in as many tattoos as Moose and his brothers too.
“Yes. Dr. Vines is in the back. Let me tell him you’re here. You can walk right down that hallway and make a left. His office is the first door on the right.” The girl used her long, stiletto acrylics to signal which direction.
“Thank you.” Inari faced Kong, and the two of them started in the direction she’d given.
Locating the door of Dr. Paul Vines, Inari took a breath and tapped on it.
“Come in!”
Turning the chrome handle, she braced herself and pushed the door open.
Dr. Vines was tall and slender with thin-framed glasses and a low-cut fade.
In navy slacks, a plaid button-up shirt, and his white coat, he lifted his head from the paperwork on his desk and viewed her in the doorway with Kong behind her.
“Ms. Jacobs, hello.” He stood and moved around his desk to extend his cold hand to her. “I am so very sorry for your loss. Please have a seat.” He motioned toward the two chairs in front of his desk.
Inari lowered herself into one, but Kong refused.
Instead, he remained standing slightly behind her, leaning against a table with a bunch of licenses, diplomas, and other certifications arranged.
Kong took note of each accolade and where it came from.
Dr. Vines picked up a file from his desk and flipped it open.
He remained professional, measured, and detached.
In his line of business, it was necessary.
“Ms. Jacobs,” he began, voice even. “I’m going to walk you through the findings as clearly as possible.”
Inari didn’t respond; she only nodded. Dr. Vines stared down at the file.
“Remains were recovered from a vehicle fire consistent with an explosion event. The level of thermal damage was… extensive.” He paused, choosing his next words carefully.
“The body was severely burned. We’re looking at third to fourth degree burns across the majority of the surface area.
In some regions, there was complete charring. ”
Inari’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t look away. Meanwhile, Kong remained with his back against the shelf behind him, one arm tucked over his chest, and the other propped up against it while stroking his beard.
“Due to the extent of the burns, visual identification was not possible. We relied on circumstantial evidence and recovered personal effects.”
His last line lingered, and Inari let it echo for a minute before tuning in once again. Dr. Vines flipped a page.
“Prior to the fire, there is evidence suggesting blunt force trauma.”
“What kind?” she asked, eyes sharpening slightly.
“Primarily to the torso and left side,” he told her. “Rib fractures, at least three. There are also indications of soft tissue damage consistent with impact. Possibly from a collision or physical struggle prior to the explosion.”
None of this sat right. Stomach tightening, mouth salivating like she wanted to throw up, Inari closed her eyes. Ayla’s face flashed beneath her lids, and she saw her in that fire all over again. Holding onto tears, she nodded, and Dr. Vines continued.
“There is also evidence of inhalation of smoke and combustion byproducts.” Dr. Vines looked up briefly. “That’s significant.”
“Why?” Inari pried, voice quieter now.
“Because it indicates that she was alive at the time of the fire,” he conveyed.
Silence filled the room. Heavy. Thick. Inari swallowed, hard. His tone unchanged, Dr. Vines went on with his report.
“Cause of death is listed as a combination of thermal injury and smoke inhalation. In simpler terms, she succumbed to the fire.”
Inari’s fingers curled against the arm of the chair, and she didn’t even realize she’d started gripping it.
Hearing the gory details of what happened had her physically ill.
She still tasted alcohol from last night on her breath, even after brushing her teeth, and all she wanted was to drown in another bottle.
“The fetus—”
“Fetus?” Kong’s face balled into a confused grimace.
Inari nibbled on her bottom lip and side-eyed him but didn’t budge. A single tear slipped, and he caught it when he stepped up beside her. His head gradually swiveled in her direction. The medical examiner looked confused as hell.
“I’m sorry. I thought you were aware. She was twenty-six weeks pregnant. Due to the condition of the remains, determining a separate cause of death for the fetus is not possible.”
Kong’s heart stuttered. He studied Inari, but it was obvious from her reaction that this wasn’t news to her, as her gaze drifted to the cold linoleum, and she shut her eyes.
The crack in his deep baritone rocked her to her core.
She couldn’t watch his eyes glisten with fresh tears because she knew she would only break down further.
“It is presumed that the fetus did not survive the same event,” Dr. Vines concluded.
Presumed. That word meant something to her. It wasn’t solid. It left question marks instead. When she opened her eyes, they locked on the examiner.
“Presumed?” she repeated.
“Yes.” Dr. Vines nodded.
“Meaning you don’t know?”
His pause was measured as he closed the folder and held it out to her.
“It means,” he began carefully, “that given the circumstances of the fire, survival would be extremely unlikely.”
Inari didn’t blink. Instead, she studied him. Really taking in his posture, his eyes, every gesture with his hands. He was confident. Too sure of himself as he adjusted his glasses. Finally, she took the folder from his hand.
“Is there a death certificate for the fetus?”
“No separate documentation. The pregnancy is noted within the primary report.”
“Thank you. Is there anything else you need from me?” Avoiding the inevitable, Inari stood, turning away from Kong while he processed the information he’d just received.
“No. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to my office.”
She moved toward the door with Kong right behind her. He paused long enough to side eye the ME before stepping into the hall with her.
“Was it mine?” Kong asked the minute they were alone.
“Yes.” Inari sighed.
Bobbing his head, he took a breath and a couple of steps forward.
Ayla carrying his baby all that time and not saying a word left him wondering what else she was hiding.
Not that he could talk when he married another woman and moved her into a new home with him and his children.
He’d hurt her with that. Why would she feel like she could tell him anything?
The weight of it all pressed down on him, and Kong turned to a nearby concrete wall.
Lungs tight, air constricted, he rested both hands on the wall, pressing his weight against it and bowing his head.
“I’m sorry this is how you had to find out,” Inari murmured, voice thick with pain.
“I told her to tell you. She didn’t want to.
She said that this baby would be treated differently because of how it all happened, and you being married to Nayelli.
” Inari shrugged. “And… she didn’t know this whole time.
She found out right before we went to Hawaii for the wedding.
I guess the doctor called it a cryptic pregnancy.
Ayla wasn’t even sure what she was going to do. ”
Kong trembled, face wrinkling in agony. As hard as he’d tried to numb his heart to this type of heartache, he was slowly submerged in it. Drowning with no life jacket with Ayla’s pretty smile and big brown eyes flicking past like a movie playing.
“She left the house that night because she was hungry.” Scoffing, he shook his head.
“I went over there because I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Something kept nagging at me. I knew something was up.
It had been for weeks now. Then she got sick at the party.
She spent most of her time in Hawaii in her room sleeping.
She was distant. Too distant like she had something on her mind.
” Pinching the tip of his nose, Kong sniffled, picked his head up and straightened his back.
“So, tell me about Danilo, that bitch Mira… and anything else I need to know.” He faced Inari with a storm swirling in his eyes.
“What are you going to do?” Inari’s brows pinched together quizzically.
“It’s better if I don’t answer that question.” Kong went into his pocket for his phone to hit Moose.
He was pissed off at him, but with Mozzi dealing with Coast and the baby, he needed him.
“This is my sister we’re talking about here.”
“Then worry about burying her and let me take care of the rest.” Kong dialed Moose and pressed his phone to his ear before stepping past Inari.
Moose picked up solemnly. “What’s up?”
“Meet me at Inari’s. Now.” Kong ordered before hanging up.
On his way out the front door ahead of Inari, Kong bypassed a young, pretty boy looking ass nigga who looked him up and down like he knew him.
He didn’t say anything, but the look in his eye was like he was half afraid and waiting on Kong to spaz on him.
When he didn’t, he glanced at Inari heading their way and strolled over to the receptionist desk.
He leaned against the paneling so he could whisper something to her, and she suddenly turned rigid after a quick glance in Kong and Inari’s direction before they exited.
Kong didn’t speak on it, but he took note and pushed it to the back of his mind.