~~

🖾🖾🖾🖾🖾🖾🖾🖾's POV

"Well? Have you found her?!" I snapped, annoyed at them.

Aren't they supposed to be our best hackers and trackers? Then why the fuck can't they find her?!

They were shaking in fear, knowing who I was and what I could do. Good.

"W-we did find her," I perked up. "B-but..." He hesitated.

Of course, there's a 'but'!

"But what?!" I snapped again. I swear if this arse doesn't tell me alre--

"She's dead!" He blurted out.

What?

No.

She can't be dead... She couldn't be dead!

My knees buckled, but I quickly gripped the edge of the table before I lost my balance.

"No, Tori. I love him!"

Why... Why him... Why did it have to be him?!

He has enemies everywhere! One of them was probably the one that killed you...

"If you were my friend, you'd want me to be happy."

No... If I were your friend, I would have done everything I could to separate you from him.

I should have done everything.

But no... Just because I thought over your words, I didn't push it anymore, even though I knew what would happen.

I fucking knew, goddammit!

I knew, yet what did I do?

Nothing! That's what!

"Miss..?" I abruptly snapped my head up, forgetting that there were other people here.

I always tend to let my guard down whenever I think of her.

I nodded for him to say what he was going to, reigning in my emotions.

Can't kill him when he's supposed to be the one doing all of this.

"There's more..." Seeing my silence, he continued, "We found out that she put one of her children in an orphanage--"

"An orphanage?!" I shrieked, cutting him off. There goes for holding emotions.

Why?! The father of her children was a Mafia leader. The biggest one at that! And wait... One of them?

"What do you mean 'one of them'?" I asked.

"Uh, the older kid, the girl, was left in their father's care, while the younger one, who was a boy, was at an orphanage in Canada." The other one of the two of them answered.

Why did you put the girl with him and the boy away, Pearl? If anything, it should be her, not him!

Not to mean sexist, but that's what the Mafia world usually is. Men are the leaders.

"Well, where is he now?" I asked again.

"Uhh, his own father adopted him. We found out that he had been searching for his son everywhere until just recently." The first one said.

I sighed.

What was in her mind that made her do this?

I waved my hand to dismiss them, but before they left, the second guy stopped at the doorstep and told me something quite important.

He left me there in shock.

As soon as the doors closed, my grip on the table loosened completely, making my knees give out.

I was panting at the new information.

"She was shot, and soon her body was found floating in the ocean."

Looks like there was more to her death than just a simple accident.

I need to know more about this. I need to know who killed my best friend.

But before that, there's something else I have to do.

Glancing at the information the two hackers had gathered which were in front of a computer, I scrolled through it.

I took my time, but a thought kept on plaguing my head.

Why hadn't they changed his surname just yet? He just adopted him and, what? That's it?

I then looked at the screen of my phone, where a phone number was typed on. It was his number.

Should I press it? Should I call him? What would I say?

But... He is someone important to her. Maybe I should...

~~

Rayver POV

I awoke to the sound of my phone ringing.

Blindly reaching out somewhere on my bed, my hands found their way to my phone, where the annoying ringing didn't seem to cease.

"Hello?" I groggily said, not checking the caller ID.

But then, silence greeted me. I furrowed my brows in confusion. They call me and decide to stay mute?

I then choose to check who it is, expecting it to be one of my friends, talking me that it was just a prank.

But the caller ID didn't say it was any of my friends'. It was an unknown caller.

Seeing that, all sleep left my system. My mind was going into overdrive.

Who is this? Are they associated with any Mafias? What do they want with me? Am I gonna die?!

Hopefully. Oh, how I'm waiting for that day.

I'd like to see someone die over a phone call.

Sarcasm understood.

Just as I was about to hang up, a breathless voice finally spoke, "Hello?"

I refrained from rolling my eyes. Jeez, I've been spending way too many times with Regina. Her cold and always irritated mood is now affecting me.

"Yes..?" I answer back.

"Is... Is this Rayver L-Cruise! Cruise..." The voice said, stuttering. I'm guessing from the voice it is a middle-aged female.

Well, maybe not middle-aged. A few yours younger than that, maybe.

"Yes... It is... Who is speaking?" I hesitantly ask.

You know what's funny? That she asked for your name when she was the one calling you.

Please do me a favour and shut up.

"Uh, well... You see..." She hesitated, then said four words that made my face drop along with the phone.

"I know your mother."

~~

"Where are you going?" I froze, just as my hand grazed the knob.

Welp. You're dead.

I gulped before slowly turning to face the owner of the voice.

I audibly sighed in relief. It's just dad, not Regina.

That's better how?

"Well? Where are you going, young man?" He asked again, this time in what I realize is a playfully stern voice.

"Uh, I h-have to meet a friend, Dad." Ugh, I stuttered! I shouldn't have stuttered, now he knows that I'm lying...

I know I'm supposed to be reprimanding you for lying, but seriously, Rayver. If you're gonna do something bad, you should've made sure to do it correctly.

I know, I know, okay?!

Don't you dare shout at me!

Sorry... Jeez you sound so much like--

"Rayver?" I snap out of my mental conversation and look at Dad, seeing that he now had a soft expression on his face.

Are those... Tears?

He blinked twice, causing the tears that I supposedly saw to disappear. Huh, I guess I was just imagining things.

"Oh, uh... H-have fun..." He said, telling me that I was free to go.

I nodded and smiled at him before turning around and going to the garage. It became an unspoken agreement that the Kia Stinger was mine, so now I'm using that.

According to Regina, this was a 2019 Kia Stinger. Not that that fact would mean anything to me.

I got in and typed in the address of the café I'm going to.

Just before the date Fiona and I had, Regina practically forced me to get my license. I didn't want to, but after some threats from both Regina and the female voice, I finally did it.

Now, I'm proud to say that I'm thankful that they did that because now I can go wherever without needing the driver to drop me off.

~~

Parking the car in the parking lot, I notice that this cafe was small but was blending in with the New York scenery.

I get out, looking in the window, hoping to catch sight of who I'm meeting.

I'm such an idiot to not ask what the lady looked like.

Wait... Did you just cuss?!

What?! Ugh! I really need to spend less time with you and Regina. You guys are ruining my innocent mind.

When I get in, a bell dinged at the top, causing some people to glance at me, but thankfully went back to their own business.

I looked around, searching if there was anyone that stood out, but there was no one that did.

I glance at my phone, seeing that I'm a few minutes earlier than planned.

'Few minutes' my ass. You're fifteen minutes early!

In my defence, I was pretty excited to hear what this person has to say.

Whatever. So what do you think you should do while waiting?

I dunno. I'll just order something, I guess.

After ordering a blueberry cupcake and a latte, I go sit at a booth which was at the corner of the cafe.

A few minutes and two cupcakes —what? I was hungry— the bell dinged again, making me look up.

What I saw was a lady who looked the same age as Dad. She had chocolate brown hair which looked dyed. But those features weren't the reason why she stood out.

She was looking straight at me.

What is she doing here?!

Hey, what's your problem with her? She knows who my mother is!

No need to worry about me. Just know this, don't believe just anything she says.

But what if she's telling the truth?!

I said 'anything', not 'everything'.

I zoned back just in time to see her taking her seat, still staring at me. I only now notice that her eyes were the same colour as her hair.

We stayed quiet for a while just staring at each other when she finally broke the silence. "You look so much like her..." She mumbled.

I immediately know who she's talking about, making me cast my eyes downwards. With great hesitance, I ask, "What... What do you know about her..?"

"You can call me Tori." She said, noticing me trailing off. "Pearl and I... We were the best of friends. We did everything together, and nothing could have ever broken us apart..."

Noting that she hesitated, I decided to tread on lighter topics.

"W-when did you guys meet?" I ask.

I almost sigh in relief when I see her give a small smile. She looked into space as if remembering a distant memory, which she probably was.

She shared a little about her and my mother, and all the while, I listened intently and patiently.

Soon, she finished speaking, so then we relapsed into silence again, each into our thoughts.

Should I ask her the big question already?

No, ask some little questions first.

Like what?

Oh, I don't know. Your mother's name, maybe?!

Oh, right.

"I... I know this is a weird question, but... What is her name?" I hesitantly. Seeing her expression which held disbelief, I immediately went to explain, "Y-you see, I haven't met her in my whole life! And no one that I know, knows anything about her..."

"You don't need to explain, Rayver. What I don't understand is, why haven't your father or sister told you about them?" She asks with confusion and slight anger.

"Well, you see," I scratch the back of my head, "She's kind of a sore subject at home, so we don't really talk about her much."

She nods in realization like she knew something else. Something more than that.

Of course, she does.

What are you grumbling about?

Nothing.

A throat clearing brought my attention back to Tori, in time for hearing what she said. "Pearl. Her name was Pearl Whitney. Of course, that was before she was a Luciano."

I look at her shocked. "She and Dad got married?!" I exclaim.

"Well, not quite... You see, the both of them got engaged the moment they found out about you and your sister, but they had planned to be wed two months or so after you both were delivered." She clarified.

I nodded, muttering to myself, "Then the whole thing about me happened..."

Tori shifted a bit in her seat, seemingly uncomfortable. "Uh... Yes, I suppose."

After letting out a sigh, I suddenly remember how she said everything with my mother in past tense.

"Tori..?" I received a hum in response, so I continue, "Where is she now? My mother?"

She froze, but the look on her face indicated that she was kind of expecting that question. She took a deep breath as if to ready herself before answering my question.

Her next words shocked me to the core, making me also freeze up, my body feeling numb all over.

~~

Regina POV

Ugh. To say today has been tiring is an understatement.

We found out that there is a mole in the Mafia, so I and the guys had to go to some... Measures.

Somehow, I couldn't help but notice how this is getting more and more often.

I got upstairs, planning to just sleep when I suddenly feel a weird intuition to go to Rayver's room.

Knowing that my gut is never wrong, I go there.

I don't mind knocking —as if I ever— but simply barge in, not caring what he looked like.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I certainly wasn't expecting to see Rayver sitting on his bed, not an emotion on his face, but tears streaming down his cheeks.

Not only that, but his face had that look that he had sometimes, which was as if he was having a mental conversation with himself.

Icing to the cake was that he was mumbling to himself.

I stood frozen at my position at the doorstep, which was my hand on the knob and one foot ahead of the other.

Suddenly, his mumbling started to get clearer.

"No, she's not..."

What?

"That lady could be lying."

Who? Who is this woman?

"You told me not to believe what she said!"

What..?

"Well, how do you know this part of 'anything' is the truth?!"

His voice wasn't just clear now, he was full-on yelling. I closed the door, glad that every room was soundproofed.

"You don't know that, now do you?! You're just a voice in my head!"

That's it. I've heard enough, and now I need a fucking explanation!

I march over to him, expecting that my loud stomps would snap him out of whatever this was but it didn't work.

Plan B.

"Rayver? Rayver!" I call out his name, shaking his shoulders.

But he remained like that. The good part is that he stopped yelling and had gone back to his muttering state.

Wait, how is that good?

Sta 'zitta, Regina! {Shut up,}

Since plan B still doesn't work, I guess it's time for Plan C.

A loud smack was soon heard, silencing the whole room after it.

I look at Rayver, seeing a red, fine handprint on his left cheek.

He then slowly turned his head to face mine, most likely seeing my strange expression.

I don't know if it's a strange expression for him, but it is for me since I'm feeling all these weird feelings right now.

I don't know what kind of spirit possessed me, but the next thing I knew, I had him in a tight embrace.

Slowly, his arms started to move, embracing me back. We stayed like that for a while before I heard a sudden sound.

Was that... A sniffle?

I strained my ears to hear it again, and soon enough, there was another sniffle. Soon, he was crying; I could feel the droplets of tears falling onto my bare shoulder since I discarded my leather jacket earlier.

We didn't move anymore except for the rising of our chests and his crying.

I will kill whoever made you cry, Rayver. That is a promise.

~~

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