The sun beat down mercilessly. Azora stepped out of the police patrol car. The woman still wore her white dress, her skin pale as if untouched by sunlight for days. The two policemen who had just exited the patrol car stared at her curiously.
Terano, the officer who first encountered the woman late last night, approached Azora with a slight smirk. “Miss, is there something you need inside? Trespassing is not allowed.” He glanced briefly at the grand mansion of the Clasisos beyond the high gate. “You’re entering quite a big house. You’ll need permission from the owner.”
Terano swallowed hard and looked at his paler colleague. He hadn’t expected the Clasiso house to be this grand. He wasn’t ignorant enough not to realize the Clasisos were a wealthy family.
The other station had only provided them with the address, without mentioning how grand it was. They had been told by the other station that they had to get the address from the Police General’s office because he was the chief of that station. He scratched his head and looked at the girl staring at the house. She didn’t seem amazed or surprised. Of course, she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, so she might be used to it.
But not people like him. He couldn’t handle dealing with large families in the province, like the Clasiso and Briones families. So he and his colleague were both nervous to see the grand house in front of them. He couldn’t make a mistake, and his license could get suspended without knowing why.
Azora smiled suddenly so he straightened up. “You can stay here and wait, or you can leave and never come back,” the woman whispered as she stepped forward.
He clenched and unclenched his fist. They had only accompanied Azora to the address given by the other station because she promised to go with them to her father’s, but she needed to stop at the Clasisos’ house for a reason they did not know.
They glanced at each other and swallowed in unison. It was time to work but they had to escort a woman outside their job. They could get into trouble. They hadn’t said goodbye to the boss.
His colleague suddenly rang his cell phone, making Terano even more nervous. He didn’t want to be fired but he had to get a reward from Azora’s father.
“Answer,” he said, holding back his breath.
It swallowed several times before it. “Chief!” Greeted by the reply.
He sighed heavily and sadly watched Azora disappear inside. He hadn’t even noticed the small gate opening and closing quietly on the side.
His colleague cursed under his breath. “Come on. He’s mad again,” he grumbled. “Why didn’t you say we’ve already seen Briones’ daughter?”
“He’ll just take all the credit,” Terano sighed. “You know how the system works in that station. If we say we found the girl, he’ll take all the credit and it’ll just end up in his pocket -”
“Damn it. If you want, the reward will disappear from our hands and that man will scold us again.”
He furrowed his brows. They seemed to be at a disadvantage for keeping silent about the missing girl who suddenly appeared at the station.
…
Outside the large gate, the pale woman stood. Thin and dressed in a white dress. Esma, the Clasiso mansion’s housekeeper, frowned. She had just received a message from her boss to let the woman in wearing a white dress in the gate. She quickly followed the order and informed the two guards using the phone to let the woman in.
And now, she just stood there outside, seemingly oblivious to the scorching sun. Esma stared hard. It seemed she really needed to bask in the sun because of her paleness.
She heard a rustle behind her so she quickly moved sideways and bent down a bit. Shortly after, she saw her boss’s black shoes. It passed in front of her so she lowered her head.
“Azora Briones,” greeted her boss’s baritone voice.
She trembled a little. Until now, she still wasn’t used to hearing her boss’s deep voice. In that coldness, she felt the wall he made, so she was afraid her system would create fear.
The Clasisos are weird when angry. She knows that.
The new woman didn’t speak, but she saw her in the corner of her eye take a step up the three steps outside the big gate.
Her boss laughed. “I have been chasing you for months, and now, you’ve actually appeared in front of me, young lady. Tell me, what changes your mind?”
But the woman’s mouth remained shut. She was afraid for her life. It wasn’t good to make the Clasisos wait. She clenched her fist. She wanted to interrupt the conversation between the two, but she was afraid of being punished by her father. So she remained silent and prayed that the woman would answer before her boss’s patience ran out.
“You don’t want to answer me?” her boss asked.
Esma held her breath and squinted, waiting for the woman to answer. She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally heard her voice.
“I want to talk something.”
“Talk.”
“I’m tired. Can I have a rest first?” the woman asked.
She furrowed her brows and couldn’t help but glance at the woman who boldly answered her boss. There was no trace of fear on her pale face, and her voice was as cold as her eyes. Esma swallowed.
She suddenly remembered the face of the woman shown on television, reported missing. The woman standing in front of her resembled her. She furrowed her brow even more deeply. Could this be the missing woman? If so, did her boss find the woman?
She looked at her boss but quickly looked away. No. She shouldn’t interfere with what he was doing, or he might blame her for his anger.
“You’re bold,” her boss commented. “It only proves that you are my son’s girlfriend.”
The woman remained silent for a few seconds. Esma looked at her. Her expression was blank. She seemed absent-minded.
Suddenly, she spoke words that clenched her boss’s fist, almost losing patience.
“Mr. Clasiso, I killed your only son.”