Veronica Parker quickly got out of the TV station.
She thought she should check if Isabella was safe for her to finally feel at ease.
Veronica Parker quickened her pace and she stopped a taxi to go straight back to their apartment.
When she entered the community, she went straight under the building of the unit where their apartment was located. With a loud cry of fear, Veronica Parker heard something fell.
What was that sound? What just fell?
Veronica Parker put her hands on her chest and looked at the horror two meters away. A person was lying on the ground. She was unable to see the person’s face but she can see the blood coming out of the person’s head. Bright red blood oozes from the body and it flows along the edge of the flower bed to the middle of the road. The smell of blood invaded the air.
Veronica Parker looked at the body and her eyes remained fixed on the flowing blood. Her face was pale, her lips were trembling, and she felt cold from head to toe.
More people approached the scene and they felt alarmed as to how someone would fall from the building
“What’s the matter?”
“We didn’t know, we just came out to see who screamed.”
“Which floor did the person fall from?”
“I didn’t know. I didn’t see it.”
“This person might be a criminal who was being chased by someone, don’t you think?”
When authorities in the neighborhood came they immediately dispersed the onlookers to protect the scene and asked people to call the police.
While embracing herself, Veronica Parker approached the scene slowly.
An authority stopped her, “You can’t go over there. We should wait for the police. Oh, wait! Are you Veronica Parker?”The authority froze at the sight of Veronica Parker’s face.
“I’ll just take a look,” Veronica Parker passed by the man and she brushed away the hair of the person lying on the ground with her trembling hands. When she saw the face of the person who fell to the ground, tears came crashing down her face, “Isabella… Isabella.”
The authority who just tried to stop Veronica Parker also saw Isabella’s face.
Veronica Parker clutched helplessly at the man’s leg with her right hand, “Please call an ambulance. Have anyone called them yet?”
“Yes, the ambulance will be here soon!” the man look at her grief-stricken face, he felt sorry for the woman. It must have been very hard to bear seeing a friend in that horrible situation.
He turned around to make a phone call and he told the person on the other line, “Mister Tours, something happened and Miss Parker is here.”
It was Kay Tours, one of Nick Cage’s staff. The authority called him because that property was owned by Nick Cage.
Veronica Parker wanted to touch Isabella but she stopped herself as she might further injure her. Tears kept streaming down Veronica Parker’s face, “Isabella it’s all right, the ambulance is coming. You will be all right.”
She looked up at the eight-story window above.
More tears fell from the corners of her eyes.
Why would Isabella fell from the eighth floor? Was it an accident?
But Isabella called her half an hour ago. How could she fall from the building all of a sudden?
Veronica Parker looked at the bloody Isabella and her hands had shaken in fear.
“Isabella, you mustn’t die, please hold on!” Veronica Parker cried.
“You are the only family I have left. Please don’t give up just yet, Isabella, please!
The police came towards Veronica Parker and he asked, “Who are you?”
The authority immediately said, “She was a family of the person who fell. Miss Parker, the ambulance is coming. We should let them take care of her.”
Veronica Parker turned to the man and plead, “Come on quickly, please help her!”
Paramedics went to check the body of Isabella for vital signs and said, “She’s dead. I am sorry. She fell from the eight-floor. It was almost impossible that she would survive.”
Veronica Parker lost her control and grabbed the paramedics by the neck, “Are you kidding me? Why would you say she’s dead? Why didn’t you try to save her first?”
“The woman was dead for a few minutes already and there was no saving her. I’m sorry, please calm down,” the paramedics said.
Calm down? Veronica Parker felt that the world around her was spinning and she could hardly believe what was happening in front of her.
How could Isabella die? What the hell? Veronica Parker could not believe it.
Isabella called her not a long time ago. How come in the blink of any eye something horrible had happened?
Veronica Parker came back closer to the scene for the second time to see if the paramedic was lying to her. She wanted to see if Isabella could still be saved.
However, the police stopped her, “Don’t come close to her. We need to investigate and collect evidence.”
Several policemen have gone to the apartment on the eighth floor to investigate whether it was an accidental fall or murder.
“Who are you?” The policeman asked.
Veronica Parker looked at the policeman who was asking her a question but she didn’t speak. Her lips trembled and hot tears fell silently from the corner of her eyes.
The policeman sighed, “I know you are sad, but we need to investigate this matter. To know the truth about her death is the greatest respect we can give to her.”
“My aunt took care of me all my life. She called me but I missed the chance to answer her call. I tried calling her back but she didn’t answer her phone. I was worried about her so I thought I’d come and have a look. I just came near the building when —,” Veronica Parker pointed down the floor. “When I saw her fell.”
“Why were you worried?”
“I don’t know,” Veronica Parker shook her head, all she knew was she just felt uneasy at that time.
“Besides calling you today, is there anything unusual that you noticed about her?” The policeman asked.
Veronica Parker was silent, she was busy recording on the show recently. She was also focused on the six little ones that she simply failed to notice whatever was wrong with Isabella.
‘It was my fault,’ Veronica Parker thought to herself.
The policeman who had investigated upstairs came down and said, “We will rule out a murder for the time being. She might have fallen accidentally while cleaning. There are rags and a mobile phone on the balcony. We will take them to the bureau for inspection.”
Was it an accidental fall?
Veronica Parker had tears in her eyes as she thought to herself, ‘Why would this happen to Isabella?’
“We will take her body to conduct an autopsy,” the police said.
Veronica Parker watched as the medical examiner put Isabella in a body bag and the police said to her, “If there’s anything suspicious, we will let you know.”
The policemen left.
Veronica Parker stood there alone. Her body felt heavy, she took a few steps back and she slipped on one of the rags. Just when she thought she was going to fall flat on the ground, someone’s strong arms had caught her.
She looked up to see where the firm and steady embrace came from and when her tearful eyes crashed into the familiar deep dark eyes, her tears started to roll down.
Nick Cage picked her up and they went inside his car.
The car left the neighborhood and they drove into the main road.
After getting on the car, Veronica Parker was held by Nick Cage. She was looking down and she remained stiff, her tears falling on her face.
“I’ll take care of it,” Nick Cage wiped her face with his fingers.
“The policeman said that it was an accident. When I called Isabella, she might have been cleaning the windows and then accidentally she—,” before Veronica Parker finished her sentences, Nick Cage lifted her chin to make her looked at him. He saw how broken she was.
“It’s not your fault, someone won’t fall just because they heard an incoming call. Don’t blame yourself for this,” Nick Cage looked at her with his deep eyes.
Veronica Parker said nothing and just burst into tears.
Nick Cage lifted her head and he hugged her tightly.
Veronica Parker lay weakly on his sturdy chest. She closed her eyes and stopped her tears from dripping on Nick Cage’s black shirt.
The car drove steadily on the road, Veronica Parker leaned against Nick Cage’s arms and they stayed in that position for a long time. She kept her silence, grieving Isabella’s death made her feel very weak. She didn’t know where Nick Cage would take her but she couldn’t care less.
Veronica Parker didn’t know what time she fell asleep and when she woke up, she was already lying in a bed.
She was in an unfamiliar room. The room looked luxurious, something that ordinary people could hardly afford to stay at.
There is no one else in the room.
She remembered that she was in Nick Cage’s arms before she fell asleep.
Was this one of the many rooms in Winter Villa?
She lifted the sheets that were covering her body and she got out of bed. She noticed that there was a glass door that leads to a large open-air balcony.
Veronica Parker walked towards the edge of the guardrail and she let the salty wind blew on her face. She was mesmerized by the vastness of the sea in front of her.
She was stunned. Why was she near the sea? Her state of mind seemed more relaxed now as she looked at the breathtaking view of the vast sea. The pain that she felt at the bottom of her heart was slightly eased.