x
"The sweetest smiles hold the power to hide the most wicked souls."
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I followed Leo quietly upto Gina's room as he knocked the door and a messy figure with slipping glasses and loose clothes opened.
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"Ew, look at yourself" he remarked and flicked her head.
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"Yaahh! What's your problem? You dumbass-"
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"Mind your tongue sweet sis" he cut her off as he slid to reveal me who was standing behind him.
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"Hi!" I chuckled nervously.
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I had never seen Gina so angry. She was the usual quiet and shy girl of our class but this Gina in front of me was whole lot different.
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"Carol? What brings you here?" she gave me a confused look.
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"If you don't mind, can I speak to you for a moment in private?" I asked.
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She looked at her brother.
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"Fine. I'll leave. Enjoy, you two!" he said and scurried downstairs.
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"Come in" she said and closed the door behind me.
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"I-It's a l-little bit m-messed up here. Hope you can adjust" she said picking all of her stuff and putting it aside.
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"No worries. I just quickly want to know if you met Raya last night?"
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She stared at me with her huge cat eyes.
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"Raya?"
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I nodded.
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"We met at the cafe. You forgot?"
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"No, I mean after that. She told me she stayed at your place."
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She stayed silent for a moment.
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"What? Who told you that? She didn't come here. Why would she?"
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Just as I feared.
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"Are you sure, Gina? Didn't she found you in a miserable condition last night, dropped you home and even stayed for night to take cafe of you?"
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She burst laughing.
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"You are really bad at pulling pranks, Carol!"
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"I am serious, Gina"
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She stopped laughing and sighed.
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"I didn't see her after you both left the cafe nor I had any kind of interaction with her after that till now. You see, me and Raya, we are not really friends. Why would I call her for help and why would she stay here?"
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She had a point.
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"And if you don't believe me, you can ask Leo or mom. Raya didn't come here"
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"I don't know how to put this but you have to hear this" I sighed and showed her the recording of my call with Raya.
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"Are you sure that's Raya only?"
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I nodded.
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"It's strange. And now you are telling me that Raya is m-missing?"
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"Yes, Gina. That's what brought me here."
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"A-And this r-recording puts t-the b-b-blame on m-me!" she started stuttering a lot.
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I tried to calm her but she pushed me away. She was panicking around.
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"N-No, no! I have- I have t-to do s-something!"
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She looked at me and within no time jumped on me trying to snatch my phone.
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"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, GINA!?!?"
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I shouted as I struggled.
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"You- you cannot show this e-evidence to the p-p-police!"
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"GET OFF ME!!"
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We were fighting when I finally pushed her aside and ran out of the room through the stairs, down the hall.
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"Hey, you are leaving already-?" Leo approached me but I walked straight to the door.
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I opened it in one swift pull but stepped back when I saw policemen standing out there.
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W-what?
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"Miss Terrin, you are under arrest"
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I was shocked as I heard the familiar voice.
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Aidan!?
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"What for?" Leo asked pushing me behind and standing in front of me as if protecting me.
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"For causing harm to the d/o Mrs. Taylor, Raya Taylor. Creating false stories, presenting false evidences to the investigators and trying to fly away even after being informed of home arrest" he said at once and handed over the arrest warrant to Leo.
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I couldn't muster up the courage to speak anything.
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The lady officer came closer to and handcuffed me.
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As I passed by Aidan, I looked at him with fury.
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"I trusted you"
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He smirked.
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Leo held my hand not letting me go as I looked at him. My eyes were now getting teary.
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"You cannot take her away. You don't have any evidence. It's just a matter of minute, one call and you will lose your authority" he said and gritted his teeth.
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Aidan smiled and placed his hands on his shoulders.
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"Kid, I am not scared of your mother. Miss Terrin isn't her family. And hence, this case doesn't concern Madam Mayor."
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"And as long as the evidence is concerned, I guess we have that!"
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He took out his phone and played a video.
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Winter Valley Grocery Shop~
12th October 2021
9:05:34 pm
Recording~
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It was the security camera footage of the street of the night we went to the grocery shop.
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But something was wrong..
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Where is me and Raya? There was no sign of us entering or leaving the shop.
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How's that possible?
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I snatched the ohone and looked into it closely. Same street, same shop, same day, same time.
Then how come we are not here!?
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"THIS EVIDENCE IS FALSE! IT HAS BEEN ALTERED!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.
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"Hold your voice, Miss Terrin. You wouldn't want one more crime to be added in your arres5 warrant, would you?" Aidan said as I fumed.
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"It still doesn't prove that Carol has anything to do with Raya's disappearance" Leo marked, still avenging me.
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"Well, well, patience kid!"
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He again showed another video. This time of Rimson's Cafe. And as expected, there it was me and Raya leaving the cafe together.
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"You see, Miss Terrin was the last person with Raya last night. She even told Mrs Taylor that Raya stayed at her place. She created a false story of visiting the grocery store and even recorded a false phone call"
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Even Leo couldn't say anything now.
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He tried to protest but was pushed away.
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"Take her"
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I looked at him one last time with hope in my eyes. Hope that he would come for me.
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The world felt falling apart as they made me sit in the jeep. They were all staring at me as if I were a filthy criminal.
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What in the world did I do so wrong to be treated like this?
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As I entered the same familiar dull, depressing walls of the police station, the first person who caught my eye was Raya's mother.
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Staring at me with disgust she shouted, "I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU ALL THAT THIS GIRL IS LYING! NO ONE WOULD LISTEN TO ME!"
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She came towards me and grabbed my collars.
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"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER!? Please tell me! Where is m-my d-daughter?" she broke down into tears, crying heavily.
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"Put her in the lock up!" Aidan said as he threw the file of the case on his table and relaxed in his chair.
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Never have I ever seen a man so double-faced like him.
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They were about to throw me in the lock up but stopped at the sound of someone's voice.
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"Let her go! Your evidence is fake and she is innocent!"
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I turned and smile itself crept on my lips.
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Aidan and Gina..
They were here for me...
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"Young man, I told you not to interfere" Aidan said and stood up.
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"And you expect me to follow it?" Leo said as he smirked.
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He took out his Tablet and placed it on the table in front of everyone.
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I looked closer and realized it was another security camera footage.
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~Nights Out Cafe
12th October 2021
9:05:34
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This is the cafe besides the grocery store. And.. and.. and...
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It had the footage of me and Raya standing in front of the store and me entering in while Raya staying outside.
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Aidan's face turned pale. He stuttered as he wiped the sweat off his face.
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"H-how did y-you get t-this?"
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"The same way you got yours" Leo smirked.
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He looked at me and winked.
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"And now, Officer, would you please leave my friend?"
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He said and signed towards the handcuffs.
Aidan nodded and the lady officer freed my hands.
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I caressed my wrists, flipped my hair and turned to Aidan.
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"Officer, I believe your men couldn't excel in their work. Shouldn't you pay more attention on them? Rather than altering evidences to destroy someone's life? Think about it!" I smiled to him.
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"Are you okay, Carol?" Gina asked me.
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"Yes. Thank you guys, I don't know what would have happened to me if you were not here" I smiled sadly as I shaked Gina's hand.
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"It's fine. Infact, I am sorry. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did before. I was panicking and forgot what all you must be going through."
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I smiled.
I looked at Leo who was staring at me all, this time.
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"But, how did you manage to get the recording in such a short span of time?" I asked him.
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"First, let's get outta here" he said.
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We nodded and rushed out.
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We settled in his car as he began,
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"As soon as I saw the recording shown by that man, I could easily tell it was disrupted. But I knew he won't budge. I looked closely at the name of the shop and realised that it was situated next to Night Out Cafe, which belongs to my friend's father. I called them and they immediately sent me the recording of last night and there it was. You and your friend."
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"I didn't have the idea that it would be so easy" Gina said.
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"But they won't let you go so easily. Their next plan would be finer and so needs to be ours. Let's team up!" Leo said as I stared at him.
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"B-but w-why would you want to get involved in a police case and h-help me?" I asked.
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He tucked a flick of my hair behind my right ear and cupped my face.
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"Maybe because I find you pretty.."
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I was out of words. I could feel my face heating up.
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Suddenly, Gina punched his shoulder.
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"Yaah! Stop flirting, will ya?" she whined.
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Leo chuckled and I blushed.
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We tucked our seatbelts as I peered out of the window.
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I found Aidan staring at us.
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"This man is upto no good" Gina said as I looked at her.
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"Something's surely weird about him" I said and pulled up the window.
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The only way to prove my innocence is by finding Raya. Where are you, girl?
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End of Chapter 6~
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This one was a bit long. Hope you are enjoying. Suggest me ideas by commenting.
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Who do you think shall be matched with Carol?
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Leo or Aidan?
Keep me posted regarding your views🥰
ns3.128.160.111da2
