28 A Silent Killer

[ STEPHANIE ]

It left me hanging: everything this girl said. The call sounded scary, like, she mentioned cops coming after her and all that. Sirens of cars wailing before her as though she made a crime. I feel like this Hayley is something suspicious, in a sense that my brother hasn't told me nothing about her. I never knew her. Every friend that Brandon meets, he always let me know. But this one, I cannot think of what possibly they were up to.

To be honest, I don't know what to think about it. It feels odd.

Who is Hayley? Why did he call Brandon asking for help?

"Steph, I'm home!"

A voice shuddered me as I was awaken in my deep thought. It's Brandon, I know. His voice echoed and I know it's a warning for me to come out. I am invading his privacy.

I ran around his room and searched for a place to hide. I thought of going out but yanking the door can create a very loud noise. He cannot see me here.

Can I fit inside his cabinet? Under his bed? Shit! where can I-

"Steph?" Brandon yanked the door open. He uttered as he saw me standing beside his bed, holding his phone on my right hand. "What are you doing here?" he entered his room wholly with his facial expression looking mislead, as though I did a something horrendous.

"Uhh.. sorry it was ringing so I thought-"

"YOU THOUGHT WHAT? HUH?"

My face went shocked as he paced those words in an instant, interrupting my explanation. He looked angry, with his brows meeting halfway through "How many times did I tell you, Steph, my things are off limits!" He continued.

To be honest, I felt guilty about it. Ever since then, Brandon and I really had privacy policies when it comes to our personal things and he never had broken that rule. Except the parcel that he opened without me knowing.

The parcel - right, he did me dirty last time and I was never angry as this. He's clearly overreacting. I don't know but he seemed defensive of something.

I looked down on the ground, with a sudden guilt pinching my core. But somehow, I can sense like he's hiding something to me. "I'm sorry, okay? What the heck Brandon I just answered a call don't overreact!" I spoke back at him.

"Then, give me that phone back!"

I extended my arms towards him and immediately gave him the phone right after. I went out of his room, looking angry and confused about the sudden rage of his emotions. It got me thinking about who that Hayley is, and how is she connected to Brandon. Is she his girlfriend? But why is she being chased by cops?

I feel like somehow, there's a story I need to unravel.

***

[ BRANDON ]

No way. My sister probably has spoken to Hayley on phone. God, I'm feeling bothered as of this moment. This cannot be. She cannot be dealing with anything that I'm up to. This does not seem like a thing that I want Steph to be around of. This is lethal for her and things are just starting to get worse.

Way back when I flew to Los Angeles for my Defense of the Ancients Mobile tournament last month, I wasn't sleeping good at the hotel. I always walk outside to have some fresh air, trying to cure the fact that I'm missing home. It became my routine since I have to stay there for three week and my body doesn't want the feel of some fancy-ass bed. It's not my thing.

One time I was smoking outside the hotel at midnight when a woman, maybe on her fifties, wailed. It sent me goose bumps at first because I thought it was some ghost or something supernatural. It creeped the hell out of me.

But, in my curiosity, I tried to find the voice and it brought me to the trash bins of the hotel. A woman was crying beside it. She has a shoal covering her face but her scars are still visible. I didn't know what she was up to, so I ignored her that time.

The next morning I woke up, made my coffee, and preferred to walk. As I tread steps outside the hotel, I saw the woman again, still beside the trash bins. Pity came into me like I was his son. You know, I saw my mom on her. It was swift, feeling guilty that I just left her there yesterday, on a cold night.

That moment, I reached to her and gave her some food to eat to make it up to her. She ate them, and started crying even louder. I was there, giving her emotional support until this woman, Hayley, became one of my routines. I always give her food and emotional support to discuss how she feels. I forgot feeling homesick at some point so, it kind of benefited us both.

As we feel comfortable of each other, she started sharing her story. A very shocking one.

She said she was raped by a man named Stefano and that her only son, John Bryan, was taken away from her. The names she told me clicked right in as though I already heard them somewhere. That moment, I remembered, Stefano is that Ob/gyn whom my sister is working with and John Bryan is his son.

I went back to my hotel room and opened my laptop, searched South Coast Medical Hospital and downloaded Stefano's picture. I showed it to Hayley, and it turned out it's him. Stefano is Hayley's rapist.

After all the horrendous things that has happened to her, I knew Stefano has to pay the price. I know where he lives and I know what he's up to.

I helped Hayley got back to her feet again.

There were things that's bothering me when I heard her story: First, it could be a hoax. Two, she could be insane. I don't know what to believe but the next nights haunted me. It never made me feel easy in a sense I will wake up past three AM and the first thing I will think of is that imagery in my mind where a girl is being raped by a person I know.

My conscience never let me slept in peace.

So then, I bought her plane tickets and helped her process her passport. As a senior citizen, it became easier for her to get things done since she has privileges that helped her be a priority.

And now, I'm helping her planning the revenge.

I know this is an absurd thing to do when someone needs help but I feel like Stefano is a monster, and he should be on a place where he belongs.

//𝑭��𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌//

I grabbed the sword from Han Dynasty where I instructed Hayley to buy it at PawnDawn, and immediately went out of my room. My bag is full of clothes because what I'm about to do for sure will haunt me, so I need to dispose my crime scene clothes and change. Stefano deserves this.

He's a monster... knowing how much he ruined Hayley and all those women including his own son's girlfriend, I felt sick to my stomach. I cannot let him roam around this city, knowing my sister could be his target anytime. They work on the same hospital and I need to get rid of him.

I followed Stefano's car and immediately wore my Anonymous mask inside Jacob's car as we stopped by his house. I was not feeling any guilt about this. I feel like somehow, this is the best thing to do.

"Are you sure you're going to do this, bro?"

Jacob started feeling nervous as he slid his cap lower into his face.

"Very." I answered.

I was about to get out of the car when I saw a movement -- a boy with a cap started knocking on Stefano's residence. I never saw this man before but he appears to be a friend of him.

As Stefano himself went out to talk to him after minutes, they both entered the house wholly. Now I need to wait for him to go out.

It took him not less than 5 minutes to get out of the building. I don't know what happened inside but it seems very private, like a business only two of them knows.

As the boy went out, I started entering right after him. Stefano did not lock his door so I never had doubts with me having this sword at my back, with this anonymous mask on my face.

Now, I'm watching him as I stepped inside his house. Stefano is in the living room.

He grabbed his credit card to align the powdery substance so he could snort it all. It's a drug, I know. This is what the boy's matter of doing.

As he was just about to do so, I startled him with my greetings. "Good day, Pig."

He looked behind him and saw me: a figure of a tall man with an Anonymous mask on. It's obvious that he felt more of the tension going on.

"Who the fuck are you?" He shouted as he stood up from the couch.

I walked towards him little by little, taking the sharp sword from my back. I pointed it towards his chest and tried to make him feel pressure and fear. As a response, he raised his hands as a sign of surrendering. Fear covered his whole body and I felt it. He cannot even move or say a word as I lifted the sword, touching his neck.

"No, no, please don't kill me!" He begged.

I didn't feel any remorse. I just responded with one word: "Bye."

And the next thing that happened, the sword was pierced deep on his skin. Blood is everywhere; He hit the ground, barely breathing.. Almost like, choking but I knew he's feeling everything he did to his victims. A reciprocation of his weight pressing the world in his arms.

As he laid on the ground, before he closed his eyes, he saw me taking his drugs out of the crime scene. Boss Jason would love these back.