C42: Evangeline

I glanced at the restaurant's clock and it exactly struck at 3 pm the moment I looked. Ivan, Giovanni's best friend that I'm supposed to meet, isn't giving any slight hints of existence, and I checked my phone to check for messages, but since there's nothing, I visited the photos instead.

The corners of my lips rose as I browse the gallery, where no pictures of Justin can be found. I seem to have deleted it all. But the moment I realized that the cloud storage is synchronized, I realized that they're all backed up. I marked each photo of us that should be deleted, but as I mark them, an unfamiliar voice spoke.

"Hi, you must be Evangeline," I looked up to see the person, and it was Ivan, the person I'm supposed to meet. He gave a half-smile but obviously forced.

"Yes, and you must be Ivan. Have a seat." He sat across me and called for the waiter to order something. "I'm sorry if I've been late, I'll treat you in return. I'm not always late, but I wasn't expecting that there's a car accident nearby." He raised the glass of water into his lips and drank half of it.

"Ah yes, I saw that earlier. Anyways," His smile faded as he puts down the glass of water on the table. "As I can see, you're not the kind who's into small talks." He commented, which is wrong.

Usually, I enjoy small talks, but I simply can't afford to do that now, knowing how important our topic is.

"Small talk is okay, but my mind hasn't been in peace for months now, ever since I found that Giovanni died just like that. I can't wait for my questions to be answered. What do you know?"

"A direct answer, for a direct question. That night before he died, I was in his house. We were supposed to drink because he wants to discuss his frustrations from his father. I had to leave early because my wife was already looking for me. My wife called when I entered the car so I had to talk to her. It was then I saw someone who broke into his house. I was scared and not very sane at that moment since I already drank a bit and you can say that I have a low alcohol tolerance, so I knew I had to pause before leaving because I don't want to drive recklessly. I did, however, see the plate number of the trespasser. I took a photo of it." He pulled out his phone and browsed the images, showing me the photo. "I don't know exactly who the killer is, but I was quite scared when I saw it, so instead of helping, I left. I didn't know that it was the last time I'll see him. It was so foolish of me."

I looked at the plate number intently, for it looked quite familiar. I can be wrong, but I have a feeling that I saw this plate number somewhere before.

"Please send me that photo. I understand the fear, but you said you didn't know who the killer is. I won't blame you for that. But I'd like to ask … what's his issue with his father?"

He stopped for a while, breaking eye contact. He looked at nowhere as if to articulate his thoughts as he reminisces. Meanwhile, as he reminisced, the waiter came and gave us our orders. Blueberry cheesecake for me and a frappe, while he ordered a strawberry cake and a cup of espresso. That doesn't look like a good match, though.

"Believe it or not," he began, still avoiding my eyes. "Giovanni's a drug user. I only found out about that when he confessed it that night. His father found out, and in case you don't know, the mayor despises the ones who use it. I don't know the other details like where he's buying or

why he's using, but that's everything that I know. His father didn't even bother to focus on the investigation, and if my thoughts are right, I think he had it stopped. I didn't hear anything again from him since."

Giovanni is a drug user? For what reason? If his father despises drug users, then that's probably the reason why he had a conflict with Giovanni. But if it's true that he stopped the investigation, then that means … he never cared? Or moreover, is it possible that he's also involved in killing his own son?

This can't be.

"Why would my uncle be angry at Giovanni aside from the fact that he's a drug user? Can you still think of any other reason?"

"The other thing that I can think of is his father's unacceptance to him. He told me that often before. His father wasn't happy seeing him because Lorena, his mother, had an affair with someone else, and the fruit of that is Giovanni. He may have raised in riches under your family's influence, but he doesn't really belong there. Not completely at least. Weren't you curious why he got himself a house at an early age? That's because your uncle hated him. The situation was that bad."

"He … he never told me that. Whenever we have family gatherings, everything looked fine, I had no idea of my aunt's affairs. If uncle despises Giovanni ever since, do you think it can be possible that he plotted his assassination?"

Ivan's eyes widened, surprised how I came up with that conclusion. "You can be right. That possibility never crossed my mind, but it's possible."

I let out a breath and leaned my back on my seat. "I thought so because he plotted to have me killed, too. When I was a kid, as well as now that I'm here."

"Wait. How did you know that he's involved with the person who's trying to kill you?"

"I talked to the killer himself," I bit my tongue to hold myself back from saying anything that can put Victor in danger. I shouldn't trust this man easily. "Let's not focus on that. I have things under control, anyways. I'd like to ask for the screenshot of the details of that photo. The date, time, and location. It can be seen there, right? It's also good that there's a date stamp in that photo alone. These things can be a lead if I'm going to have this re-investigated. Also, the plate number is clear. I can also have this tracked, right?"

"You can't just go to the Land Transportation Office and ask who the car owner is if you don't have a filed case, because that would be an invasion of privacy. If you're serious, then file a case first. Then show these pieces of evidence. It'll be easier to track who the possible killer is this way. Giovanni's body wasn't found. Therefore, the killer took it as well to get rid of tracing his fingerprints or whatsoever. My guess is, Giovanni's body was disposed by the killer himself. His assassination was well-planned."

"I should've worked on this sooner," I sighed. "But there's no point being regretful. I better work on it."

Ivan flashed an amused smile. "You seem to have a mind of an investigator."

"Just because of desperation. I never worked on anything like this before. I hope I can give you something in return. Thank you for all these. It made me worry less." I said as I take a sip of my frappe.

"I'll only ask for one thing in return," his amused smile turned to a frown, his eyebrows creasing together. His aura became serious, serious enough to give me the shivers. "I may be helping you, but I don't want to get involved here in any way. Can I trust you on that?"

I gulped. His words are strong warnings as if if I'm going to dare mess with him, he'll kill me next. I maintained my cool and forced a smile.

"You can depend me on that."

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Two hours later, the car stopped in front of my house, and I paid the driver as he left. I pulled out the key from my pocket to unlock the gate, and as I open the gate, Victor's parked car appeared into sight – with a familiar plate number.

"This can't be …" I put down my bag and looked for my phone, browsed my conversation with Ivan, and observed the photos that he took that night of Giovanni's death. My blood rushed into my veins, and my heart started beating like a drum.

The plate number in the photo is the same as the one in Victor's car.

He can't be the one who did it, right?

I heaved a breath and closed my eyes, trying to gather myself together. When I managed to calm down a bit, I walked further and entered the house, revealing Victor who's taking care of the furry cat. He looked back when he heard the sound of the door, and his eyes suddenly filled with worry as he sees me.

"Eve, you don't look so good. You –" I stepped back as he approached me, giving him the hint that I don't want to get touched, nor be near him at all.

"Let me ask you this question," I paused for a while, torn if I should ask him or not. However, there's no way I can sleep without knowing the truth. "Is there something that I should know? Something you're not telling me?"

He narrowed his eyes, his lips remaining sealed as if holding himself from talking makes the situation any better. Is this … guilt?

"Answer me!" I shouted, and tears fell from my eyes, my voice started shaking. "Tell me that you're not the one who killed Giovanni. I want the truth to come out from your lips, and not my conclusions alone."

"How did you end up with that thought?" he asked as if using it to avoid the question.

"Do you think I won't investigate? I'm not as naïve as I look like. The only evidence that I have is the plate number of the car that the murder used. The thing is, the plate number of that car and your car is the same. Now tell me. Were you the one who did it?" he may not be answering it directly, but I know that deep inside his heart, he's guilty of doing it. I want to be wrong and simply believe that his car was used by someone else, but knowing that he's a murder made it even more possible.

"You … you're right about that," he hanged his head in surrender. "I can explain."

"WHAT ELSE SHOULD YOU EXPLAIN ABOUT? YOU JUST TOOK MY COUSIN'S LIFE! HOW CAN YOU EVEN SLEEP AT NIGHT?! HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME, VICTOR? HOW CAN YOU KEEP THOSE FROM ME WHILE I'M DYING TO KNOW WHO DID IT ALL THIS TIME? HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT HOW OFTEN I THINK ABOUT GIOVANNI? ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT IT'S YOU ALL ALONG. YOU BETRAYED ME!" my legs weakened as I burst out in anger that consumed my energy, making my legs fall down to the floor. He knelt in front of me as if to assist me, but when his hand became closer, I slapped it away. "Don't touch me."

"I know that what I did was wrong, but I need you to listen first, I'll beg if I have to. You want to have your questions answered, and I will." I slowly raised my head, and my heart sank as our eyes met. What he said made sense, but the truth is, no matter what his explanation is, it won't change the fact that he had my cousin's blood shed in his hands. I couldn't say that I'm letting him explain, because part of me no longer wants to hear the reason. However, it'll make me restless if I won't know the truth.

"I only want to hear the truth, nothing else. For once, I want you to be honest with me." For the last time. I wish I could add that, but I bit my tongue, for I don't want to say anything that I might regret. Whether I'll admit it or not, he has a place in my heart, but I'm unsure what I'm feeling. What

I only know is, my blood is boiling at the moment, and the sight of him shatters my heart.

His eyebrows creased, and his lips shook as he articulated his thoughts. "You do know that I was raised by criminals, and I'm no different from them. Violence was the only language that I can understand. That's what behind the mask that I'm wearing behind your restaurant's most-appreciated chef. I was trained to kill people, and I did. Whenever someone assigns me to assassinate someone, I would. Then there was Giovanni. At first, I thought that he was like the other people that I murdered, but when I found out that he's related to sir Elliot, I got back to my senses.

Sir Elliot, your father, is the person that I looked up to the most. He's the only person

who treated me as a human. He treated me as if I'm his son, and he was the perfect father material that I've been wanting for many years. When I found out the truth, I realized how wrong my actions were. For the first time I felt guilty, and told myself that I'm not going to get involved with anything related to violence," he squeezed his eyes shut and gathered some air to breathe in and continued.

"Then there was you. That moment when I first met you, I already know that you'll be someone important to me. Perhaps it's because you are sir Elliot's daughter. I felt responsible when I found out that you're close to Giovanni, and when your father told me that your life was in danger before, I had the thought that I should look after you and protect you from the people who might, and that's why I'm doing this. I also had the thought that I shouldn't let myself be attached to you to prove myself wrong, but before I decided to, you're the one who exerted efforts to know me better, until I felt more attached."

"The dates, you mean …?" I asked, the heaviness that I've been carrying in my heart started fading, but didn't disappear. I saw the big picture, and I sense sincerity from his eyes and words. He is indeed right – I was the one who exerted effort for us to be friends.

Being attached like this isn't his fault, but mine. Which makes me think, why am I even hurt? I'm the one to blame since I opened my heart for him, and he did the same. It was at first a game for me, and I never imagined that we'll reach this far.

"Yes, that. You've probably sensed that I've been backing off before, haven't you? But you insisted. I'm not blaming you or anything. But what made things harder for me was, I want to stay beside you to protect you in whatever way I can, and losing you is what I fear the most. But the thing is, I knew that my secret is something that I can never tell you because doing that would make me lose you," he faked a smile, and his eyes started watering. "But I know that I don't deserve forgiveness, because 'sorry' wouldn't change anything. Even if I'll say sorry that I killed him, it can never do anything to bring back his life. If there's something that I want to apologize for, it's about me keeping the truth from you and hurting you like this. It wasn't my intention, and I know that I'm not worth forgiving. It's ironic how I wished to protect someone, but I'm the one who caused them pain."

Understanding what I feel and what I want to happen is the last thing that I want to deal with. I believe I get the picture that he stopped killing when he learned his lesson that he'll lose the people he values if he'll continue doing it, and Giovanni's death became his eye-opener. He's the reason why he realized his mistakes. But in return, he'll be losing me, and even my father once he finds out.

I may see the sincerity in him and I completely understand now, but I'm torn with the idea of pushing him away or letting him stay. I know how it's like to lose someone important, and looking at that perspective, I certainly won't be willing to lose another person again.

But how about in this situation? I can't even understand what I feel. It's not like I can forgive him easily, knowing how much pain he'd caused. Whether I forgive him or not, it won't make Giovanni back, so what should I do? What is the right thing to do?

All I know at the moment is, forgiving him is the last thing I have in mind.

I furrowed my eyebrows and gritted my teeth as another question crossed my mind. He isn't the only one to blame here. He was used. Who would want Giovanni gone? Who's the person who had everything plotted?

"Tell me, who ordered you to do this?" his eyes widened for a second, clearly capturing his attention.

"Your uncle," his voice was deep and low, close enough for me not to hear it. "Your uncle's assistant was the one who negotiated with me, and even if he didn't tell me the reason, I conducted my own research and found out that the closest possibility is because Giovanni's mother had another man, and Giovanni isn't his son, after all, causing him to have the desire to make them pay."