The Request 

I stood tall, with my eyes focused ahead, as a voice echoed from behind me.

"Please…don't turn around," the woman said, her voice trembling.

I kept my gaze straight, curious about the strange energy I felt emanating from her.

"A very peculiar way to make an entrance, my lady," I remarked, my voice cold and neutral.

"I had… no other choice," she replied, her tone apologetic.

"You don't seem to have a physical form?" I questioned, still not turning around.

"I don't have… much time… listen… please," she begged.

"I'm all ears," I responded, still keeping my eyes forward.

The woman began to speak, her voice choked with emotion. "I… know of River's… past and secretly loved him…but was never able to confess because I died before I could."

I listened intently, but my expression remained stoic.

"The people that betrayed him did not do it because they fell in love with a different person. It was a scheme to kill him from the very start. Even the ones that loved him changed tides."

She continued, "They even found out about my affection towards him and killed me in the most brutal way you can think of. They did everything with me and tossed me around like a doll for two months. I was abused and abused and abused – then finally lost… the little light in my eyes."

"Just one request, find out why…just the reason for all of this. I beg you," she pleaded.

I turned to face her, but there was no one. I was left alone with the weight of her words and a deep desire to uncover the truth.

"First time someone begged me for help… I certainly won't disappoint you," I muttered to myself.

The darkness dissolved around me, and I returned to the present, standing in front of Cedric.

"Are you alive?" he asked, concern etched on his face.

"Do you want me dead?" I retorted, my eyes meeting his.

"N-no, of course not," he stammered, his nervousness palpable.

"What's on this drive?" I inquired, holding out the flash drive.

"I'll check it when we get to your place," he replied.

"One more thing - get this house renovated. I'm going to live here from now on," I stated.

"Okay, I'll take care of it by tomorrow morning," he said, nodding his head.

"I don't understand any of River's situation", I said.

"Precisely, even I don't", he said.

"Poor guy had a life worse than the villain side characters of a light novel", I commented as we walked out of the house.

"Where to now?" Cedric asked, falling in step beside me.

"Sightex," I replied.

Sightex was once just a company River started with the motive of selling affordable eyewear products.

However, over the past three years, they had moved into the production of medical devices, and their revenue had skyrocketed to a staggering 15 billion aurums.

Even after deducting production, manufacturing, services, salaries, and maintenance costs, they still earned a jaw-dropping profit of 3 billion aurums but this is nowhere near the top MNCs.

A company with a 20% profit margin in its early stages was a potential goldmine.

This could very well be one of the reasons someone was trying to kill him and succeeded. There is someone out there who is sure that River is dead but he or she isn't aware of my existence.

As I turned to get into Cedric's car, my curiosity got the better of me. I just had to take a peek at what lay behind those giant garage doors.

With a mischievous grin, I pulled out my phone and placed it near the scanner.

As the doors rumbled open, with a massive grin etched on my face.

Four muscle cars from the 1970s and a classic superbike, all black and looking as bad-ass as can be, were parked in front of me.

It was like a scene from one of those cheesy action movies from the 80s.

I couldn't resist the urge. So, I smashed the glass cage of keys with a swift punch.

I grabbed a random key, trying to match the logo to the car and opened the door manually.

I settled into the driver's seat, put the key in the ignition, and turned it with a satisfying click.

The engine roared to life, sending a tremble through the garage.

*Chuckle*

"Well, I've only seen this in movies", I said.

Feeling confident, I put my foot on the clutch, shifted into first gear, and hit the gas pedal... hard. The car shot forward like a beast.

That is until I realized I had no idea how to control the damn thing.

The car swerved wildly to the right, careening out of control. I frantically tried to steer it back on course, but it was no use.

The car crashed into the wall, and I winced as I heard the sickening crunch of metal on brick.

"Uh…," I sheepishly looked around to make sure no one had seen my epic fail only to find Cedric standing in front of his car with his mouth wide open.

"Maybe I should stick to walking for now," I muttered as I kicked the car door, sending it flying open.

"That is... beyond repair," Cedric said, staring at the mangled vehicle.

"Oh well, it's just a scratch, don't fret," I said, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"The front of the car is no more--"

Suddenly, smoke started billowing out of the car.

"By the way, where's this smoke coming from?" I asked, turning around to see the car I was just in burst into flames with a deafening explosion.

*Boom!*

"Just a scratch?" Cedric repeated incredulously.

"Well, at least it matches the colour scheme," I finally said with a weak chuckle.

Cedric took out his phone and started tapping away at the screen.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Calling for a cleanup crew and a contractor," he replied.

"They'll be here in fifteen minutes to assess the damage and start the repairs and the renovation of the house."

"Oh, good," I said.

"We still need to get to Sightex, though. Who's driving? Me or you?"

Cedric's face went white as a sheet.

"I, uh, think it's best if I drive," he stuttered.

"Are you sure? Because I can-"

"No, no, I insist!" he interrupted, his voice cracking.

"…"