Juicy Gossip

Arthur could not stop thinking about Dion's words. Sure, it was a tempting plan. Imagine getting the woman of your dream and your revenge at the same time. It was like a dream come true. But he knew a random variable would appear and mess with his plan if he pursued his interest.

Although her uncle was not innocent, Kathrina would still get hurt in the process, and he could not bear to see her in pain.

Just a few days ago, he had envisioned his future with her after the whole revenge plan was over, but it was all only his wishful thinking. He exhaled through his mouth, letting the burden out.

Arthur grabbed the pen on his table and pressed the button on the pen.

'You should have stayed silent when Victor Reed asked you.'

The voice from the recording pen played repeatedly, and Arthur did not bother to turn it down. He wanted to remind himself that Victor was his one true goal, and Kathrina was a distraction. And he did not need a distraction when everyone around him could die if he made a wrong step.

"I guess it's really over between us." Arthur talked to the void of night. He smiled bitterly.

He had to let go of the feeling. Arthur would pretend that Kathrina was the product of his imagination because he was too lonely and someone like her did not exist in his world.

***

The next day arrived in the blink of an eye. Everyone had started their activity, and Kathrina was one of them. Her plan for today was only to scour Marcella's apartment.

Along with Clarissa, she entered Marcella's unit. The apartment had not changed since the last time she visited. Everything was the same, which meant no one except the police came to this place.

Clarissa went into the bathroom while Kathrina looked around the bedroom. She touched the wall carefully while searching, just in case there was a different texture in the wall. After getting the wall checked, Kathrina moved closer to the bed.

She searched under the bed, in the wardrobe, and the vanity. But there was nothing amiss. Marcella's room was clean. She ruffled her short hair in frustration.

"Where did you hide your diary, Marcella?" Her eyes darted to every corner as she asked her question. Then, finally, she stopped thinking and sat down on the bed.

Kathrina closed her eyelids and dropped her head with hands interlocking each other. "If I am Marcella, then where would I hide my precious diary?" Kathrina asked herself.

She took about five minutes, then, as though thunderstruck her body, Kathrina stood abruptly. She stomped on the floor multiple times, expecting to hear a different sound. When she almost gave up on her idea, she finally heard a distinct sound from the floor.

"Got you," she said with a wide grin in her mouth.

Kathrina scrunched down and felt the floor's surface, and stumbled on the little bump at the side. Without wasting any time, Kathrina tried to pry it open. Using a little bit of force, she managed to open Marcella's secret hiding place.

There she saw the small black diary with a little red rose flow plastered on the cover. Kathrina then reached to take the diary out.

Kathrina flipped the paper to read all the entries of the book. Most of the pieces were filled with Marcella lamenting about her job. Sometimes Marcella also badmouthed her staff and friends.

Among the people Marcella talked badly about, surprisingly, there was no Angela. Considering their strained relationship, Kathrina believed Marcella would spend her time cursing Angela nonstop.

"Kath, did you find something?" Clarissa's head popped up on the door.

Kathrina did not answer with words. Instead, she lifted the diary in her hand.

"As expected from a dog nose human." Clarissa clapped as if she was impressed. Then she walked toward Kathrina. "There is nothing else in this house."

"Hmmm." Kathrina hummed and continued to read the content in the diary.

"Today, I asked Angela to marry me." Clarissa read the sentence out loud. Her pupils enlarged, and her mouth was agape. "Did we just discover a juicy gossip between Angela and Marcella? Who would have thought they were in love in secret."

"With this, Angela is out of the picture. So that leaves us with the manager." Kathrina said.

"Let's continue. We only have little papers left." Clarissa nudged Kathrina's hand, forcing her to read the next page.

'We argued again today. Angela wanted to sign a contract with the same company, but I refused. She was not aware that this company was rotten to the core. I won't let her fall into the same hole.'

'John asked me to dress nicely again today. Although today is not the appointment date, that fucker manager of mine still forces me to entertain the old man.'

'I felt nauseous every time that old man's wrinkled hands touched my skin. I also felt guilty because I cheated on Angela. Even though I did it to secure my job, the guilt still eats me alive.'

'I am beyond furious today because Angela met the old man, and she almost signed the contract.'

'I can't stay silent anymore. I had to do something.'

'I threatened the old man to unveil all Dream Star's dirt if he won't stop approaching Angela.'

'Someone wanted to kill me, and I am sure it was John and that old man.'

'Today is the appointment date with the old man, and I feel extremely nervous than usual. I wish a meteor fell into my apartment and ruined my walk-in closet, so I won't have to meet him.'

Kathrina flipped to the next page, and it was empty. So, the old man in the story was most probably with Marcella when she died.

Kathrina then closed the diary and stood up. She went to Marcella's walk-in closet and searched for the secret passage. If what Marcella wrote was true, the killer used the path to escape the camera from the apartment hallway. That was why they could not find anything.

It did not take too long to find the secret passage. Kathrina immediately pushed the wall hard until it moved backward, showing another room almost identical to Marcella's unit.

Kathrina stepped inside the other room and took everything in. The design and furniture were the same as Marcella's. It was almost like Marcella's second unit.

"Call the station and forensic team."