Louisa's p.o.v;
After a week,
At hospital, in front of Bernie's room,
"Did you get that driver now?" I asked Raphael about the person who ran away after the accident.
Raphael answered, "Like i already said, the driver's face wasn't registered in the surveillance camera in that street. Moreover there wasn't any camera where the accident occurred. The car number is also fake. I couldn't get any information about this case."
I got mad after hearing him say, "The driver couldn't be traced. The car plate number is fake. Are you saying that he fell down from the sky…" i stopped shouting at him and realised that it could be Pandora gang. They already sent someone to spy on me. And they hurt Antonio when he tried to keep an eye on Bernie. This could definitely be them. I continued to Raphael, "Find him soon, Raphael."
And walked into Bernie's room. Everly was feeding him the food using a spoon while Bernie was whining to her.
After seeing me, Bernie complained to me, "Louisa, i said my hands are totally fine and i can eat by myself but everly wasn't letting me. Tell her that I can do it by myself."
I asked Everly, "Feed him mouthful so that he won't whine a lot." And smiled at him.
Bernie, "When did you two become close? I'm so jealous."
Everly said in a teasing way to him, "While you were sleeping." And laughed at it.
While looking at them teasing each other, brought a smile to my face.
After the breakfast was over, Everly said, "I'll go and discard these leftovers." She took the Bags out of the room.
Bernie asked, "Did you ask the doctor? What did he say about discharging?"
"He said coming Monday will be okay."
"Today's Tuesday. There's still six days to go. I'm so bored at the hospital. Couldn't do anything I like. I have been lying down all day. The only thing good here is the view I'm getting from the window. Since it's the eleventh floor, it's beautiful to see the city from up here."
"I heard that your parents visited. What did they say? Were they mad after seeing you because they sounded angry when I passed the news to them."
"I thought they would be but I was surprised after their expression. They looked worried and talked about a lot of things to do after I got well. It went well to my surprise." And smiled at me.
While I was looking at the view which Bernie talked about, Bernie said, "I-I'm sorry for moving out suddenly. I don't know how to speak about this with you. I don't know where to start and…"
Everly entered the room and said, "Save it. She already knew. I told her."
I nodded at him while giving him a smile and said, "I'm the idiot to think that you got tired of me so that you're moving but you wanted me to make other friends. Actually, I had more friends than you. I wonder why you thought I didn't have anyone since I didn't tell you about them. You were busy with your girlfriend and i was busy with my two part time jobs at that time so i didn't get time to tell you about them. What surprised me was, you thought if you moved out, I'll make new friends. Where the hell did you get that shitty idea from?"
Everly laughed and said, "You told the exact words I told him which made me laugh." And she continued her laugh.
Bernie, "You two can stop teasing me now. Since I'm going to be here for another week, don't think you can tease me however you want."
Everly, "One week?"
I said, "Yeah, I asked about the discharge thingy and he said he needs to take rest for another week to get discharged from the hospital."
Bernie asked, "By the way, what were you shouting at that cop about?"
Everly, "Yeah, we heard you from the inside."
I asked, "Was it that loud?"
After they nodded, I said, "I was asking about the guy who hit you and escaped."
Bernie, "Louisa, leave it as it is. The cop will find him. Let's leave their job to them. And, The cop you were talking to. You looked kinda close. Who is he?"
"He's Raphael. My friend."
"You got a friend inside the police department? When did this happen?"
"Long before. I don't remember how we became friends either."
"That's new. You never forget. How did you forget about this?"
Everly asked, "What do you mean she never forgot?"
Bernie answered her, "Yeah, I don't know if it was genetic but she never forgot about anything. She remembers everything."
"That's cool!"
I said, "No, it's the worst." "Hey, I gotta have some work back in the cafe. I'll see you guys later." And walked out of Bernie's room.
Where will this Paulo guy be? Edgar! He knows, right? But how can I contact him? I don't have his number with me. I should think about another person who knows about Paulo. Diego! He and Edgar joined Ace's at the same time whereas Edgar joined to spy on him. Diego must have known him. I hope he knows him.
After a while,
I waited for Diego in a cafe after asking him to meet me here. Diego walked in after some time and took a seat across from me.
He said, "It was a surprise when you reached out to me. What do you want to talk to me about?"
"I don't want to beat around the bush. Do you have Edgar's phone number with you?"
"Why do you think I have his number? He's a spy. He came to spy on Sir Ace. I won't forgive him for what he did…"
While he was speaking, I came to the conclusion that he doesn't have his number so I stopped him while he was speaking and said, "Okay. I'll get going then."
"I thought you called me out to ask about Ace."
I let out a sigh and said, "He was the one who told me to keep a distance and forget what happened between us. I'm doing it as he said. I forgot what happened between us. So, I don't think I have the right to ask about him. Thank you for coming here."
I walked out of the cafe and headed to the apartment.
When I entered the apartment, I closed the door behind and locked it.
I logged into the police department server which I hacked into recently. The reason I hacked into the system was to find the guy who hit Bernie but I couldn't find him in the end. That's why I pressured Raphael to find him soon.
I entered a list of the citizens of the state of Sao Paulo and opened the search bar and typed in some commands to search Edgar in it. The search was started. A notification appeared that I'll take three hours to do the investigation part.
While the system was running the database, I remembered about the university in which Ace studied. I searched for the university and typed in the faculty name as business administration. It asked me to type the year of study. I entered various years and looked into the students who studied. I came across a year where I saw Ace among others. We have eight years of difference between us. He looked a lot younger in the picture. When i looked at his name, it was Salvador Ribeiro. Looks like he really did say his real name. The name Salvador Ribeiro suited him more than Ace.
When he said his real name, I was kinda confused at that moment but at the same time I knew no one will have Ace as their birth name. Even though i knew it already, When he said his real name, my heart skipped a beat and realised what kinds of feelings i had for him. While I was being shocked and confused, he asked me sorry and walked away from me.
After he left, all I could think was 'What made him say his real name to me?' Does he like me back the way like him which made him guilty when I called out his made up name? I wanted to ask him many questions but what he said was still on my mind till now.
"Since I'm the one who's bringing trouble to you, I'll stay away from you. Forget about everything and get back to your usual routine life."
Does he think he's the crazy one out there? Then who am I? I hacked into the police department and searched for a gangster. Do people call me a good one after knowing what I'm doing right now?
After a while, the system showed me a number of people's identities with their address and phone numbers. I scrolled down and searched for Edgar.
After an hour, I found Edgar. I got his address and phone number. What if it's a fake one? Let's pay a visit to find it out.
In from of Edgar house,
I knocked on the door and waited for someone to open the door. The door was opened and I saw a little girl holding on to a door handle.
I asked, "Is someone inside?"
She shakes her head.
"Where's your parents?"
"Went to work."
"Do you have someone with you to look after?"
She shakes her head again. How irresponsible her parents are? Leaving a little girl alone at home.
"Do you remember your parents number?"
She nodded and said a number.
"Lock the door and go inside. Don't open the door unless it's your parents. Understand?"
She nodded and did like how I instructed her. Cute.
I made a call to her parents and her mom answered her.
"Mam, it's illegal to leave a child alone without anyone's attention. If there's a nanny you know, please make a call to them right now."
"Is Laura at home? My son fell down in his school so I rushed to the hospital. I thought I brought her with me but I got worried when I couldn't find her."
"Mam, she's fine. She's inside the house."
"Can you please call her? I want to hear her voice."
"Okay."
I knocked on the door but she didn't open the door. Is she not opening since I asked her not to.
Her mom said, "I was called by the doctor. I have to go now." And ended the call.
I knocked again and again but she didn't open, which made me a little worried. I walked around the house and found the back door to be wide open. Did she leave by herself? I looked around and saw some tree branches on the compound wall. I don't think she climbed this by herself. I saw the surveillance camera near the house.
I took my phone and logged into the surveillance camera and entered the location I'm in. When I saw clips of the back of the house while I was in the front of the house talking to the girl's mom. Someone jumped into the house and took the girl. Who's he? Why is he kidnapping her? Is there any backstory to this kidnap? Let's find her for now.
I took a cab and checked the surveillance camera footage on the streets to see where he's going. His car stopped at some house and he took the girl with him.
I got out of the cab and looked at the house he entered. I don't think I can handle this alone. I made a call to Raphael and told what happened and asked him to come with his colleagues.
I sneaked into the building without waiting for them and searched for him. The house looked empty on the first floor. They must be upstairs now. When I heard footsteps, I hid behind the refrigerator and saw the guy leaving the house. The guy who brought her left the house. Will there be more upstairs? I don't have much time till that guy returns. I should act quickly.
I sneaked upstairs and saw the girl lying on the floor being tied up. I looked around the room, there was no one. I ran up quickly to her and saw her being passed out. I slapped her cheek to wake her up. What was the name again? Laura!
"Laura! Wake up, Laura! Laura, can you hear me?"
She opened her eyes and saw me and sobbed while looking around.
"Don't cry. We'll get out of here. Do you know him?"
She shaked her again while sobbing.
"Come on, let's get out of here."
When I turned back, the guy who kidnapped her came back.
Laura said, "He has a gun!"
I stood in front of Laura and said to the guy, "If you want money, we'll talk about it. Let go of the girl."
The guy said, "The tall one looks better than the little one. Okay, I'll give you a choice, who wants to be the first?"
What the hell is he spouting nonsense?
He walked towards me while asking, "How old are you?"
"Stay away from us. I called the police. They're on their way."
He pulled me towards him and said, "Then, let's finish up before they arrive."
When I struggled to escape his grip, I slipped and fell down on the floor. He used the chance to climb up on top of me.
"Laura, close your eyes!" I shouted while I was under him.
The guy said, "No, don't shut your eyes. You're going to be the next so see and learn how it is done."
I took the pocket knife from my socks and stabbed him in his stomach which made him drop on the floor because of the pain.
Raphael ran to us and said, "Come with me. Get the girl too."
"The guy…"
"Others will take care of him."
I took Laura with me and walked out of the house along with Raphael.
Raphael sat beside me and asked, "Does it hurt?"
After Raphael mentioned it, I realised that I got punched in my mouth and it was bleeding. I shaked my head and asked Laura, "Are you alright? Did he do something to you? Did he touch you somewhere?"
She shakes her head.
I hugged her and said, "It's alright. Everything's okay now."
Raphael caressed my head and asked, "Why are you there in almost every crime, Louisa?" Which made me burst into laughter.
After some time, Laura's parents came and took her with them after thanking me.
Some cops came to cuff me up, and I said, "You can't arrest me for saving myself and a girl. It was self defence."
The cop said, "Even though it's self -defence, we have to follow the procedures, mam."
"It is legal to carry a pocket knife for one's protection as long as it's reasonable. Moreover, mine's a permitted one. You can't arrest me for this."
The cops talked to one another and said, "Sorry, mam." And left.
Raphael, "I didn't know you're carrying a permitted knife. It's impossible to get a permitted knife unless you're a…"
"My parents are the ones who's rich, not me."
He stood up and said, "Come on, I'll drop you at your place."
"It's fine. I can go by myself."
I came in search of Edgar but so many things happened and I got distracted.