104. Say Nothing

Killian

He was standing inches away from me now, our faces so damn close you'd think we were about to kiss.

“Raven's mother was murdered two weeks ago and the estate was willed to her and her father got kicked out? Does that story ring a bell?” Alex inquired.

I remained silent, wiping the blood away from my lips and chin. This bastard gave me a busted lip and an aching tongue." I'm as shocked as you are, Alex. I wonder how she died, I heard it was a mysterious death...so sad" I sighed, shaking my head.

Alex was scrutinising me carefully, his lips twitching.“Killian?....”

I eyed him." What?”

He chuckled slowly.“ Does Raven know what you did?”

I maintained eye contact.“ What did I do?"

He snorted.“ Raven's mother was in Phoenix. I read the biopsy results and it says she was terrified to death.”

I pulled back my chair and sat down.“ It must have been traumatic.”

He took another step closer.“ Her pupils were dilated”

“ Hmmm…so sad,” I muttered, remaining unfazed.

“ You wanna know the shocking part?" He phrased.

I nodded intently.“ Fill me in.”

He smiled loosely.“ She drowned in her bathtub… but before that she was already dead.”

Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. I let out a low breath, dragging my tongue over the split in my lip.

“ That’s… unfortunate,” I said flatly.

Alex didn’t smile this time. He was watching me…really watching me now. As if he was trying to peel something off my skin to see what was underneath.

“ You don’t find that strange?” he asked quietly, circling the desk.

I tilted my head. “ People die in strange ways every day, don't they?”

“ Not like this.” His voice dropped to a degree. “ No signs of struggle, no defensive wounds. Just…” He hesitated, searching my face. “Fear….Pure fear, like she saw something terrifying.”

I leaned back in my chair, the wood creaking softly beneath me.“ Maybe she did,” I murmured.

His eyes narrowed. “ You’re not even curious?”

“ Curiosity is dangerous, Alex.” I shrugged.

A beat passed.

Then another.

The room felt colder, our eyes fighting a fierce battle. Alex is a smart man, that's why he's one of the best lawyers in the city. He sees through loopholes,he sees even the tiniest details. I'm not surprised if he already picked up the pieces.

I expected him to sooner or later.

“ You know what else?” he continued, slower now. “ The neighbours said they heard the water running for hours… but no one saw anyone enter or leave.”

I tapped my fingers lightly against the table. “ Old pipes, maybe?” I said.

“ And the mirror?” he pressed.

That made me pause just for a second, my shoulders tensing.

“ What about it?”

Alex leaned in, his voice almost a whisper now.“ It was covered.”

My brows knit faintly. “ Covered?”

“ With a towel,” he said. “ And when it was opened, it was moist. ”

Something flickered in my eyes but it was gone the next moment. Alex took note of it because his lips lifted up in a smirk.

I exhaled slowly.“ People do strange things when they’re scared.”

“ Yeah,” Alex said, eyes locked onto mine. “ That’s what I’m saying. People do strange things when they are….. Scared!”

Our eyes locked and my flimsy smile fell.

Silence followed again.

Alex straightened slightly, but his gaze never left mine.“ So I’ll ask you again,” he said. “ Does Raven know?”

I held his stare, unblinking. Then I lifted my lips again, slowly this time.“ Know what?”

Another silence.

Alex laughed—but there was no humour in it.“ Yeah,” he muttered. “ That’s what I thought.”

He stepped back, shaking his head. But just before he turned away, he added.“ You should be careful, Killian.”

I raised a brow. “ Of what?”

He glanced over his shoulder.“ I'm afraid you might become the madman your father said you are.”

My smile fell and I clenched my fists tightly as memories rushed into my head.

Tch.

Did he say that on purpose?

He walked slowly towards the door and by the time he held the knob, he paused. Then turned around swiftly. “ You know what else was found?" He chuckled.

I raised a questioning brow.

He dipped his hands in his pockets.“ Eidolon mist.”

I gasped lightly.“ Oh wow…”

" Doesn’t it sound familiar to you ?” He turned his head, remaining unmoving.

I shrugged.“ Never heard of it ."

He nodded.“ You know, the police missed it but I have sensitive nostrils."

My lips twitched. The fucker was at the crime scene? Why the hell would he be concerned about Raven's mother's death?

“ Eidolon mist is quite expensive and very rare. I wonder how much the killer had to pay to get it shipped past the authorities.” He tapped his chin gently, as if he was trying to figure something out.“ But it feels like family doesn't it ?”

I shook my head, leaning in my seat.“ As I said, I've never heard of it.”

Another heavy silence followed.

Then he let out a low laugh.“ Oh, I just remembered. Guess who else had died from the Eidolon mist poisoning?" He turned to face me now, his gaze piercing.

I maintained a straight face." Who?"

His jaw tightened.“ Travis and Jolie Markov.”

I sucked in a breath, my fingers clenching under the table. My composure broke for a split second.

“ And guess what? They drowned too, just like Raven's mother but only this time it wasn't a bathtub but a lake.” He chuckled darkly.“ Isn't that a coincidence?”

Brilliant bastard!

He knows, he has always known. It's so unfortunate that I have no idea what he's talking about, isn't it?

“ What a tragic event, Alex. But tell me.’’I curled my fist on the desk, leaning forward.“Why do you have so much interest in these murder cases, hmm?” I crooked a brow at him and I saw his shoulders stiffen.

He's not the only one good with twisting words. I stood to my feet and walked over to him.“ What were you doing at Phoenix, investigating Raven's mother's death ?”

I didn't let him respond, so I hit him with another question.“ What ties do you have with the family that you had to travel down there to look into it, huh? Isn't that quite fascinating?”

I saw the vein thicken on his neck. He is furious. I placed my hand on his shoulder, giving it a hard squeeze.“ Don't go about sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, Alex. You're a good man, but it's too risky. Why don’t you focus on solving trivial cases in my hospital and get paid for it…huh?”

He breathed heavily, a forced smile appearing on his face.“ Right.”

" You can leave ....I have a plane to board." I strolled back to my desk as he turned to leave but I stopped him.

“One more thing…..the next time you punch me in the face, I'll kill you.” I snapped and he chuckled.

" Expect more in the future because you're dumb when dealing with romance." Then he pulled open the door and walked out.