Chapter 02~ Haunted

EMILY

Those words hit me hard to the core. I wanted to let him know I was way stronger than what he thinks, and that I wasn't scared of anyone, not even Matteo Romenetti. But then, something inside of me told me he was very much right about what he said.

What if things turn out the other way round? What if my life doesn't get back the same way it used to be?

I let out a heavy sigh, rubbing my forehead softly as if that would help. It didn't.

“What am I supposed to do?” I looked at him with worried eyes. “I just want to let Chief Ramos know I can't do this anymore.”

“You have to talk to him.”

“I already did,” I sighed for the tenth time since I walked in here. “He wouldn't listen to me. He kept insisting I was the best for the case.”

“I can help you talk to him then.”

I looked at him closely, wanting to be sure he wasn't serious when he said that. “Talk to Chief Ramos? On my behalf?” I scoffed. “I'll be damned.”

I've never been this scared since I started my career as a detective. I had all cases handled, to the point criminals hated it when I got involved in their case. But now, I felt I wasn't really called for this job.

New cases came up, but Chief Ramos had others take it. When I tried taking up a case, he reminded me I had one on desk and he needed feedback by the end of the week. Stubborn Kent went ahead to convince him to let him take the case instead, but Chief Ramos refused.

Night came, and for a moment, I didn't like it. It's that time of the day when I had to work with my brain to figure things out, things I wasn't sure I'd ever find. Stephanie was asleep when I got home, but she had my lunch ready in the kitchen. After a brief shower, I had my lunch, then I headed for my office.

My phone buzzed from the edge of the table, I checked on it, it was a message from Gina. She's been the one caring for Stephanie during the day, and I can't explain how grateful I am to have her in my life. She texted to check on me, so sweet of her.

“I'm home now,” I told her. “Stephanie is asleep. Thanks for being there for her.”

“Nah, it's nothing. Just make sure you get some rest too, okay?”

“Sure,” I texted back, even though I knew that was one impossible thing I could offer myself right now. “You too.”

I dropped my phone, trying to focus on Matteo's backstory in one of the files. This was the eleventh time I was reading it, but it felt like it was my first. Surprisingly, I was reading stories I've never known him for. It was like this wasn't the same Matteo I knew, like this was a different version of him he kept away from me years ago.

They made him look like he's been this way since he was six. Matteo was nothing close to what they stained him as. He was gentle, nice, loving, way caring than any man could be. But here, I was reading the backstory of a born villain.

Then, my phone buzzed again, and I checked on it, half expecting it to be Gina. Maybe, she just remembered to say goodnight. Instead, I got a message from an unknown number. I tried thinking and rethinking whose number it was, but no one came to mind.

“You're Emily Thompson, right?” I furrowed at the message.

“Who's this?” I asked.

“Stay out of the case, and stop digging. Or you'll end up losing your life.”

“You don't scare me,” I typed. “I've faced threats worse than this, and you know what happens in the end? They end up in a cell.”

“Easy, Miss Thompson, you don't want to regret this. Stay out of the case, and I'll stay out of your way. Remember, I'm always watching you.”

Immediately, I rushed to my window, staring down at the street for any suspicious activity. Everywhere was clear, except for the passersby who conversed among themselves. I looked at the last message, letting the words replay in my head over and over and over again.

“I need to let Chief Ramos know I wasn't safe anymore.” I mentally concluded.

The next day, I didn't wait a second to show Chief Ramos the threat message I had received the previous night. “Who sent you this?” He asked.

“I don't know,” I answered. “We can both see it's an unknown number. I think whoever this is, is related to our suspect. Worse, it could be him.”

I waited for a reaction, or maybe, I wanted to hear him simply say, “Quite the investigation.” Rather, he only stared at the message, as if trying to figure who it was without having to guess it.

“I'll ask Tony to track this number,” he said instead. “We need to know who this is, and bring him down as well.”

I blinked my eyes with my mouth parted. I wouldn't say I was speechless, I'd say I was more than disappointed that he wasn't considering the fact that my life was in danger. All he cared about was finding the culprits and bringing them down. My safety? It was a story for another year.

“What about me?” I asked, finally finding my voice. “Don't you think it's time I stepped out of this case?”

“No.”

“What?” I snapped. “No? Chief Ramos, my life is at risk. Someone out there is watching me, and if I don't stop this case, my life would be in more serious danger.”

He folded his hands under his jaw, staring at me like I was some kind of disappointment. “I'm surprised, Miss Thompson, that you could fall easily to a mere threat from an unknown number.”

“This isn't the time to play superhero, Chief Ramos.” I reminded him.

“That's why you need to get this guy down or else he does worse than good.”

I walked a step closer to his desk. “How about you go out there and haunt these guys yourself? Then, we don't have to worry about the outcome.”