Chapter 1.2: No Body, No Crime

But then he glanced at his cellphone, as if reading something, before turning his attention back to the man lying lifelessly on the ground. There was no emotion evident on his face.

“Take him. I need to teach him a lesson and make him remember that he messed up with the wrong person.”

It was only then that I noticed the men surrounding them, all dressed in black with shades covering their eyes. Together, they worked to lift the beaten man and place him inside one of the waiting cars. The windows of the car were tinted, so I couldn’t see what or who was inside.

Soon, they all got into their respective vehicles. When they disappeared from my sight, I didn’t know what possessed me, but I found myself running back to the main lobby, my legs trembling from a mix of fear and anxiety.

I’m not trying to be a hero, but my parents and friends taught me to stand up for what is right.

Oh well, let the chips fall where they may. I’ll probably get an earful from Mom and Mads if they find out.

But who would have thought that the ever-famous Stephen Anderson could actually hurt people like that?

I snapped out of my thoughts when I accidentally bumped into someone. I would have ignored the person if he hadn’t called my name.

“Nathalia! What are you doing here?”

I paused for a moment and quickly turned around when I heard his familiar voice.

Harold!

I was about to approach him when I remembered the guy. I needed to save him as soon as possible!

“I’ll explain it to you guys later. I need to go!”

I heard him call after me loudly, but I ignored it.

Once outside the building, I immediately noticed the successive appearance of familiar cars from various directions. Without hesitation, I hopped into my car and sped away to follow them.

I kept a sufficient distance between our vehicles to avoid arousing suspicion. It’s one of the things Damon taught me before.

I don’t really know why I’m doing this. I should have just let it go and returned to my friends as originally planned. I shouldn’t involve myself in things like this!

But my conscience couldn’t bear to simply ignore what happened, especially when my friends’ boss was involved. I need to know the reason behind his actions. Before anything worse happens to my friends, I have to make sure they leave that hotel!

I didn’t realize how long the journey was until their cars suddenly stopped in front of an abandoned building.

I parked my car at a distance, hidden behind a large tree surrounded by trash bins and big drums, to avoid detection.

I closed my eyes tightly, torn between continuing or not.

I took a deep breath as I finally reached a decision.

“You can do this, Nath! For justice’s sake!”

I prayed multiple times before my hands started trembling as I got out of the car. I wiped the sweat forming on my forehead. Before fully stepping out, I made sure to have the only thing I could use in such a dangerous situation—the Swiss knife. Even though I knew I was at a disadvantage no matter how you looked at it.

I also had my phone in my pocket, set to silent. It would be risky, and it might even cost me my life. I ignored the numerous missed calls and texts from my friends.

I winced, realizing that not one of them had answered earlier.

I started to take steps towards the abandoned building, but I quickly hid behind a large drum when I unexpectedly spotted two armed men talking.

The sight of their imposing guns almost made me lose my wits. I held my breath in fear of them noticing that someone else was here besides them.

As I entered that place, the realization of the trouble I had gotten myself into flooded my mind. I swallowed hard, feeling uneasy.

“Oh my God, Nath! What have you gotten yourself into?” I exclaimed.

I felt like smashing my head against the wall because of my reckless decisions. But deep down, I knew that no matter how many times I did it, nothing would change.

I took a deep breath. Whatever. Since I was already here, I might as well deal with it.

I walked slowly towards the old building, noticing that there were no guards patrolling around. I made sure not to create any noise. Harold had taught me how.

In situations like this, I was truly grateful for the things I learned from my friends.

When I noticed that there were many guards in front, I turned around and passed on the right side of the building. Fortunately, there was an opening, and no one was guarding it.

As I got closer, the voices I heard conversing inside became clearer.

“Who do you work for?”

I froze in my spot when I saw Stephen pointing his gun at the poor man while stepping on his wounded arm. But before anyone could notice me, I quickly hid behind one of the drums, which were covered by numerous boxes. I crawled closer to their position, tightly holding onto my Swiss knife.

Once I found a comfortable position, my right hand trembling, I opened my phone and looked for the camera app before switching it to video mode. I glanced around once more to confirm that they couldn’t see me from where I was.

“You might as well just kill me! Because you won’t gain anything from me!”

What did he say? Kill? Can Stephen really do that?

I almost dropped the phone because of what I heard. Luckily, I quickly regained my composure after the shock.

Stephen had a man who suddenly approached him and handed something over. I squinted my eyes to make out what it was.

Wait, a flash drive?

The man burst into loud laughter, as if going crazy. He could actually laugh in this situation.

“Do you think it’s over just because you got that? Remember, it isn’t just my boss who’s working to obtain that thing.”

An evil smile appeared on Stephen’s lips. “I know, but, sad to say, a few days from now, I’ll finally get a hold of that thing. Too bad they won’t make it. Because from the very start, I already won.”

“Hah! We’ll see—”

“I have your family.” Stephen interrupted whatever the man was about to say, causing him to fall silent.

My fist clenched even tighter upon hearing this. Truth be told, I’m scared. But anger dominates what I’m feeling right now.

How dare he involve an innocent life in this?

“P-Please! Not my family. I’ll talk,” the man pleaded, his courage vanishing in an instant.

Stephen rotated the gun in his hand. “Good. Now, I’ll repeat my question: Who do you work for, and what information did you give them?”

“I-I work for the Ferrer’s. I haven’t told them anything yet because I just transferred all the information I gathered into the flash drive.”

The next thing I heard was the echoing sound of gunshots in every corner of that place.

“Dispose of the body immediately. Make sure it’s clean, so there won’t be any trace,” Stephen casually ordered his men.

I tightened my grip on my phone, which managed to record the entire event. But before I could stop it, I saw with my own eyes Stephen glancing in my direction.

Oh, my God! Did he see me?