Chapter 008:
The Game of Wits

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RAINE

After a tedious exchange with a fool and perhaps a dawdler as well, the pieces finally aligned. With a subtle spark of my reasoning, the mental chessboard sprang to life once more.

The next morning unfolded like any other. Zane sat at the table, his attention fixed on his phone, chuckling at yet another cat video as he sipped his coffee. Meanwhile, I sprawled across the long sofa, my gaze locked on the blank wall, thoughts quietly weaving themselves into knots.

Payday had arrived for the flat rental, prompting my older sister to drop by and hand her payment directly to Mrs. Nuñez. Known for making her rounds on such days, Mrs. Nuñez often rewarded punctual tenants with her delectable, freshly-baked cookies while delivering a sharp reprimand to those who had developed a habit of paying late.

"Elizalde's in the clear," I said, shattering the awkward quiet that always settled in whenever my sister visited.

"But the blackmailer's still out there," she replied, finishing her second chocolate chip cookie, seated with Mrs. Nuñez at the kitchen table.

"It's all about his secrets. He's scattered them among people he trusts, those who know him well," I said, the puzzle slowly taking shape. "But was it really wise to keep the police from locking up those men in black?"

"They work for your client," she replied coolly. "Their only aim is to shield Zephyros from the unseen threat lurking around him."

"I knew it!" I exclaimed, sitting up abruptly, the excitement in my voice enough to make Zane flinch and glance my way, startled by my sudden burst of energy.

"Knew what?" my sister asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Look, I've figured out the new drug invention as well. Don't ask how, especially since your clues yesterday were less than helpful," I replied, dodging the fact that I'd used her account to dig through confidential files. "The client from yesterday cleared him. It wasn't his fault the combustion occurred."

Zane's brow furrowed, his confusion evident. "Why didn't you tell me any of this? How much did I miss yesterday?"

I turned to Zane, a sarcastic smirk tugging at the corner of my lips, words poised on the tip of my tongue. But just as I was about to respond, the glow of my phone's screen stole my attention.

"Does the Celestial Virtuoso know about this drug?" my sister pressed, but her question went unanswered as I focused on the notification that had just appeared.

"The drug... and the combustion? What's going on?" Zane asked again, his confusion deepening.

A new message lit up my phone screen-Mr. Indomitable wishing me a good morning.

"Are you even listening, li'l sissy?" Elizabeth asked, her tone laced with impatience.

"Oh, yes, I'm listening," I replied, setting my phone aside and turning to face her. "Those men, judging by their presence, are from abroad. My godmother mentioned that my client holds a significant position here. I'd rather not jump to conclusions, but for now, it seems that Elizalde will stay out of harm's way-so long as he doesn't play games with those men."

"And let's not forget how close we came to disaster, all because of that mission to pose as some arrogant actor's therapist," Zane muttered, his eyes remained glued to his phone.

"Oh my goodness, what have you two been up to?" Mrs. Nuñez gasped, her eyes wide with concern. "I thought you were just helping others in a simple way, and now-"

"They're fine, ma'am," Elizabeth interjected quickly.

"They're still young," Mrs. Nuñez insisted. "Why don't you take on that mission yourself?"

"Trust me, ma'am. They'll be fine. I am Raine's sister, after all," Elizabeth replied confidently.

"I'm also Zane's aunt and their landlady, so I care about them too," Mrs. Nuñez stated firmly. "I know these two are doing well in their careers, but I swear, if anything feels off, I won't allow them to take that case anymore."

"Alright, fine," Elizabeth conceded, a hint of defeat in her tone.

Another notification flashed on my screen, prompting me to pick up my phone once more. Eat your breakfast.

"Who's that?" Zane asked, his focus snapping to me. "What? Is that Zephyros texting you now?"

"As long as I don't know who's behind the blackmail or Elizalde's connection to the anonymous client, I can't formulate a plan," I replied.

"I'm already working with my team to track down the unknown sender of those text messages," Elizabeth said confidently.

"For how long?" I asked sarcastically. "And what about the drug? Is that why you didn't take the combustion case? Are you too busy with your other commitments?"

A notification lit up on Elizabeth's phone, drawing her attention and eliciting a wide smile. "It seems you now have the answer to your first question," she beamed. "It turns out the mobile numbers can be traced back to multiple accounts registered in this town of Nueva Aurora."

"Oh, so that's the same place where Zephyros lives," Zane remarked, sinking into his favourite sofa.

"I need to head out now to take care of some business," Elizabeth said, rising from our wooden chair, the sharp click of her pointed black leather shoes cutting through the air. "I'll update you once we've finished dealing with the drugs you mentioned."

"Before you go, do you know if Elizalde knows a man named Dylan?" I asked, watching her as she headed towards the door.

"Why?" she replied, her expression shifting to surprise, brows furrowing in curiosity. "Alright, I'll look into it. Gotta run, lil sis." With that, she swung the door open and shut it behind her, disappearing from our sight.

"What's the plan now?" Zane asked.

I shifted my gaze to the small green Christmas tree nestled beside the bookshelves and our television, taking a deep breath. "I suppose we wait," I replied. "For now, all I know is that he has a connection with an influential individual who might be aware of the drug. This person informed him about the invention, but out of curiosity, he started to investigate. Not wanting him to dig deeper, the guards were dispatched to deter him, but he's stubborn. That's why the Chinese man warned him that Elizalde wouldn't be able to deceive them again yesterday."

"Then what about Dylan?" Zane asked.

"Dylan could be the one sending the blackmails to our client, but that's just a theory for now," I replied. "Zephyros clearly doesn't want us to get involved, which suggests he knows much more than he's letting on. Something significant is brewing."

"But the client just wants him to be safe, right? And he is, especially with those guards looking out for him," Zane said.

"And now we just need to wait for that big thing to unfold," I replied.

Time passed swiftly. As I settled into school, Elizalde was nowhere to be found, likely lost in the vastness of the campus or attending a different college somewhere in the town.

Finally, the night before Christmas arrived, the building's hallways aglow with twinkling lights. Outside, the sounds of carollers filled the air, moving from house to house throughout the suburbs. Children from the flat joined in the festive cheer, emerging from the nine doors to sing their joyful songs, their laughter ringing out like music in the cool night.

Lost in thought, I found solace in the library, fingers dancing over the keyboard as I played traditional songs after returning from Misa de Gallo. The others were gathered in the common room downstairs, sharing their festive feast with the residents of the building.

I was halfway through the Noche Buena song when the door creaked open, causing me to pause. "So this is where you've been," a familiar voice remarked. "Is this how you celebrate your Noche Buena?"

I glanced over my shoulder and spotted Zane Nuñez, dressed formally in a white long-sleeved polo shirt and black trousers-the same outfit he had worn to church just moments ago.

"Come on," he urged. "Auntie Clara is looking for you."

"No, it's fine. I already gave her some money to buy food," I replied. "I went to the Christmas party at school because you begged me to; that celebration was enough."

"Beg? Fine," he retorted. "But now I'm begging you to come down with us. You can choose between the two common rooms. If you want to be alone, head to the one below 222B. If you'd like to join us, go to 220B; they've set it aside as the Christmas gathering spot. Besides, it's my big day today, and you can't ignore my wish."

"Do I have to?"

He took my hand and pulled me towards the designated room, where the residents of the flat were gathered, cheering and chatting merrily. The enticing aroma of puto bumbong and bibingka filled the air, mingling with the scents of spaghetti, pancit palabok, fried chicken, fruit salad, and even queso de bola.

"There you are!" Mrs. Nuñez exclaimed, wrapping me in a warm embrace. "I wish you'd worn the Santa hat Zane gave you last week."

I smiled in response, scanning the room until my gaze landed on a blonde-haired woman-likely not her natural colour-approaching Zane with a bright smile. She wore a Santa hat, just like the one Zane had given me.

"Have you met Zane's girlfriend?" Mrs. Nuñez asked, her smile appearing slightly forced.

"Who?" I replied, attempting to dismiss the romantic atmosphere as the two held hands.

"Zane told me lots about you," the woman said, beaming.

"Oh, are you Aliza?" I asked, sarcasm creeping into my voice, though I tried to keep it subtle enough that they wouldn't notice.

"Who is Aliza?" she asked, glancing at Zane for clarification.

"Oh, Aliza is the Chinese girl from the school paper," I replied. "Then there's the engineering student he mentioned, and a nursing student just a few weeks ago."

"Who is Aliza? Are there other ladies?" the woman pressed, her smile gradually fading into a frown.

"Uh, don't worry about them. We didn't have anything going on," Zane interjected.

"Cassandra!" I exclaimed as the name finally surfaced in my mind. "She looks taller than he described," I murmured to myself.

Mrs. Nuñez returned to us, holding two gifts-one wrapped in shimmering gold paper with a ribbon, the other in blue wrapping. "Someone mailed something for you yesterday," she said, handing me the gold-wrapped gift. "It came with a note instructing me to give it to you tonight. This other one just arrived this morning from another anonymous sender."

I took the two gifts and placed them on the table in front of me, deciding to open them the next day. "And there's one more," Mrs. Nuñez added, just as a familiar face emerged from the crowd.

"Merry Christmas to my protégé!" my friend Ron Lee exclaimed, stepping forward. He was a forensic investigator who had assisted me immensely on previous cases. Given our hectic schedules, this was the first time we'd managed to meet up in a while. At 25, he had slanted eyes that narrowed with a smile, radiating warmth and familiarity.

"Ron, Merry Christmas to you too!" I exclaimed as he enveloped me in a quick hug.

"I wasn't expecting to see a reunion here," Zane joked, a teasing grin on his face.

"It's Christmas after all," I replied, returning his smile.

"And how about you? I suppose you have a new girl, huh?" Ron asked, his brown eyes shifting to Zane and Cassandra.

"She's my girlfriend," Zane replied, his tone casual.

"Nice," Ron responded, nodding in acknowledgment.

"Thanks for the gift you sent," I said, glancing at Zane.

"What gift?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"You're so thoughtful for taping up that not-so-neatly folded blue gift wrapper," I added. "It seemed to be the one that was 'sent' this morning. You had the perfect opportunity to wrap it quickly while I was in the library playing my piano."

"Alright, no need to deduce further," Zane replied, a sheepish smile spreading across his face.

I unwrapped the blue gift and noticed a small, manually cut square card that read, "To my best friend," followed by a cheerful Christmas greeting.

"Thank you," I said, smiling at him. "I have your birthday and Christmas gift upstairs. I'll give it to you later, after you get the one from your girlfriend."

"Oh, yes! I already gave him a little something," Cassandra chimed in.

"I received a matching T-shirt. It's lovely," Zane replied.

"A pastry would have been better, but that's great!" I said with a grin. Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I opened it to find another message from Mr. Indomitable, wishing me a Merry Christmas, quickly followed by: Have you received it?

"Who's that? You're in a relationship now too?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Probably," Zane replied, glancing at Cassandra. "She's been on her phone longer than usual."

"Stop it, Zane," I said, rolling my eyes as I picked up the golden box. "Excuse me."

"What's up?" Zane asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"It's alright; you can stay there with your girlfriend under the mistletoe someone in the building hung up," I instructed playfully.

"That would be me and my husband," the cheerful Mrs. Valeria replied. "It's always our tradition."

As the clock struck midnight, everyone erupted in joy, wishing each other a Merry Christmas. Mrs. Valeria and her husband stepped forward, and Zane and Cassandra moved aside to give them space as the couple shared a kiss beneath the mistletoe.

A red smudge marked the golden wrapper, piquing my curiosity. As I carefully opened the gift, my eyes widened in surprise at the sight of a container holding two round orange tablets, the same red substance that stained the wrapper now mostly absent from the container. Accompanying the tablets was a note that read: I made it. Am I clever now?