"IT'S NOT HIM. GET OUT. 345 RICHMOND STREET" played as loop in her mind as Rose drove down to Claire's. Her heart paced faster than before and she parked on the opposite street. She was nervous but clever enough to have called for backup.

Hugh and Angel awaited outside while Emma slept in the parked car. When Claire's house came in view, Rose quickly got off the car and into the street. Hugh followed her inside while Angel stood guard outside.

They opened the ajar door. From the moment they entered, the house showed signs of struggle and forced entry. Hugh was quick to scan the entire house holding Rose back. He didn't want her to fall prey to any intruder who might still be lurking.

Once his check were completed, he got her in. There was no sign of any intruder now, let alone Claire. Their eyes roamed in the darkness before light was pulled up. Hugh walked towards the mess that was the kitchen. The place revealed struggle and injury. The blood stains on the white cabinet showed there was a severe injury, yet no injured being to testify.

"Get out Rose, let me check here once more before leaving."

Hugh's command was immediately adhered to as Rose moved out and reported the incident. She stood beside Angel who pacified her with a comforting touch over her shoulder.

Hugh emerged from the darkness, nodding sidewise. He couldn't trace anything else.

Rose feared for Claire's life. She knew something was wrong when she heard the voice memo. All the time she'd known Claire, she never once sounded off or angry, let alone scared. But the voice on the phone revealed otherwise.

"What was the message again"

Angel spoke to her softly. He didn't want her to relive the incident so he slowly pulled the phone off her hands and bought it closer to the ears for Hugh and his hearing.

"345 Richmond Street"

Hugh's voice shot up. He was determined to see what was at that place. He hated mystery, let alone anything to do with her baby sister's fiancé. They moved quickly. Hugh drove his car. Angel followed in Rose's. She was already struggling with the revelations of the day to protest any further.

A drive of half hour and arrays of beautiful mowed lawns and beautiful duplexes welcomes them into the suburbs. They used navigation to track the place. In between an alleyway, sat a small house tucked away in the shadows.

The families on adjacent sides never bothered to check the appearance of big cars entering the arena. It was clear. This wasn't the first time it happened in their sight.

Parked, Hugh and Emma walked over to the car behind. Hugh waited for Rose to reel out of the happenings.

An hour back, his baby sister was revealing her pregnancy and now, she sat in the co passenger seat, grabbing onto her knees and breathing heavily. He has observed Rose's behavior long enough to know she was spiraling.

Pulling her out, he calmed her with a hug. Her bump was felt across. He was not just worried for her but also for the life growing inside of hers.

Quickly, they walked inside. All of them kept Rose in between. Even Emma who was heavily carrying by now, was being protective of her best friend today.

The insides of the house was clean to everyone's surprise. It was beautifully decorated, as if the one living inside was awaiting someone. All of them spread across, searching.

Hugh accompanied Emma and Angel, Rose.

Walking upstairs, the creaking noise stopped them on their steps. They were trespassers. Had the owner been present somewhere, they could have shot the intruders in self-defense and that still would be justified.

Angel held onto Rose's hand awaiting any signs of a presence upstairs. When none was heard, he continued. She followed.

Upstairs, the house metamorphosis.

The beautiful and clean downstairs was replaced with dusty and cobwebs rooms. The place reeked eeriness. Everywhere eyes traveled, there seemed to be old newspapers neatly stacked up, some towering up Angel's height.

Rose pulled up one such leaflet from the pile. Her eyes widened at the news present. It was from the time of her discovery. She remembered when the newspapers in town ran her for the front page. Pulling another page, she gasped. It was another article about her.

She turned around to spot a tiny door aligned close to the attic walk. The entry seemed to have been used as opposed to the remaining upstairs area. Holding onto the knob, she turned to Angel, who was ready with his gun. Her nod made him put it back.

Turning, she felt the springing action before the door creaked. She expected dust to choke her but was hit with vanilla scent instead. Her feet stood still and eyes roamed. She didn't have to enter the room to view. It was the size of a sandbox.

It wasn't the size which made her worry but the content.

The place was her shrine. The walls, clipboards, windows all were covered with her photos. Even the ceiling had a larger than life version of her photo embedded up. Her legs shivered walking in. She too had a little crazy shrine for Gabriel.

Anyone with a teeny bit of crush and got carried away have their stars photos up the way. That was natural.

What seemed unnatural was this place. This didn't seem like a crazy fan's apartment. This was a psychopath's. There were photos of hers cut and pasted of naked bodies. The walls were covered with stains of red. She refrained checking it, her heart knew it wasn't beet juice. The closer she got to the small table, the scarier the revelation was.

Journals were neatly stacked. She picked up one to realize it mentioned her travel logs. Nearby Angel gasped. She turned to see him holding out a cut off picture of his with bold red written over it, 'Die'.

She wasn't done snooping. Whoever it was, she wanted to know.

Hugging all journals together she instructed Angel to carry them. This might carry some proof of what Aunt Claire's words and her disappearance meant. She checked for photos of the person who was holed up in here.

All she got was more of her photos. It was not just from shoots but from travels, places she visited and even the grocery mart.

It was a stalker who resided here and a crazy one for that. She was about to walk away when her cardigan caught a nail stuck to the table. Releasing it, she saw a small piece of paper flutter. What caught her attention was the face on it.

Pulling it, she saw Gabriel's face. Red bold words marked over it with a date from a week ago.

'Glitch'

She was a deer in headlights. Unable to process things further, she walked away. Downstairs, her brother hugged her trembling body.

This was the first time she cried after months. Emma too enveloped herself over them, adjusting her body to fit. Angel didn't join in. He wasn't the hugger but he blinked at her slowly. She knew he was there for her too.

They all got in the car and drove back. Hugh decided to drop her back before running to the nearest station. By now his sister's fame was enough to get him the favors he wanted. Once they reached her place, the house illuminated with blue and red strobes.

Exiting, Hugh and Angel talked to the uniformed men. She couldn't hear what they said but she knew something was wrong.

A patient Hugh never broke character but today was different. His hand balled a fist and traveled to the officer's face. Rose knew he'd be in trouble. She dialed her lawyer while exiting the car.

Her pace quickened before any of them could be charged with aggravated assault.

Hugh saw her and cried an instruction. "Go Away... Run.."

She didn't know what to say by which time it was too late. Her hand felt the cold steel on it, locked. Her mouth turned sour and tasted metal with the words she never expected to hear.

"You are under arrest for the murder of Claire and Gabriel Yapes."

//// ////

Author's Notes

Hello dearies,

Hope you liked this chapter.

Do let me know in the comments.

Happy reading

Love

S