RECAP: Sometime during Hazel's family vacation, Shawn gets word of Victoria's death from Travis and tells Hazel and the others about it. Levi reacts strangely to the news leading to a couple of theories arising. Hazel found out her mom's six weeks pregnant and in the last chapter, Shawn and Hazel visits Victoria's home to see her parents but only met Jasmine, Victoria's sister and Saraphina, her best friend. Saraphina gives Hazel a tape recorder and asks her to listen to the secrets trapped inside, the reason Victoria's dead. And that's what you missed on Glee! Lol.

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I was thrown off-balance after I heard every single conversation on the tape recorder. For complete fifteen minutes, different thoughts swarmed in my head.

Did I really hear what I think I heard?

"This is really bad, really bad." Shawn kept on repeating, running his fingers in his hair.

"I don't expect him to betray us after all we've done for him."

Shawn's jaw tightened. "That sick bastard. I'm gonna beat the-"

I pacified my bestfriend by linking our fingers together. "There's a better way to deal with him than force."

"What better way?"

"Tact, bestie," I said, flicking his forehead. "Tact."

He seized my wrist and tried to twist it. I yelled out and pulled his right ear hard until he let go.

"Witch." He teased.

"Demon."

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"You really think that this isn't a setup?" Chad asked the next day while we all lazed around the pool in our swim wears. The weather was insanely hot as opposed to the chilly atmospheric conditions last two days.

"Well, whatever you heard on that tape recorder is the reason Victoria's dead." Shawn told Chad.

Chad's gaze trailed to me. "And who told you that?" He asked in a surly voice at which I raised a brow.

"Saraphina." Shawn replied, his facial expression gradually morphing into irritation.

"How do you know you aren't being set up, what if-" Gemma slapped a hand over Chad's mouth. Her sudden movement made him lose his balance and he fell back into the pool.

Shawn and Charlie chuckled when he resurfaced and flipped the bird at us.

"The question is what's going to happen next?" Gemma spoke.

"I always had a bad feeling about Levi, see, I was right." Shawn looked at me in an accusatory manner.

"Shut up, Shawnee. There's no time to trade blames here. Hazel, do you think you should involve your dad in the matter?" Charlie asked me.

Sincerely, I had no idea about what next action to execute. To tell dad or not to tell him?

"I don't know guys." I swam away from Chad who was splashing water at me.

"I say we tell your dad." Gemma suggested.

"The threat should not be taken lightly at all, Haz." Charlie supported her.

I looked at my best friend. He responded with an encouraging nod of his head.

"Let's inform your dad. He'll know what to do."

I never doubted my dad's capability to handle this situation. The line of detectives he controlled were up to the task. In a matter of minutes or days, all would be sorted out.

So, after arriving at a reasonable agreement with my friends, I asked Gemma to pass my phone over, then I sent a message to my dad.

Me: dad, there's something you need to know. (16:08pm)

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"closer enough..."

"Soon, we can strike Nicholas Corporation." Levi's voice faltered a little.

"Have they fully trusted you?" Another masculine voice asked.

"Enough to let me go with them on a vacation-"

The same person chuckled so horribly that I shivered in the leather swivel chair in dad's study. Dad noticed my nervousness and stopped the tape recorder.

"What are we going to do?" He faced the detective he invited over,  a smart-looking brown-skinned lady, Jackie was her name. I think I've met her once or twice at dad's business parties.

"I'll need to listen to everything on that tape." She pressed on a button and the voices came alive again.

"Who are the first targets?" Levi asked the man who I concluded was the leader of whatever twisted gang he was a part of.

"Hazel."

A deafening pause.

Then.

"Yes, boss."

Why did it seem like his response was a bit hesitant? What did it matter anyway? Levi was the traitor.

"Don't disappoint me, Diego."

Diego?

All three of us in the study were stunned by this new revelation but we let the tape play.

"Michael would be joining us soon when the day comes."

And with a few scratchy sounds, the tape ended.

Dad's fists were balled on his table. He glanced all around the room in either frustration or anger.

Me on the other hand was still trying to digest this piece of information that Victoria had laid her life down for.

Jackie finished scribbling some facts on her notepad and glanced directly at my father.

"The first step is making duplicates of the recording. Next, I'm gonna need to speak to Hazel alone-" Dad raised a brow at her. "-just a few questions. It won't take long."

Dad, being the obstinate man he is, stayed put. "I don't see why I need to leave my own study for you to question my own daughter."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Fine, stay then. So, Hazel, are you ready?"

"Sure, ask away."

"Do you have any pictures of Levi?"

I nodded, taking out my phone and scrolling through the pictures in my gallery. "Yeah. A couple of groupfies."

Jackie asked I send some of them to her and then she asked a couple more questions.

"Where does Levi live?"

"Honestly, I have no idea."

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The following day, Shawn suggested we all hang out at the park, including Levi. That was all part of the plan, Jackie and some other agents would tail him when he was leaving.

Honestly, we all were nervous but I tried to act normal around Levi. We didn't want him to suspect a thing and run off.

"So, what are we doing?" Chad asked, his fingers interlocked with Winston's on the grass.

"Card games." Charlie suggested, reaching into his pockets.

Winston poked him with his white converse covered foot. "Don't be such a nerd."

Charlie's smile faded away. Chad noticing this whacked Winston's head with his hand. "Don't be an asshole, Wint. How about we play Never have I ever?"

Gemma raised a questioning brow
"Wint?" 

Chad ignored her. "Let's play that instead. Winston start."

"Wait, we don't have drinks." I told them.

Beside me, Shawn laughed. "We don't have to follow rules all the time. Levi, don't you agree?"

Levi grinned. "Of course."

And so, the next minutes flew rapidly and before we knew it, it was six-thirty in the evening. Levi left first and I hoped Jackie would take care of the rest.

"What do you think? Did he suspect a thing?" Charlie rose, fixing his glasses.

Gemma shrugged after Winston helped her to her feet. "Hopefully."

Shawn threaded his fingers with mine and we all started walking to the park's exit gate.

"It's Halloween in about three weeks. Have any of you chosen a costume yet?" Charlie asked as we walked past the ice cream vendors and some parents trying to keep their kids in check.

"I'm showing up as the Mad Hatter." Winston said.

"And I'm guessing Chad would show up as Alice." Gemma teased, laughing when Chad prodded her playfully with his elbow.

"No, I'm Harry Potter." He responded, shooting Gemma an evil look.

Gemma faced me. "How about you Haze? Pick a character. You too Shawn."

"Why don't you give us, let's say a week, to figure that out. For now, the most important thing is unraveling a mystery."

No one spoke a word. Our silence agreed with what Shawn had said.

Mr Todd had parked the Escalade not too far from the Park's major exit gate. All of us climbed in the vehicle and let him drive while listening to Amy Winehouse from mom's music collection.

***
Tell me about your lockdown experience.

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Mehn, I'm tired already. 😟

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Many thanks to everyone that has supported this book in one way or the other. I'm grateful😚