The once bright sun dipped lower in the sky, embracing the amber and pink glow of the evening in open arms, as the dusky hues in the waning light slowly drew closer. Callie paced around her room, still deciding on what to wear for Viola's party.

She groaned when she put on a simple  powder blue dress, scooped with a halter-strap neckline and pleated bell sheath.  How could she possibly wear a dress that she had worn to a wedding? Well, she didn't have a choice. She didn't have anything else that looked this good. If there was one word to describe her regular clothes, it would be "boring". Yep, her clothes were boring. Since she always wore uniform to school everyday, Callie didn't realize how every other thing she owned, sucked.

Groaning again, she resisted the urge to call Viola and give an excuse not to come. The ringing of her phone distracted Callie from her little dilemma. A small smile tore through her lips when she saw Naomi's name popping up on the screen. "Hey Nae, why are you calling? It's not time for the party yet?"

Naomi's mellow feminine voice rang through her ears. "I'm calling to make sure you don't bail on me tonight." Callie's lips tipped up. Naomi knew her so well. "I know you hate parties and all that, but Viola's gonna kill us if we don't go."

"I know. I know. I'm just glad you agreed to come. I almost thought you'd refuse."

Callie could picture Naomi giving a shrug as she spoke. "I was going to. I really can't stand how condescending Viola is, but I'm hoping she's doing this to be nice. It'll also be a bonus if she doesn't revert back to her old self."

Naomi's response sparked a bit of curiosity in her. "You know, I never got to ask. Did something happen in the past with Viola? I've always wondered why you couldn't stand her, even more than I do."

Naomi's soft chuckle tingled her earlobe. "What? Are you expecting to hear a story about Viola stealing an old boyfriend of mine? Honestly, there's no story to it. She's just full of bullshit and I can't stand people like that."

Callie made a disappointed "oh". She was expecting to hear something risque or a scandalous story filled with revenge and heartbreak. But knowing Naomi, it makes sense that she didn't like Viola because of her behavior. Naomi was too apathetic for petty drama. "Don't forget to call me at least five minutes before you get to my house, so that I can—"

A loud shattering crash from downstairs put Callie on high alert. The piercing sound was loud enough for Naomi to hear. "What was that?"

Staggering fear overwhelmed Callie and she quickly retorted. "We'll talk later. I've got to go."

Callie hung up and darted out of the room. Ava popped out of hers. "What was that sound?"

"Stay back inside. I'll check it out." Ava obeyed her sister's words, without question.

She sighed to herself. Callie already had an idea who it was. She rushed down the stairs, and the closer she got, the louder Abe's swears blared. 

He threw out another "God dammit" and Callie entered the kitchen, completely shocked to see broken shards of one of mom's favorite mugs.
Red-orange color of the persimmon ceramic mug shattered in small fractions and its sharp edges glistened in the light.

Abe reached out to pick the pieces when Callie leaned closer. "Let me help you."

"No." His voice raised slightly. "I want to do this on my own. I need to do this on my own."

Callie's face softened when she saw the distraught look in Abe's brown eyes. "What happened, Dad?"

Abe plunged deeper into the pain burning him on the inside. His voice, sullen and raw. "I just wanted to get a damn cup of tea and it just fell from my hand. It's not my fault."

Anguish roared through his grave words and Callie felt a lump in her throat. "It's mom's. We never touch them."

"I know." He lowered his head. Abe's silver locks fell over his sad brown eyes. Lines of wrinkles that were set on his face, scrunched up when a small frown sunk onto his lips. "I just can't help thinking about her. Next month would make it exactly two years since she died and I remembered how much she loved drinking coffee from this mug. The heat would burn her lips but she'd just always smile about it. Maisie loved the smell of coffee. It soothed her."

Callie's mouth dried. "Next month's her anniversary?"

His weary gaze flickered to her eyes. A look of confusion had settled in. "Yeah, why do you look so surprised?"

"I used to obsess over everything about mom. I always remembered the day and month of when she died. It was just something I held on to. The great memories I have of her." A wave of sadness washed over Callie, dulling her spirit and pushing back every other emotion in her. "I can't believe I forgot."

Abe's comforting smile didn't ease up her guilt. "It's a good thing. It shows that you're moving on. And that's something I haven't even accepted yet and you finally did."

Callie hissed. "I don't want to move on. If I move on, it'll be like I'm forgetting about her or like I'm letting go of her. I don't want to let go."

"I wish I could let her go." His small sigh got Callie's attention. "I loved your mom. She was the only woman who didn't care about who I was or my flaws. She stood against her family and sometimes it hurts because I can't measure up to her. Not even half. Your mom took care of me when it should have been the other way around."

Callie's eyes watered. "You're not like everyone else, dad. You're—"

A humorless chuckle trickled out of his mouth. "You don't have to tell me. I know what I am. And I know she'd want us not to throw our lives away. That's why I wanted to use her mug. To feel something. A reminder of her strength so it'll keep me going."

"Mom had over a dozen cups, so you have enough to choose from." Callie said, trying to make him feel a bit better. It didn't seem like it worked, but it did keep him quiet for a little while.

Abe offered a small smile, and took a quick glance at Callie's outfit. "Speaking of which, why are you all dressed up?"

Callie didn't meet his gaze, lowering hers to the fragments of her mom's once beloved ceramic mug that shattered on the tiled floor. "Don't you remember? I told you yesterday. My close friend, Viola is a having a very small party to celebrate her seventeen birthday."

Callie almost gagged. Calling Viola her "close friend" felt very strange to say, but she had to downplay the party or she'd be sitting home watching old series reruns with her family.

"You told me about a party and I agreed to it? Was I completely drunk when it happened?" Callie gave him a flat look and he broke into a half-smile. "I'm kidding. It's no problem. You can go. Usually, most teenagers are party animals but I trust you.  If I didn't know how antisocial you were, then I'd probably have followed you there." Then he wore a stern expression at her eyeroll. "Don't give me that look. I know how high school parties are."

Callie countered, before he could get any more ideas in his head. "It's not a raging party. It's a low key 'friends only' thing. Completely harmless." She wasn't sure about that, but she knew her dad well enough. If she wasn't able to convince him, then he could really follow her there and that would be too embarrassing.

Abe's dubious look raised questions in his eyes. "If you say so. Just avoid taking drugs there. I already have problems of my own. I don't think I can cope with a junkie kid."

Callie rolled her eyes  again at his attempt at a "dad joke" and offered her assistance. "Let's just pick up the broken pieces carefully and get this over with. I have a party to get to."

★★★

Edgar Callum sauntered through the Manor, heading straight to where Larkin waited for him, with a cautious look in his clear blue eyes. Crisp crow-black suit adorned his sturdy build and Larkin looked at him warily. "What's so important that you needed to see me in person? We could have spoken on the phone. It wouldn't be fair to make you leave any important thing you have going on in your life."

An eyebrow arched. "That's very kind of you to say but this was something I needed to say face-to-face. I couldn't risk anyone in the office overhearing any of this. I didn't want it to turn into a huge scandal."

An icy chill crept on Larkin, dragging him through a whirlwind of deep dread. "What are you talking about, Callum?"

Uneasiness had wormed its way to his attorney's face when he said. "Do you remember when you told me to reinvestigate the stolen antique issue involving Abe Blanco?"

Larkin's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the ominous feeling bursting through his head. It was almost like his brain could picture the worst possible outcomes. "Yes, I remember. But you told me that it would take a little longer for the case to be resolved, without getting the attention of the members of the board and my employees."

"I know I said that, but things happened faster than I expected. Honestly, I want you to try and take a deep breath about this. People—"

Larkin hissed out. Anxiety twisted his words when he uttered them. "I'm not a very patient person, sir. What did you find out?"

Meeting his gaze evenly, Callum was careful with his reply. "After full investigation, our team was able to trace the culprit. It was a worker in the Accounts department."

Larkin cocked his head. That was all?  A worker did it? Larkin had never felt disappointed over something like this before. He thought it'd be something bigger. He was expecting a grand reveal, not this flop. "So a bored employee decided to sabotage a janitor's job? That's it?"

Edgar Callum adjusted his glasses. With a long sigh, he stressed out his sentence. "It's a lot more complicated than that. The worker, Ingrid Farrell, is just a middleman. She was just following orders. Anyway, Ingrid made some calls on her office telephone and some private emails on the company's computer that day and some days after. We were able to retrieve the call log and link the IP address from her computer to whoever she was working for. Apparently, those calls were mostly made to a particular home address. 127, Shelly Avenue."

Larkin didn't understand why his attorney kept on breaking his words and Callum seemed to be cautious about how he'd say what he knew. "Okay, what's so special about that address?"

"That's your aunt's address, Larkin."

Larkin went still. It felt like a bucket of water had been thrown over his head and he didn't know how to react to the shocking news. He still hadn't properly absorbed the weight of what Edgar Callum just said. Larkin didn't want to believe any of it. "My aunt's address? She did this?"

The older man said quietly. "I'm afraid so."

"You know all these while, I knew she didn't like me." Larkin lamented. "But destroying someone's life and taking away their chance at a stable job just to make me look incompetent is childish, even for her."

"I'm very sorry about my past judgement. I assumed the worst about Abe Blanco. He was truly an innocent man. What are you going to do about him, now that you know the truth?"

His thoughts went to Callista. The last time her dad got sued for the broken vases in the office, she took it badly and Callista had warned him to keep his family's issues away from hers. So, how would he now break this news to her? "To be honest, I really don't know and that's the biggest problem."

★★★
I'm so sorry for the delay, I had some personal things that I was dealing with and chose to prioritize that over anything else.
Anyway, I'm hoping you loved this chapter.
Xoxo
Jasmine