Bella had never seen such abject poverty in her life.

The conditions were beyond sorrowing. The whole area was sectioned off from the main city by another stream, artificial or natural, she wasn't sure. But it was obvious that the water was beyond polluted as it was completely black, the remnants of cans, worn out shoes and other undecipherable garbage peeked out before being lodged back into its dirty depths.

Everything else was as much an eye sore as the lake.

The houses were clustered together like sardines in a can with grey washed walls speckled with holes, dirty staircases that housed one too many cracks and roofs that looked about ready to topple over the house with every blow of the sandy air. Bella got out of the car, her mouth still curled in distaste. The ground was covered with dried, blistering sand. The faintest break of green broke free from the barren land ever so often but it had also taken a hit as it was shrivelled, more yellow than green and looked about ready to die.

Bella didn't like the eyes that stared at her. They almost looked rabbid with their sallow cheeks, over protruding cheek bones, dirty and patched clothes with roughened skin. Bella was relieved by her decision not to dress in her designers and leave all valuables behind because the people looked hungry enough to steal. Despite the tremble in her hands and the fear that apparently squeezed her chest, she squared her shoulders. She would not fear. Especially not in front of her brother. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes, he just switched off his phone and he looked reasonably relaxed without a care in the world.

Despite his apparent hatred for her, she was sure that he wouldn't allow harm to come to her. She swallowed. At least he didn't hate her that much.

"So where are we going from here?"
Bella walked towards him and stopped to leave some space between them. He gave her another blank stare before pinching the bridge of his nose,

"To visit someo-ne. Th-ey don't liv-e too far fr-om here."

Miles began to walk off without a backward glance. Not wanting to linger around the vicinity without him, she followed after him, making sure to keep in step with him. Their shoes caused a flurry of dust to spiral, making Bella wheeze a little. More people peeked out of broken dirty windows as they passed, their gazes causing tingles to start up Bella's spine.

You're with Miles. He won't allow them to hurt you.

With every repeat of the thought, she found it harder to believe. Despite that she repeated it. Tension bunched up her nerves and she knew none of them would be able to recognize her. But a little part of her wondered if they would, her mind flashed back to the story of a colleague. A colleague of hers, Diane, had gone to some remote town out of the blue and she never came back. After weeks of searching, the police had found her dead body in someone's house, chopped into pieces. The gruesomeness of it all caused another round of pressure to smother her chest.

Miles turned left and Bella followed soon after. It led them to a wide compound fenced with wonky sticks which were tied together with thin ropes that looked about ready to snap at any moment. They passed a large dustbin which Bella backed away from because of the putrid smell that emanated from it. Layers of dirt and trash were piled high, even the container itself was stained with decayed fruits and faeces. Bella felt her stomach twist. Maybe she shouldn't have come because this place was disgusting.

Miles obviously didn't care to see how she was faring as he strolled to the lone house that stood at the corner. This one was brown instead of gray, it had no windows but a gaping hole. The roof was made with a combination of straw and zinc, something that Bella could only raise an eyebrow at. And it had a strong smell of alcohol, one that made her skin crawl. Once again without meeting the person, she was already turned off. There was nothing good about a drinker. But she shouldn't be surprised, given the surroundings, the place looked like it was housing many hoodlums.

If only all men could be like her father.

That caused her lips to quiver. He had always been against drinking. Bella was not allowed to wallow in that misery as the door was wrenched open, making it knock off its hinges and collapse. A grunt followed after the crash of the door. A man with red hair, lined with a bit of grey came out.

"Who are you?" The man's voice was hoarse, his lips chapped and a bit black. Bella could not draw up a good image for the man as she inspected his clothing; dirty, smelly, obviously unwashed. She folded her hands over her chest and was about to lean against the pillar that was without a splotch when it suddenly cracked and careened to the floor with an ear splitting whack! The man was jolted by the sound and glared at Bella.

"Watch it, idiot!"

Hot anger raked fingers through her chest.

Nobody talked to me that way!

Indignation speared her and she was about to give the man a piece of her mind when Miles gave her a very harsh warning look. With another huff, she kept her mouth shut. Miles turned back to the man and tipped the hat he wore,

"Good morn-ing, sorry if I'm disturbing you. I'm Mil-es by the w-ay."

He raised a hand towards the man. The man regarded him with dark bloodshot eyes that almost made him look insane. He spat on the floor instead which made Bella shudder again.

"What's with your face? You got some disease or somethin'?"

Bella wondered how Miles was able to live with his condition all his life. Because of the severity of his condition, it usually made him stand out in a bad sense and she could remember several times, catching him huddled by himself in a corner as groups of boys and girls alike made jabs at him. Bella shook her head. While that same group would sometimes invite her, even though she wasn't in their age group, to sit down with them during lunch. Bella shook out of it so that she wouldn't stray too far into the underlying emotions buried underneath.

She pushed the shades up the bridge of her nose and stole another glance at her brother.

"-could call it that. But it's of no harm."

He didn't look bothered by the question. He recited the words as though they had become a part of him, something that he would dish out to people unknowledgeable of his condition.The man looked between the two, not broaching the subject of his condition further. His eyes narrowed.

"You people don't look like you're from around our parts."

Disgust churned in Bella's belly.

"I-"

"We obviously aren't!"

The man turned to face her with eyes shooting lasers.

"What's that supposed to mean, little lady? Are you trying to say that we're disgusting, eh?" A crazed look glazed over his eyes and Bella almost regretted talking but she stood her ground.

"Well, thank heavens that you know what you are, you rat!"

The man gave a hard laugh as he leaned against the doorway. His laugh ended with a few coughs and a tight grimace. He heaved,

"Look 't the kettle calling the pot black! You're not good looking yourself, you know! I've seen frogs that look better than you!"

Bella's nostrils flared and she could barely contain her embarrassment.

How dare he?!

"You-"

"Don't min-d my charge here. She ju-st got relea-sed from the institution as of yester-day so she's a littl-e bit....."

The man's crazed eyes swept back to Bella. He chuckled again though he wheezed at the end.

"Why am I not surprised? With a temper like that, you should be taken right back. Of course you'd mix well with all of us here. What can I do for the associate of a release?"

Bella looked between the two, not at all understanding what they were talking about. Embarrassment still thrummed loudly at the fact that he thought she, The Bella Cox, would mix well with a bunch of creeps and hobos.

Not over my dead body!

"Well, we learnt that a Tom Gates passed your home some days ago."

After he said that, the man clenched his jaw, his eyes went hard and his features tightened.

"What about him? You aren't related, are ya?"

Bella could sense the veiled threat and that made her grit her teeth.

"Of-"

"Never. We just wanted to let you know that the man is dead."

The man was taken aback by the news before his blood shot eyes narrowed, his breathing hitching.

"Good riddance." There was now a noticeable slur to his words as he wobbled on his feet. He took a bottle from the floor and held it to his lips before downing its contents which made Bella take a few steps back.

"That man is pure evil." He hissed, spit flying out of his mouth in different directions.

Bella inhaled sharply.

"Wh-"

"How?"

The man kept silent for a few beats, his frame wavering like a light piece of cloth that fluttered in the breeze. Within a second's notice, he grabbed the handle of the fallen door before pulling it up clumsily. After managing to hold it up despite his obvious imbalance, he sealed the doorway shut.

It rang loud and clear. They weren't wanted here.

"Well so much for your investigation. Trying to question obviously crazy men doesn't work well in our favor, especially one that can't even say the tru-"

"I do-n't have ti-me for this."

Miles tried to move past her but she blocked his way.

"Oh you don't? Yet you have time to tell lies! Why did you act as though we aren't related to-"

"I ha-d to do what I had to do, someth-ing that shouldn't be so ha-rd for you to understa-nd. Don't be so th-ick."

Bella clenched her fists.

"Don't call me-"

Miles shushed her and Bella slapped his hand away. She was about to shout at him when someone interrupted them,

"You're a police officer, aren't you? Detective Miles, isn't it?"

Bella turned around to see who Miles was looking at. A woman that was holding a basket filled with laundry stood not too far away from the staircase. The wind that whipped around her carried strands of her honey brown hair up before it gracefully fell in full curls. Her amber eyes sparkled underneath the sun and Bella was taken aback by how beautiful she looked despite the ugly clothes that hung off her skinny frame.

Bella suddenly felt ugly looking in her own clothes. She looked down at herself and back at the woman again, immediately feeling somewhat inferior with the effortless stunning look that she had. Bella wondered why such a woman was still living in a dump like this. If her beauty could amount to riches, she would be wealthier than Bella hands down.

"How do you kn-ow me?" Miles raised a brow at her, to which the woman smiled, although shakily.

"Well, it isn't easy to forget the man that rescued my sick nephew."

"Oh. Ho-w is he by t-he way?"

"He's good."

"Who are you?" Bella finally asked, cutting into the silence that had descended.

"Me? Oh, I'm Sophie." She gave a stunning smile which could have as well made any sane person, or mad at that, swoon. Bella felt her stomach twist. And she thought she was the most beautiful? When someone like this existed? Bella narrowed her eyes, there must be something that this woman must be using to look this good. There must!

"Do you have any particular products you use? Face masks? Creams? Soaps-"

Miles gave her a narrowed look. Once again, grudgingly she kept quiet.

"Are you rela-ted by any cha-nce to that guy?" Miles pointed at the house for emphasis. The woman laughed.

"Oh that guy. He's my husband."

Bella gave her a quizzical look.

Why would someone as beautiful as her go for someone so.....?

Her lips curled at the memory of him, different horrible names churning to mind as she couldn't necessarily pin him down with one.

"I'm sorry if he caused you any inconveniences. He isn't like this normally, it's just a lot has happened. He's a good man, really." The woman swallowed and her eyes gleaned with unshed tears.

"Sinc-e you already kn-ow who I am, let me cut str-aight to the chase. Tom Gates died so-me days ago and someo-ne told us that he had come here to of-fer a he-lping hand-"

"That man has brought nothing but pain." Her voice broke at the last part and she struggled to breathe properly as the tears were already sliding down her tanned cheeks. She tried to stifle it but it only got worse with each second that passed, her wails ringing in the silence. At some point she merely sat on the ground and held a hand to her mouth as she tried to muffle her cries.

Watching the scene before her made Bella uncomfortable. Why in the world would this woman talk about her daddy like that? Even though Bella had seen people who could fake tears and twist stories, she was almost completely sure that this woman wasn't faking her sadness or tears. That caused Bella's heart to beat faster. Then what exactly did he do then? Her father wouldn't harm a fly. He wouldn't, he couldn't.

Doubt began to creep in as she remembered how many things had changed. Could it be possible that her father had also changed too? Bella shook her head. She had high hopes for her father, he would never do anything bad. He was her dad. Her knight in shining armour. A clown, harmless and unable to physically or emotionally offend anyone. The man that had cuddled her to sleep and held her when she cried or made a joke of himself so that they would be both humiliated in public. She trusted him to still be the same man that she once knew.

But people change. You changed.

Bella shook her head. She wasn't going with this. Miles gave the woman a handkerchief and helped her get up as she dabbed her tears away.

"Sorry for turning into a mess." She muttered almost incoherently.

"It's alright," Miles replied, his voice so soft and freed from the hard edge it always carried when he spoke to her. "What the-n did he do?"

Suddenly for some reason her heart jumped. She suddenly felt nervous. Why should she care about what this woman had to say about her dad? She knew the truth and the truth was that he was a wonderful man, everyone saw it. There would always be liars and haters. You just simply focus on the good rather than the bad.

"What you believe is what you will see. Someone can see a dirty old useless rock and someone else can see an unpolished diamond worth millions."

Belka chose to believe that he was good and nothing would shake it. No matter what she said, she knew her father or at least had known him. That shadow of doubt lingered behind her but she twisted away from its dark embrace before it creeped any closer.

The woman sniffled. "He...." She shook her head, her mouth closing and opening as she struggled to say the words.

"Follow me." She finally croaked after minutes of struggling with unshed tears. They both shared a look before following behind her. The trio walked out of the compound before taking a number of turns along the slowly thinning path, which was lined by other dirty ramshackle huts or uncompleted buildings. The putrid smell of faeces with pee made Bella want to retch her guts out. She carefully watched her step so she wouldn't step in anyone's excrete.

Before long they climbed up a small hill, following up the dried soil, stones skittering down the sides as they walked. On top of it, a once mighty tree stood, its bark had a split in the middle and its leaves were yellow, some were pulled from their branches before fluttering to the ground. There was something about it that somewhat reminded Bella of the night when they buried her father.

She tried not to allow herself to be immersed in the wave of sadness that came with remembering. Still, she didn't like the feeling that held her. The faintest hint of trepidation joined with dread that steadily gained ascension in her mind.

"W-hat is it that you want-ed to show u-s?" Miles asked softly and Bella stole another glance at him. He looked kind as he held out a handkerchief towards her. Bella wasn't sure he had ever smiled at her, talk less of being nice at all. Bella saw a small rattle lying flat on the ground, at the base of the tree, where dead grass lay flat against the coarse ground below.

The wind blew against her, a stale smell weaving through the air.

"My son..." The woman wailed and her cries echoed in the former ambience that sat atop this hill. Her cries made a shadow of fear squeeze her heart and like the time she had wished that she hadn't come to Rivera city, she suddenly realized she didn't want to know what the woman was about to say.

Her mouth went dry and a lump formed in her throat.

It's your dad. Even if he did something bad, it would never be that bad. He was your dad. You knew him more than anyone else.

Yeah, you knew him.

With bated breath and ringing ears she waited for the words that the woman would say. The four words that would soon shatter the memories of him that she held close,

"He killed my son."

I want to thank God for giving me the Grace to write this. Dun dun dun! Do you like the cliffhanger? Poor Bella, she's going to be so devastated after this, I don't even want to imagine what life holds for her next but we would see. Anyway, how was the chapter for you? Any theories, suggestions? Do we like the siblings stuff going on? Anyway, vote, comment and follow if you enjoyed it ❤️. Miles pov is coming up, see you then!