------- A - W E E K - L A T E R -----

☘︎ Jᴇɴɴɪғᴇʀ Rʏsᴏɴ ☘︎

My nails tap against the shiny marble table's counter top as I wait for my guest to arrive.

The towering walls of the pristine chinese luxury restaurant eminate a golden-ish glow from its many lights. Silver chandeliers shaped after the chinese flower drop beautifully from the ceiling creating an illusion-worthy image. Perks of pre-booking the entire restaurant last minute with double the amount atleast granted me with no human in sight who would eavesdrop on our conversation.

My frustration on the tardiness lowers immediately as I finally hear the click-clack of her channel heels against the white tiles.

A minute later, smelling of limited edition perfume and adorned in top-notch designer silk off-white dress and exquisite pearl jewelry, Moon gracefully takes her seat opposite me.

As usually, her beautiful vietnamese features make her look like a porcelain doll even at double my age as she raises those brown eyes to mine, "What is it that you want, Jennifer?" She asks, setting her Christian Dior bag on the table.

I lean back in my chair with a mocking smile which doesn't reach my eye, "What makes you think I'm not here for a normal chat to bond with my step-mother?"

Moon stares at the lunch set before her, picks up two chopsticks and starts elegantly poking her food around, "You've never been interested before."

"Or maybe you weren't interested because you don't like me." I chide, my voice remaining at matter-of-fact tone.

Moon continues separating each dish and arranging them on her plate neatly, "I do not have anything against you."

"And that's why you published the article about me, is it?" I bait her, expecting a possible change in her expression.

Except there isn't any.

If anything, Moon looks up from her food in exasperated surprise. "Why would you even think I did that?" She sets down the chopsticks with a slightly nervous gesture, "Contrary to what you believe, I do not have any ill intentions towards you, Jennifer."

I hang to that single nervous gesture even though a part of me has gotten the answer, "You feel threatened by my presence, you've always been jittery when I'm around in the house, you're always on edge when I'm with Mia as if you think I'm going to hurt her. Don't think I haven't noticed any of it."

"You have it all wrong." Moon exhales a heavy breath, glances away from my gaze, "I do feel threatened by you but not because I think you're going to hurt Mia or because I want you out of the house. It's just that I worry about the things I will loose if Samuel throws Mia and me out of the house because you might not like us."

That sounds ridiculous and an awful lot like a motive.

I almost scoff at her reasoning though, "Why would Dad ever kick you out because I don't like anyone? You worry that you'll loose the luxury?"

"Your father cares about you more than you think." Moon flattens her palm against the marble table, showing the barest hint of anger in her expression, "And you don't know how my life was like before I had to marry your father because of the scandal. It's not the luxury I covet, it's the protection and safety. Samuel might never love me like he did your mother but he'll always respect me, always treat Mia as his own. That's all I've ever wanted for Mia and I."

I try to retort, but it's like a dam breaks through Moon's usually composed mask, "You don't understand. I've done everything to keep my daughter happy and protected. My former husband had been abusive, he'd beat me sometimes to unconsciousness and I'd still stay with him for the sake of Mia. Because I knew he'd never hurt her. Until. . . I couldn't anymore. Irene, your mother, she was my friend long before you and Mia met. We kept it a secret since Paul didn't like me having friends. Irene told me I should divorce Paul, that I deserve better. I realized as well I had to do it for Mia. She didn't deserve to grow in that environment either."

I blink in shock, her words like splashes of water drowning me in new realizations. I'd never know all of this about Moon. . .she'd always been so closed-off and composed.

"But then?" Moon lets out a delicate scoff, "Paul was a respected man in the society, I barely had a degree to raise a child. I had to fight so hard to just have my daughter to myself. Just because I didn't want her to be raised by a man I knew had a temper. He might not hurt her but I couldn't trust him entirely, couldn't let Mia in his care even on joint custody. I wanted my daughter away from the shadows of that man, away from his influence. I gave up everything to stop him. But he kept approaching Mia to go to him, displaying his twisted love for her. It stopped only after I got married to Samuel because Paul couldn't break through Samuel's security."

A foreign admiration blooms for the woman before me for all the courage she'd shown against a man who deserved to rot for raising his hand on his wife.

Moon was very off-topic with her words and it gave me an insight into her life before she married Dad. But none of it confirmed what I'm here for. . .

"Did you publish the article, Moon?" I ask calmly, too calmly.

Moon shakes her head, seeming to be in her own mind. She looks a little crazed but answers anyway, "No, I didn't. Mia wouldn't want me to. She's not okay. I would do anything to keep her happy and protected."

Suddenly it clicks why she's so keen on keeping Mia happy and a defensive anger rushes through me for my sister, "Just because Mia has a heart condition, doesn't make her not okay. Don't treat her like she's someone weak."

Moon shakes her head vehemently, muttering something in Vietnamese I can't catch up with fast enough. She picks up her Dior bag and rises from her seat with finality, "I'm done with this conversation."

And then she walks away just as gracefully as she entered. While I'm left with more confusion than before.

***

☘︎ Lʏᴋᴀs Vɪᴛᴀʟʟɪs ☘︎

Ethan's office inside the NY police department is like something out of a top-notch five star hotel lounge area with a touch of a detetive's lair—tinted glass cabinets, blackwood interior, grey carpeted floors and a huge green board consisting pictures of criminals and news articles pinned on it's surface.

"Is that why you joined the police force instead of taking over your father's shipping company? Because of the kidnapping?" I toss a paperweight in the air, twirling around in the chair in front of his desk.

Ethan doesn't look up from the file he's been flipping and glaring at for the last half an hour, "Yes, I wanted to do something which would ensure there was never another kid who'd be a victim of what we went through. And even if unfortunately something similar happened, then I wanted to know I could do something like the police officer who hunted down the clown years back did. He rescued us on time. A day more and we all would be dead. Violet-Jennifer-even she had limits to what she could endure. She isn't invincible even though I can never be thankful enough how she'd saved us all back then by not giving up."

I know Jennifer is fucking strong, it's engraved in her fierce personality to not show weakness. But even then, a thread could only stretch so much before it breaks. And I'd be damned to let her reach that point.

When Jennifer had told Ethan and I about the kidnapping and the incident a put her mother a week ago, while Ethan had approached wanting to know the truth so that he could help with settling down the scandal. The things she'd revealed. . .it'd gutted me to know she had to go through all of it at such a young age. It explained why she was so closed-off about her life and had trust issues.

But a part of me had ached when she'd conveyed that she believes she needs mental help, because she's been hallucinating the clown is following her ever since she showed up in New York. . .

"I think I'm loosing it again like I did that night of the incident. I had thought the clown was present that day, thought he'd grabbed me in the dark. But once the lights came on, he wasnt even there." Jennifer had said, her expression shut-off but I could see the tight grip of her fist, "Even in the yacht party few days ago, I thought he was there. Truly, I think maybe there wasn't anyone and I made him up."

"Wait." The mention of the yatch party had made me pause, something clicking in my mind, "You didn't hallucinate him on the yatch." My eyes meet hers in urgency, "When I came looking for you, I'd collided with a man in a clown's costume in the corridors of the yatch. He'd said he was there for entertainment."

Jennifer's head had whisked to me so fast, her eyes wide, "Francis and Mia hosted the party, they would never invite an entertainer dressed as a clown. We all have trauma attached with clowns."

It was that moment when Ethan had perked in with full police officer chief confidence, "I think you never imagined him. Maybe he was always there. At the incident. At the yacht. Following you. Someone gave me a tip y'all left city after been given the stringent order to stay within city. Maybe that someone published the article. Maybe that someone is the clown. Or maybe it's someone who knows about your real identity. There's only one way to find out."

Which brings us to the present where Ethan pulled strings and connected with the central prison department, to fix a meeting of Jennifer with the clown even though we suspect he's escaped prison.

Jennifer didn't need anyone's sympathy, she needed someone to stand by her and fight vigorously. It was one of the reasons I'd insisted on helping Ethan and Jennifer with all of this from the scandal to the incident.

The sound of the door to Ethan's office opening snaps me out of my reverie. Seconds later, Jennifer takes a seat on the chair next to mine.

I flash her a bright smile, but she just acknowledges it with a curt nod. My lips turn downward. I hate how all of this is stealing away even her rare smiles. I hate how suddenly it's like all the little progress we'd made the last month in forming a somewhat friendship had gone down the drain.

"How was the meeting with Moon? Is she the one?" Ethan asks, still scowling at the file in his hands.

Jennifer shifts her gaze from me and focuses on Ethan. Another pang hits at my heartstrings. I also don't like how she's giving him more attention lately. Gosh I sound like an idiot.

Jennifer shakes her head to his question, "I don't think she is, she seemed surprised and a little angry by the accusation. I'm still doubtful about her but lesser than before."

Ethan nods, finally lifting his gaze from the file, "That leaves us with Samuel, David, Mia and Francis. And probably the ones who helped cover up the incident eleven years ago, but I'm betting someone from the first four. They're more closer to you."

Jennifer's eyes turn stony, "Keep Mia out of it."

Ethan doesn't even blink, his expression stern as a cop, "Everyone's a suspect unless they're proved completely innocent to me."

Jennifer's fist clench on her lap, "Did you find the clown?"

Ethan runs a hand through his sandy hair, slumping back in his seat with a frustrated sigh, "Remember how there were five of us who got kidnapped?"

I shift in my seat at the mention of the kidnapping. The details always leaves me at edge. It always makes me want to pull Jennifer into my arms and hold her in a embrace forever. But I can bet she wouldn't appreciate the cuddly gesture very much.

Jennifer nods solemly, "You, Francis, Mia, me and another girl."

Ethan shuts his eyes, "One of the five of us, he or she came from a very dangerous family."

I sit straighter in my seat, confusion swirling within me.

Jennifer's brows furrow imitating my emotion, "What are trying to convey, Langford?"

"That victim's family killed him brutally within the central jail for kidnapping their child. I went through all the evidence of verification." Ethan opens his eyes and stares right at us, "The clown has been dead for the last eleven years."

--------᪥♔︎᪥-------

^ that is the Moon in my head

First of all, HAPPY DIWALI!!!
May the festival of lights bring joy and happiness to your life and make you a shining star!✨️

Now now,

Ahahaha the clown has been dead for AGES?! Who's the one following Jennifer then?👀

Do you trust Moon?

Any theories?👀