Emma's P.O.V

I looked up at the sky from my department office window.

Tiny raindrops poured down from the vast grey sky which was stretching for miles from here. The day looked gloomy without Meraki's usual sun. The roads below were a shiny black, wet from all the tears that the sky was pouring.

It was as if the nature itself was moaning for the sudden disappearance of the two kids in the city.

Bella.

The teen-ager's face from the footage popped into my mind. I looked down and stared at the photo clipped to the file on my desk.

A pair of beautiful innocent chocolate brown orbs stared back at me. The file says that the boy was five years old and that he was an orphan.

I kept staring at the file.

Something told me that the boy's case wasn't a co-incidence to be the same time of abduction as Bella's.

I sighed in frustration.

I hope Diana would hurry with the details of the boy.

I dismissed the emotions and looked at my watch. It read 2 pm. I didn't have my lunch yet. From the moment I heard about Bella, the appetite to eat, drink and sleep vanished into thin air.

I stood up from my seat.

Seems like it's time to fill myself with some energy.

***

I stared in to space, taking small sips from my coffee, not at all savouring it's taste. The coffee felt bitter and empty like my heart.

I was brought out of my reverie when my phone started blaring.

It's not until you fall-

"Hello?", I answered, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Emma! You need to come here ASAP", I heard Director Williams' panicked voice say.

I immediately got on to my feet making the chair slide back on the tiled floor with a screeching sound. I ran out of the building, mentally jotting down the address that Williams was uttering.

"What's wrong", I asked, panting a bit as I unlocked my car.

Director Williams has never lost his cool. This is a first time and that means something was terribly wrong.

He didn't reply, instead he hung up.

"What the fuck?", I glared at the phone as if it was its fault.

Why isn't he saying anything?

Damn it!

I punched the steering wheel in frustration and raced the car out of the parking lot. Manhattan Street wasn't too far from here. Infact, it was a five minute drive.

I parked the car infront of the construction site and ran into the halfway made building to watch a group of police officers already in action. I showed my badge to the Officer at the entrance and hurried to find Director Williams. I ducked under a yellow crime scene tape when I heard Martin's voice.

The voice was coming from the far end of the site. I speed walked, no correction; I ran towards it. Martin's back was towards me. He was talking to one of the police officers.

"Martin?", I called out making him turn around as soon as he heard my voice.

My heart got caught up in my throat as I saw Martin's face.

He was crying?

Martin's eyes were glassy while his face was contorted in pain.

"Emma!", he exclaimed in relief and gave me a hug.

"What's going on?", I whispered into his ear as I returned his hug.

Martin let go of me and looked me in the eye sadly.

"Come", he uttered the single word softly and began to walk ahead of me.

I followed Martin with my heart thudding against my ribcage. My hands and legs were shaking terribly.

Oh God! Please let it not be what I think it must be.

I kept on chanting the mantra in my mind as tears clung onto my eye balls dearly .

Martin ducked under a yellow tape and opened the black flap like curtain covering the crime scene, giving me the signal to enter.

I was just about to enter when he squeezed my shoulder assuringly, giving me a small pained smile.

As soon as I entered, my nose caught a familiar strong metallic smell, making me gag and gasp. I closed my eyes in pain. My heart was aching and churning as if being stabbed over and over again.

Please God-

I opened my eyes slowly chanting the mantra with a flicker of hope.

My whole body paralyzed making me realize how it was to be in coma for the first time in life. I couldn't move a limb. My body was frozen to death, shell shocked at the sight before me. My horror filled eyes reflected the sight of two heads placed beside each other on the cold bloody cemented floor.

The head on the left belonged to a disfigured, almost unrecognisable Bella. The other belonged to the small boy whose photo I was staring intently at a couple of hours ago.

Both of them were staring at my feet with wide fear stricken lifeless eyes.

What hit me the most was that the boy's eyes still held innocence, among all that lifeless glassiness.

I couldn't remove my eyes from the horrible sight.

I was too horrified to even breathe.

I was rooted on the spot, staring for I don't know how long.

My mind was numb and I couldn't feel my own physical existence until someone tapped me on my shoulder, breaking me out of the emotionless coma.

My eyes shifted a bit at the sudden interruption making my eyes widen even further at the sight ahead.

If the heads rendered me into a coma, this was the death of me.

The air got knocked out of me.

A jolt of pain pierced my heart, only this time it was by a bolt of lightening, electrocuting and shattering it in to pieces, making my knees buckle, throwing me on to the bloody floor as buckets of tears cascaded down my cheeks.

Lying before my eyes was flesh.

Flesh and bones in fragments, dipped and soaked in a pool of blood.

The two bodies were ripped open from top to bottom, not sparing a single organ inside them. Intestines and fluids floated on a pool of blood making me gag and close my eyes in horror.

AHHHHHHH!

A high pitched scream filled the already haunting scene.

AHHHHHHH!

The scream resonated again among the walls making me realize that the scream belonged to none other than me.

I was trembling and shaking. I felt someone hold me by my shoulders, but I just snapped their hands away and started sobbing into my hands. I crawled to a corner with my eyes still covered.

Images from the past began to re-surface, mixing with the present making me reach the border of insanity. Right now, I could say that I glimpsed the insides of a lunatic's mind.

I wanted to run. Run far away from this mess and stab myself with a knife. I wanted to put an end to all this.

How could they abuse that poor innocent child who had the eyes of an angel?

Where has humanity gone?

I shuddered at the image of the five year old being ripped apart. I almost puked at the haunting videos being played in my mind.

More and more barrells of tears cascaded down my cheeks at the mere thought.

This is all because of me.

I shouldn't have sent Bella to spy. I will never forgive myself.

I will never forgive myself.

How could they be so cruel?

How could you be so cruel Cayden?

More fresh tears rolled down my eyes at the mere thought of him.

At the thought that the person who had my heart was so heartless.

I cried endless buckets of salty water for I don't know how long. If my eyes were the skies, they would have already flooded the entire city by now.

Seconds

Minutes

And then hours passed by.

I remained in the corner, pouring my heart out as the two pairs of lifeless eyes stared at me.

I'm coming for you Cayden.

That was all my hazy mind could decipher amidst all the heartbreak and chaos.

__________________________________________________________________
Hey guys,

So here's the thirty fifth chapter and I hope you guys enjoyed it?? 😂😂

Alright alright. Don't kill me now. I specifically didn't enjoy writing it, so yeah, I'm pretty sure that you guys didn't enjoy reading it either 😅

It was hard for me to kill Bella and the little boy. Trust me, it was really really hard. Both these characters were very dear to me 😭😭😭

Yet, I had to do it for you guys no matter how many times my heart shattered while doing it 😭😭😭

So please do spare me 🙈🙈

And coming to the chapter, leaving my own heartbreak aside, how did you guys find it???

Did this chapter break your hearts too???

And as for the questions-
1) Emma's sources say that the boy was an orphan. Then why would Bella call him her brother?? Isn't there a contradiction here?? 🤔
2) What do you think will happen next??

Let me know your thoughts please. I can't wait to hear them 😍😍😍😍

And since this is a special chapter, here comes the most important part, i.e the dedication part!!

I dedicate this chapter to,
<Drum beats please>
Kasunidilshani99

She has been an amazing friend who has been voting and personally messaging me from time to time, boosting me with her endless supportive motivation.

Thanks alot girl!! Your support means alot to me. Love you loads!! 😘😘😘😘

And now that over, it's time for me to wave you guys goodbye for the time being.

Don't forget to vote, comment and share too!!!

Till next time,

Love,

Ranna