Verboten/FORBIDDEN

31. Path of Sand

May 20, 2020, a year after what happened, and the first and last time I saw Scion, I've finally graduated as an Engineer. Lots of things happened after that.

My friends finally came back to me. Of course, Bianca and her friends are gone with Moe. Everything is back to normal but no matter how hard it is to forget everything; I cannot act like nothing has changed. My bestfriend is gone and I knew he will never come back.

'The men I loved will never return to me.'

Jude and Sovran tried to win my heart but I told them that I'm not prepared for a new love. The real reason is, I'm just afraid I'll lose someone again. We better remain as friends, something that lasts than having an intimate relationship.

I forbid myself to fall again; to be hurt, to lust and to be happy, never again.

This year, I didn't enroll in my license exam and joined the Underground mission. Realizing that I was made to be a fighter, I learned to embrace it rather than forcing myself to follow my dream by building roads, bridges, homes, and other structures. If I can't build a stable relationship, I couldn't trust myself to be able to build even a small house.

Today, my mission is to find a kidnapped or runaway bride, Renee Domalsin who was a daughter of upperclassmen who is supposed to be married to a senator's son. The police never found a trace of her during her wedding day and it's been a week since she disappeared.

"Brazen, we trust you to solve this case. I can't risk putting you in another dangerous case so we give this to you." Chief King gave me the folders of Renee's information and evidence then I studied it overnight.

William, my coworker but not an assistant or a partner, just an accomplice helped me to go to the last place where she was seen. It's considered as a crime scene so it's still sealed and untouched. We took pictures of every detail and investigated it. Her veil and dress were never worn including the accessories and flowers. I opened the drawer and saw makeup kits and a small jewelry box for a necklace and a pair of earrings.

"It's empty?!" William who noticed what I found quickly took a shot for evidence. "Did you know that Renee's assistants were also interrogated and later got fired because they weren't aware that someone took her? They're sent out to get her dress but when they came back, she's already gone."

"Hey..." I noticed a bathrobe hanging from a chair and sniffed it. "The robe smells like flowers, a very expensive soap used only by the rich people and I'm positive that it's hers. Which means-"

"The maids are lying." William shakes his head and continued looking around.

I filled a mouth full of air and snapped my fingers. "This means that they are telling the truth!"

"How could you say that?" William looks at me with doubt.

"The maids might be on their way here with the dress leaving Renee wearing nothing but a towel. Is that a bathroom?" I pointed at a door which is the only door aside from the entrance. We quickly went to it and put some dust to find some fingerprints. "Fuck! It is filled with a lot of prints!"

We managed to take every detail before opening the door and switched on the lights. There's no window except for the air ventilation which doesn't have any sign that it tampered.

"There's another towel which is used to dry her hair and she's the only one who bathed here." We went out of the room and observed again. "She used her clothes again and been kidnapped before the maidens came in."

"Right, okay, I understand. They're in jail now."

I quickly looked at William with a frown. "That's not right. The case isn't over yet and they're being punished?"