"I'm not going to lure any guys, Detective Rica. As a part of our team, you should just use critical thinking instead of believing in some baseless rumors about me." Yumi pursed her lips and nervously looked away.
On the other hand, Agent Roberta dismissed the meeting right away so Yumi can quickly leave for the headquarters.
"Take care, Yumi," Agent Roberta said and grinned. "I'm gonna expect the progress of your task. We have to know if Luke Laurel had motives in killing his adoptive father."
Yumi smiled back at her superior. "I will send further details on your email."
"I also need your help, Yumi. This is about a case that has nothing to do with your mission," Agent Roberta added.
"Okay. I am ready to help you in that matter."
She was heaving a sigh until she finally went outside the headquarters and called a taxi cab.
"Sir, please take me to Makati," she asked the taxi driver.
Her flight home was quiet and when she arrived at the apartment, she continued to put away her luggage to move to Luke's mansion. Mother Lingling is also hurrying to see her. She was busy for an hour and only then did she stop when Madam Sylvia called her. She funded her fees to pursue a criminology course and Madam Sylvia is one of the people she looks up to besides Mother Lingling.
"Hello, ma'am? How are you?" she asked the person on the other line.
"Yumi, are you free today or even tomorrow? Can you go to the club first?" Madam Sylvia's voice was full of fear. It was also obvious that he was trembling while speaking.
"Okay, no problem. I'll just go tonight," Yumi answered.
***
"Help me, Yumi. Shiana is missing. She hasn't come to my club for days. One of my close employees said that Shiana has a conflict with one of her male customers who has a gang or syndicate. That's just what I was told. You know that before, I didn't want trouble in my club. All the courtesans in my club, I take care of them, like my children. I won't let anyone hurt them. If it's necessary for you to ask for help from another police officer you know, that's even better. I have nothing to hide from the law. All my transactions with the club are all legal. "
Madam Sylvia almost begged and knelt down in front of Yumi. She couldn't stop crying because she was worried about Shiana. Yumi also knows Shiana and as far as Yumi knows, Shiana will also stop participating in the club once she has saved enough for college.
"Don't worry. I will look for Shiana. If necessary, I will also request a backup from the headquarters for him. Okay?" Yumi calmed Madam Sylvia at this moment by gently tapping her back. She then hugged her and wiped the tears that flowed down the old woman's cheeks.
"Thanks for the support, Yumi. But by the way, what happened to Dante's adopted son? Have you two already met?" Madam Sylvia suddenly asked.
"Yes. I haven't gained his trust yet. Don't worry. No one at headquarters knew that I had a connection with Luke. Fortunately, I was still entrusted with the mission of finding out about the anomalies of the company that Dante left behind. In this way, we will be able to avenge those who were aggrieved by Dante, and you are one of them," Yumi responded gently.
"Thanks a lot. Be careful, Yumi. Huh? Be careful with Luke," Madam Sylvia warned.
Yumi faked her smiles. Since then, Madam Sylvia has always warned her and reminded her that Luke was already capable of hurting anyone because of his illness but Yumi knows that even though Luke has mental health concerns, he will not be able to hurt others physically.
After the conversation with Madam Sylvia, Yumi also decided to fix things about Shiana first. After gathering information needed to find Shiana, she returned to the apartment to move into Luke's mansion.
***
"Maybe a thief got in!"
Confused, Yumi came out of the room. She felt very upset when she witnessed the seemingly dilapidated appearance of the mansion. The things she had worked so hard to put in a better place were out of order. The living room area turned dark again, and the curtains were hanging down.
"What will I do? Who could possibly be barged into this room?" She came to her senses and looked for Mother Lingling. Maybe she's in danger right now.
She ran to where there was more disorganized equipment, to the dining area, when she realized that Mother Lingling wasn't around the mansion.
"Who did this? Who ruined what I worked for?"
She started crying and made an effort to rearrange the chairs and tables. It was returned to its original place, which looked ugly and disorganized.
"I did it."
The light turned on along with the baritone voice from behind Yumi. She grabbed her chest and seemed to be about to have a heart attack. It has been said that Luke did not fail to ruin her good day from the beginning. And it terrifies her that she always sees Luke as a heartless man, and it reflects straight through his pair of hazelnut eyes.
Yumi sighed, "Don't you know that I worked hard to fix the mansion? Mother Lingling asked me to help her organize the furniture in your house! Then you just ruined what I worked for?"
"Nobody ordered you to do that," Luke replied without affection. He went to the kitchen and got some chocolate from the freezer. After a while, he also returned to the dining area, where Yumi remained irritated at him.
"Mother Lingling went to the market earlier. There's no one else in this house aside from us," she muttered without any hint of enthusiasm.
"Okay. Since you wrecked what I worked for, you should be the one to organize that furniture back to your desired places," Yumi retorted and gazed badly at Luke. "I know that you still hate me because I'm here living with you. But you can just tell Mother Lingling that you're not in favor of the idea of me living in your mansion. Don't fool yourself. Don't act like you can bear being near me when you're just doing things to show how much you are disgusted with my presence!"
"If I really hate you that much, maybe there are things that I might do more than disorganized this house, Yumi! I could lay my hands on you but I never did! And what I'm doing right now is not as much as you did when you betrayed me." Despite his anger, Luke's voice remained calm and he turned his back on Yumi. Up to this moment, he was hurting because he couldn't show his true emotions. He wanted Yumi to be on his side, but he wanted her to suffer like what she did to him before.