Chapter 40: Gathered Information
Nick was watching his found information about her father’s death. It a rumored that a girl was walking out of their village the night before Mr. Fuentes was found dead in his house. He got his hoody and pulled out his car from the garage.
He visited the guard’s house in the middle of the night. Good thing that security was fast asleep when he got there. He easily made it to the monitor area and review all the footage that night but it was deleted. Using his discovered codes he managed to retrieve the footage. It was indeed a girl walking fine out of the village.
‘Who is this?’ he mentally asked but he knew that she built seemed familiar. He took a copy and deleted it once again. He flawlessly got it but he wasn’t too happy about it. The only person that came to his mind was Fera. It was her body build, he knew but something is missing in the puzzle so he disregarded that idea.
In his private file, he piled up all the information about Fera, what she hates, and all her traits. He also piled up all the news about her, even pictures and events in her life. “This is impossible.”
He believe that she did nothing so he went to her house after they were kidnapped. He went to her room using that spare key he stole from her and checked her closet. But the first thing he had seen was the four black hooded jackets and a few denim jeans.
“ This is crazy, I should stop this investigation, this will ruin us.” He whispered and decide to return the key. He thought of putting the key in her drawer in her living room to make it appear that she misplaced it and it happened in her drawer but he saw a handgun.
“Holy sh*t,” he almost lost his breath and took it then ran to his apartment.
***

“I think we need to talk, young man.” His grandfather declared.
“Yes, we need to talk. What is happening?” His grandmother agreed.
“I need a word with him, Clarita.” He stopped his wife and stared at her. And just that, she sighs and leaves.
He walked to the couch and watched Nick sitting on his computer chair.
“You lost all the possible evidence that might point her, do you?” His shoulder fell and didn’t bother, turning to his grandfather.
“How did you know?”
“Aren’t you going to ask me for help?” He lighted up his pipe and started smoking.
“ I said, how did you know?”
“I stole nothing, Kingston. If that is what you are thinking. I know her since she was young. She’s the perfect daughter of my great rival Fuentes. But he was never my enemy, don’t get me wrong. He’s just a great rival who made my work exciting even more. I know him personally. And his whole family.” He utters and blew the smoke.
“I know that you are investigating…to help. But sometimes, someone doesn’t want help.”
“Do you believe she’s capable?” He asked.
“Everyone is capable, I never use my judgment on how someone appears as bases. Pieces of evidence are that once that could speak the truth without fallacies.” He answered.
“Every evidence is pointing her.”
“Have you found all the missing pieces of the puzzle, and filled out all the loopholes?”
“ I don’t think I can, what if she did that? How will I react to that?”
“But you want to. You might save a life of a girl if none of this was true.” He stood up and got his cane. “If the bigger picture can’t, try the smaller picture, it’s details and patterns.” Then he started walking to his door.
“I need help.” He stopped before he could open the door.
“Your army has aged and grown slow as a turtle, try your cousin Leonardo. He’s not that bad at this matters.” Nick realized how obsessed Ben was with Fuentes. After his grandfather shut the door he snatched his phone out of his pocket and dial his cousin.
“I’m not in the mood bro, call you later.”
“This is about Fuentes.”
“You better be serious, Nick.”
“The hell, I am. Fera was arrested today. And she needs help.” He sat up since he couldn’t bear the tension in his body anymore.
“I knew it, she was familiar, your girlfriend was the heiress!”
“And she needs your help now, I want you to be his lawyer.”
“What? NO! She's crazy, dude, I just got my license. I am not jumping on that mess.”
“Something is not right, and why would the only child kill her parents? Think twice, bro.”
“How sure are you?”
“Ninety-nine percent.”
“That’s dangerous, meet me here at my place.”
He knew that Ben would never decline on this matter, so he change his clothes and got his car keys and his pistol given by his grandparents. Everything isn’t in that good situation right now, he knew how dangerous he had been playing with this time. Fuentes was never been a minor topic.
He went out and didn’t even look back, his eyes were straight to out of their house, he stopped when he reached the main door. His grandfather was there, sitting on the balcony.
“What else do you know?” He asked.
“Every Fuentes are capable of eliminating a life or lives, Fuentes is indeed dirty player and elusive. But Fera is too young for those things, she’s clean I believe.”
He somewhat lose a needle stuck on his chest and a smile crept to his lips. He looked at his grandpa. “Thank you.”
He knew that his grandfather was never wrong, he has faith in his every word. His word of courage was enough to fuel his drive to keep going. He hurriedly opened his car.
“SON! Oh my god! What is this news I heard from Anita? Fera was arrested this morning?” His grandmother’s horrified face popped out of their main door and followed, Nick.
“Yes,”
“Is this true? I can’t believe that an innocent girl could do things like this.”
“Of course not, she was set up.” He only said and got in his car, he was restraining himself from raising his voice out of irritation.
“Where are you going? You better stay here at home, Kingston! Do not meddle in this mess. This is dangerous, you don’t know how many enemies Fuentes have.” She shouted but he started his engine. He only looks at his grandfather and his nod is enough. “ You have not eaten your breakfast I know, come back here.”
He felt bad but he couldn’t sit still and eat while Fera was there, restrained and prisoned.
Not too long after driving he reached Ben’s house and didn’t bother of knocking. He went straight to his room.
“Here,” he handed him the flash drive and Ben snatched it out from his hand. He found the file and opened it.
“You had been, investigating your girl?”
“Nothing is going on between us.” He clarified which made him stop and glanced at him.
“So you were close to her for something, were you using her for information?”
“Of course not! I am investigating for her.” He aggressively answered.
“I know you’re not into girls before, but what made you discover a one-of-a-kind girl to fight for her like this?” He asked which irritate him more.
“Can we just focus on the thing?” He wasn’t too comfortable talking about Fera.
“I know, but this thing might be a major piece. How did Fera get into your way?”
“Her apartment, it was once occupied by a man who suddenly disappear, Carlo Guevara.” He said while Ben was reading every content of his file.
“How did it go?”
“We argued and she won.” Ben’s low chuckle made him feel ashamed.
“She got your attention that way?” He asked while shaking his head with a goofy smile on his face.
“That’s not the point here.”
“It has still part of the case, Carlo Guevara is Mr. Fuentes’s private investigator. I heard he flew to London two years ago. He must know something. Wait…”
“Where are these pieces of evidence?” He asked Nick about the hooded jacket and all the evidence that was stolen from him.
“It was stolen last night.”
“So she had this all? That is too much evidence to point her.”
“I know that is why we need to move fast.” But Ben let his mouse go and looked at him.
“Are you sure she’s innocent?”
“What the hell! Of course, she is innocent. Can you hear yourself?” He snapped him at once. That was offensive for him, he was suspecting his precious Fera.
“I was just asking to make everything sure before working on this. I need to know if you are a hundred percent sure that she’s innocent. Don’t take it offensively, you can’t blame me. This evidence was too clear to deny.”
“That’s it, too clear to deny. Fera is the smartest girl I know if did that. She could easily cover all her traces since she’s a Fuentes. Don’t you notice it? I got all this evidence that easily. I got this CCTV footage at their village and the security guard were sleeping and never woke up, I got her jacket from her closet and the gun from her drawer.” Nick suddenly realized which made Ben realize it too.
“Someone is playing behind the curtain,” said Ben.
“Exactly.”
“This is getting interesting. You go visit her and I’ll investigate in her apartment.” He instantly agreed, he went out and drive to the police station. He badly wanted to talk to her. He needed all the answers to the questions in his head.
He could still clearly remember the look in her eyes before she was taken away. Her face was emotionless but her eyes weren’t. He knew that she needs help.