507 Get Out!

"AH CHOO!!!"

Katherine's hand flew to cover her mouth—over the mask—but it was of no help. The shaft was quite dusty, and some particles had somehow irritated her. She was already sneezing before they even started, so now, she was even more sensitive.

Turning to her left, she met Damien's shocked expression. They could barely see each other's eyes because the shaft was dark and the only light they had was the one coming from the elevator car below them, yet they knew how fûcked up they were at the moment.

Her eyes were fearful, and she looked extremely apologetic, so Damien clasped her shoulder as if to say, 'it's okay'.

Meanwhile…

The guard, who was inside the elevator, gasped and abruptly looked around as soon as he heard the sound. Every hair on his body stood on end, and he got paler by the second. 

When he caught sight of the elevator's floor indicator moving earlier, he got confused, knowing that there were no employees in the building as he had just done his rounds. Moreover, it was already very late in the evening. As he walked closer, his radio suddenly made static sounds followed by a female's ghostly voice. When the door of the elevator opened, it was empty! He had just started working here a week ago, and it was the first time that he encountered something so creepy.

Another batch of white noises sounded from his radio as he stepped inside the car, and he nervously spoke, "Wh-who's there?! Sh-show yourself!"

Then, the voice of what he believed was a female ghost came through his radio that he held near his ear. "This is my elevator! Get out!" The sound was so frightening as it was rough and mixed with the static. 

The guard jumped in fright at the same time that he whimpered and scurried out of the elevator. He speedily sprinted towards the far end of the parking area, the keys attached to his side jingling as he did.

"Whew. I thought that would end badly…" said Styles. He and Amelia created the distraction, and when they saw the guard's fearful reaction, they knew he was easily scared, so they took advantage of it. "You're all clear now."

Katherine and Damien exchanged looks and sighed. 

The two snuck out of the building and managed to get to the dark alley where they left the motorcycle.

"I'm so sorry," she said as they removed their face masks.

He looked at her, and his heart quivered a little. Pulling her towards him, he pressed a kiss onto her forehead. "Let's get you home. You need rest and get some medication before it becomes hay fever."

They rode back to Golden Phoenix Residences and arrived around midnight. Their ride on the way home was faster because the streets were no longer busy.

"What are the pills for?" she wondered.

They took turns looking at the one tablet that she took from the batch, but there were no symbols engraved on it—it was just a plain round pink tablet.

"Maybe it's just vitamins or something?" Styles guessed.

"If it was, why would she hide it in that way?" asked Amelia.

"We don't normally store medicines or food supplements in resealable bags and hide it in the drawer…" said Damien. "But whatever her reasons are, we can't have a way of knowing that unless we know exactly what this is. I'll have this dropped off first thing in the morning tomorrow and have it checked."

Then, they checked the family picture, the invitation, and the old photo of Deborah and Frederick.

Damien addressed his mother, "When you were working for Dad, have you noticed Uncle Fred dating someone?"

"Not that I know of." Amelia shook her head. "Your father and his brother weren't exactly close. I don't see them talking to each other that much while I'm around. And Lawrence doesn't talk about his brother too… So, I'm not very familiar with Fred."

Styles gasped. "What if Fred is your cousin Caroline's father? I mean that would be—"

"No, I don't think so." Damien immediately shut off the idea. "At one point, I think my uncle considered Caroline to be a potential partner for William—among others. Do you know Caroline's father?" he asked Katherine.

"No… I've never met him. They never talk about him either, so I'm not sure… I'll have to ask her or Grandpa about that." Then, she turned to Styles, "Can you try checking anything on your side? I don't expect any digital footprints as it's from a long time ago, but just in case you find something…"

"Of course." Styles smiled at her.

Amelia let out a sigh, and then she looked at Katherine and Damien. "It's getting more complicated the more we uncover things. We don't know what lies ahead of us, so you two should always be careful."

Damien nodded, placed a hand on Katherine's back, and told the others, "I'll also ask someone to have this privately investigated while we do ours. It might take a while, but we don't have a choice. It's late, and we have a long day ahead tomorrow. We should turn in."

…

62nd Floor

Once Katherine and Damien got to the latter's penthouse, they headed straight to the kitchen. Taking out a jar of what looked like jam from the fridge, he scooped out a tablespoon of it and put it into a mug before pouring warm water. He thoroughly mixed it until the gel-like texture dissolved, leaving only small bits of citrus pulp. 

"Here, drink this," he said as he handed it to her.

"Thank you…" She inhaled the aroma first and wrinkled her nose at the smell of sweet citrus flavor. She wasn't much a fan of honey, but she took a sip anyway.

"Are you okay about all of this? You have been in deep thoughts since we left office."

Katherine held the mug with both hands, the heat transferred to the palm of her hands and made her feel warm. "It just bothers me, you know? I've looked everywhere. I've checked previous projects that my father handled, but I don't see anything that could be a reason for someone to hate him enough to have him—" She clenched her jaw when she couldn't say the word, then she continued, "As far as I know, he was a very good man. I just can't believe someone would hate him…"

Damien placed a hand on her arm and gently stroked it. "If you don't want to get involved with the investigation, just tell me, and I'll take it off your hands. No matter what we will find later, the truth will still hurt. It won't get any better."

"I know… But I still want to—I have to. I can't give up now."

"I'll be with you every step of the way." He moved closer towards Katherine and pulled her into an embrace, brushing her back to comfort her as he kissed the top of her head. He felt her arms wrap around his torso while she leaned her head on his shoulder. 

Lifting the mug and giving it to her, he said, "Finish this so we can go to bed."

Katherine reluctantly received the mug and frowned as she looked at the yellowish liquid. "Only because I love you."