บท 8: Depth of lies
Hunter could only give up dwelling more on the matter after Huey's advice. Though he did not know what was happening, he started to trust Huey, especially after she disclosed his secret. Nobody other than her knew about his rebirth, and he did not wish to annoy her, not when she knew things about him that he too did not know about.
Hunter just laid still as he tried to recall what had happened after he had been discharged from the hospital at this time in his previous life. Even though some memories were blurry and unclear, he still remembered the significant ones. He recalled that Ryan had asked him to meet him at the hitman association the next day he was discharged.
A self-reproaching smile made its way to his lips when he realized how dumb he had been in his previous life to trust Ryan.
Even though he was yet to discover his friend's involvement in his death, Hunter was more or less certain that Ryan was somehow responsible for it. Otherwise, why would he send him on a mission to kill people Ryan was close to?
'Ryan,' He clenched his fist and sat up. 'Though I do not know what game you are playing, I will not allow you to play me again this time. I will find out what you are up to and what you want of me.' He narrowed his eyes as he made a vow to be careful at all times before he got up and walked towards his room which also served as his study.
Recalling the familiarity of the place, Hunter dragged his weak body towards the table at the corner of the room and pulled the topmost drawer. He retrieved a photograph that was turning yellow at the sides and caressed it gently. It was a photograph of two boys and a girl. Hunter and Ryan were on either side of the girl as they posed for the picture.
"Mia," He breathed and smiled softly. "Where are you, Mia? Why did you leave me without meeting me?" He sighed, sadness engulfing him. "Was I not worthy of your friendship that you left the country even without meeting me?"
Below the photograph was a letter addressed to him written by Mia, and he read it again. He went through his contents, his eyes filled with grief and loneliness as he stared at the goodbye letter Mia had left him.
He sat on the chair and stared at the picture as he remembered the days when he, Ryan, and Mia had a strong bond of friendship. But in the blink of an eye, everything vanished. Mia left the country without even meeting him, and Ryan just distanced himself from him, treating him as a mere acquaintance instead of a close friend.
'Did something happen between Mia and Ryan that I do not know?' A notion occurred in his mind, and he narrowed his eyes in thought. "Am I missing something here? Why would Mia leave in a hurry? She was well and good and even had bought an apartment here." He wondered.
All of a sudden, he was suspicious of Ryan. Since the time Mia had left without meeting him, Hunter had been trying to find her but in vain. All his phone calls to Mia were unanswered and unreturned, and he even inquired Ryan about it, only to find that he had been unable to trace her whereabouts. He recalled how he had sought out Naomi's help in his previous life. But she too had failed to track her and eventually, he died without finding out anything about Mia's disappearance.
'Does Ryan have something to do with Mia's disappearance?' He thought about it carefully. Even though he could not come up with any possible conclusions, he was now suspicious of his friend. He had drifted apart from him the moment Mia went missing. 'Did Ryan lie to me when he told me Mia went abroad?'
Hunter could not comprehend what was happening and how many secrets Ryan had hidden. 'How do I find out the truth? How can I track Mia?' He pressed his forehead in worry, and pain shot through his shoulder the moment he did so. He had exerted pressure on his wounds and they stung severely.
'Shit,' He cursed in his mind and relaxed his hand, trying to ease the pain. 'What do I do now?' He thought about it for a long time before an idea struck him. 'I need to search her house again. I might find some clue as to where she has gone. If Ryan is really behind her disappearance, I will not let him go.'
Hunter was too exhausted to move his body, and he decided to search her house the next day after he met with Ryan. But first, he had to find out what had happened to her and why she had suddenly disappeared.
'Didn't Ryan say she returned to her father's house? Will I find out anything if I were to call her father? But his phone too was unreachable the last few times.' He wondered and pulled out a small diary from the same drawer. "Will I be able to reach him this time?" Hunter bit his lip as he faced his new dilemma. "Talking to Mia is more important than anything else."
With that thought, he searched for her father's number in the diary. 'Bless me for maintaining this diary. Otherwise, given how good I am at damaging my phones, I am sure I would have lost all the numbers by now.' He sighed in relief, praising himself for his smartness.
But before he could find Mia's father's number, his finger landed on Mia's number. 'Shall I try her number again?' He did not even hesitate to place the call and just as always, nobody picked it up. He let out a deep breath before he called her father, hoping that someone would pick it up this time. He did not have to wait long, for the call connected quickly.
"Hello, am I speaking to Joseph Williams?" Hunter started speaking hopefully and waited for a response from the other side.
"May I know who this is?" The man on the other side queried, his voice filled with apprehension, which Hunter did not miss. But he ignored it.
"I am Mia's friend, Kael Hunter."
"I am sorry, Mr. Hunter. This is Joseph's brother, Luis, speaking. My brother died a week ago."
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