The house felt unbearably silent—too quiet for a place that had once been filled with laughter and warmth. Then, Kuya[1] Toby’s roar pierced the stillness like a gunshot.
“WHAT?!”
The sound shook me from the kitchen. My heart raced as I sprinted toward the living room.
When I got there, my brother sat motionless, pressed against the wall in the darkest corner, his face ashen and eyes wide with shock. His hands trembled, clenching at his knees like a lifeline.
“Kuya, what’s wrong?” I asked, my voice breaking, panic clawing at my throat.
He barely looked at me, his gaze fixed on some distant horror. “Our parents… they’re gone.”
Those words struck me like a physical blow. I dropped to my knees, disbelief flooding my veins. “No. No way. That can’t be true. Mom called just last night—she sounded fine. We have to find them. Please!”
His eyes blazed with a mix of anger and grief, a storm brewing within him. “Keziah, what did you do this time? Be honest!”
“I didn’t do anything!” I shook, desperation clawing at my insides. “What are you talking about?”
“They were killed because of you!” he spat, his voice trembling with rage, each word a dagger.
I couldn’t wrap my head around it. “No—how? Why would you say that?”
“Because you’re reckless! You can’t keep your flirtations in check. You think it’s all a game!” His voice rose, echoing off the walls, filled with accusation.
His words cut deep, igniting a fire of defiance within me. Without thinking, I slapped him hard. “Flirtatious? That’s too low, Toby! Don’t you dare pin this on me! Instead of blaming me, help me find them!”
He threw something at me—photos. I froze, my blood turning cold. There I was, in those pictures, kissing Troy Mendoza.
“Where did you get these?” My voice was barely a whisper, fear creeping in.
“Answer me!” he bellowed, eyes wild, fury radiating from him.
“He’s just a friend,” I said, my voice cracking under the weight of his accusation. “You know that!”
“Just a friend?” he scoffed, disbelief dripping from his words. “You think this is just a game? You think your actions don’t have consequences?”
“Stop it!” I shouted, tears welling in my eyes, the pain of his words cutting deeper than any physical blow. “This isn’t about me! Mom and Dad are missing!”
Slap.
Another sting burned my cheek, the shock of it sending me reeling. He turned and stormed off, leaving me shattered and shaking. This wasn’t a nightmare; it was real. Mom and Dad were gone. I needed to understand what those pictures meant and what Troy had to do with it. I called Savannah, hating how empty I felt.
“Sv,” I said, my voice hollow, a ghost of its former self.
“Red, I’m so sorry…”
“I don’t want pity! Tell me exactly what happened. How did they die?” My voice trembled with urgency, desperation clawing at my throat.
A long pause hung between us, thick with dread. “They were murdered.”
The word slammed into me with the force of a fist, knocking the breath from my lungs. I blinked back tears, rage bubbling beneath the surface. “Who? Who killed them?”
“Don’t lash out, Keziah. You need to stay calm.”
“Calm? How can I stay calm when my parents are dead? Tell me. Now!” My voice rose, a desperate plea tinged with fury.
“Kianna ordered it. Troy carried it out.”
Rage ignited inside me, fierce and unforgiving, a wildfire consuming my thoughts. “Kianna made him kill them to silence them! What did they know?”
“I don’t know all the details, but they were getting too close to something dangerous. Kianna couldn’t let that happen.”
I slammed the phone down, trembling with fury, my heart pounding in my chest. I shattered what was around me, screaming, “Fuck you, Kianna! You’ll pay for this! You won’t get away with killing my parents!”
Minutes later, my phone rang again. I hesitated, dread pooling in my stomach, a dark omen of what was to come.
“Because of you, my girlfriend and our parents are dead.” His voice cracked, raw with pain.
The weight of those words crashed over me like a tidal wave. I crumpled to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, the world around me fading into a blur. Kianna had stolen everything from me.
“Damn it!” Kuya Toby’s voice cracked before the line went dead, leaving me in a suffocating silence.
I sat there, the reality of it all crashing down like a relentless storm. My parents were gone, and I was left with nothing but a shattered family and a burning desire for revenge. I had to find out the truth, to make them pay for what they had done. I would not let my parents’ deaths be in vain.
[1] Older Brother