January 24, 2021: Torschlusspanik

At eleven in the morning, Syn finally woke up. 

The young lady slowly revealed her eyes, squinting when the sunlight filtering through the tinted windows hit her colorful orbs. She hurriedly reached for her phone where she usually placed it, but her hand only touched the empty pillow by her side.

'Hmm, an extra pillow? Did I have one?'

Still groggy, Syn had yet to process her circumstances.

She shut her eyes, trying to get her senses to awaken. After a while, she opened her eyes once, her sight welcomed by the barren ceiling. 

'Oh, right, I'm in Tristan's condo.' She thought, blinking twice to clear up the blurriness of her vision.

Syn lightly sighed ahead of hoisting her body up, struggling a tad. The young lady proceeded to look around for her phone, though what caught her attention was the note on the wooden nightstand instead. 

She picked up the small piece of paper and unfolded it. However, before she could even read the first word written on the note, she heard the sound of footsteps coming near the bedroom. Her body instantly stiffened, horripilation covered her limbs. 

'Who is that?' Syn ruminated on what she just harkened in panic, 'Tristan told me that he won't be home till late.'

The ordeal that she had endured yesterday made Syn more paranoid with just about anything.

She motionlessly sat on the bed while attempting to calm herself down. Withal, she forced her gaze to roam about the bedroom to find something that she could utilize as a weapon.

Prior to discovering anything of use, the sound of the doorknob being unlocked landed in her ears.

Since her back was against the entryway, she wasn't able to see her visitor. 

"Oh dear, you're awake. Come and get breakfast."

Covering her naked facade with a blanket, Syn immediately turned to face the guest, her eyes were wide open, her mouth agape.  She saw a woman, probably in her fifty's, peeking through the opening on the door. 

"Wh- who..." Syn gulped, failing to utter her question as she was apprehensive.

Noticing the lady's wariness, the woman pushed the door further to properly introduce herself.

"I am the caretaker of Mr O' Connor's condominium unit. My name is Helena. I must've scared you, sorry." Helena said, smiling as cordially as she could

Syn merely nodded, unable to dismiss the doubts that she had in her mind.

"Oh, Sir Tristan might've left a note stating that I will be coming in at ten," Helena added, seeing that the young lady didn't seem to believe her.

Accordingly, Syn directed her gaze towards the note and read it immediately.

[ Good morning, Syn. Are you feeling well? If not, please cancel all of your appointments for today. You should get ample rest.

If you are to go to the hospital, inform me beforehand.

If not, I will be back in the evening, so send me a text me if we could have dinner.

By the way, a caretaker will be there to help you. Her name is Missus Helena.

Please call me if you require my assistance, or when you simply want to.

P.S. Your phone is in the top drawer of the nightstand and your clothes are in the walk-in closet.]

Splendidly enough, Tristan's affirmation gave the consolation that Syn needed. The lady giggled at the tiny heart that was drawn at the bottom left corner of the note.

She sighed, breathing out all of her worries, before addressing Helena.

"Good Morning, Missus Helena. I apologize for my rudeness." Syn said as she returned the amicable smile that the woman had shown her.

"That much is fine. Please go straight to the dining. I will prepare your breakfast." Helena stated, taking her leave to ready the lady's meal.

"Yes, thank you."

Once the woman had left, Syn went on to stand, stretching her limbs along the way. Subsequently, she walked en route to the walk-in closet that was right in front of the bed. 

She settled on wearing a plain t-shirt and black sweatpants -- her usual homey get-up. After she was dressed, the lady returned to the bed to procure her phone that was in the drawer.

Syn foremost checked the notifications that had flooded the phone, only skimming through as she scrolled. The lady decided to ignore the messages requesting her urgent reply since she was not in the mood to do so. She promptly put her phone inside the pocket of her pants and moved on to her next task.

The lady removed the comforter of the bed, fixing the pillows below the headrest. Latterly, she carried the comforter on her way out of the bedroom.

'Now, where is the laundry machine?' Syn asked herself, oblivious of the layout of the unit.

Helena caught Syn wandering in the living room, so she quickly approached the confused lady. 

"Oh dear, please hand me that. You should head to the dining. I've already prepared the food for you." The old woman spoke as she grabbed the comforter from Syn's hold.

The lady wanted to do the washing of the bedcover herself. It was for the reason that she was ashamed. After all, it was the bedding where she had intercourse and slept on at the same time. The woman saw her face to boot. 

Despite the feeling of shame that visited her, Syn just watched Helena saunter away with the bedding.  The woman reminded her so much of her mother, making her feel pampered. That's the very reason why she didn't argue with Helena further.

Syn didn't have to look for long for the dining table. Aside from the living room, it's the only spot not hidden by a wall. 

On top of the rectangular table, four glass tablewares were organized carefully in front of the chair at the near end. The square plate was filled with some sort of pasta dish with a white sauce. The circular plate was used to serve a vegetable dish. The bowl contained a soup that had cubes of tofu floating in it. And lastly, the glass was filled with water. 

"What a hefty treat," Syn uttered as she took a seat, laying her phone beside the table mat.

She then drank the entirety of the water to start her tardy breakfast.

The lady enjoyed her meal in silence as she ate the dishes delightfully. Withal, her repose was disturbed when her phone lit up. She dropped the fork that was in her grip and answered the call without bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

{{ "Syn, what happened to you?! Why did you not call me when that bastard intruded on your apartment?!" }}

Syn distanced the phone from her ear once she heeded the boisterous voice of her supervisor. She gradually put it back, sighing from the onset of a lengthy talk.

"Mina, good morning to you too."

{{ "What good morning?! I was very worried, you dumb*ss!" }}

"Alright, calm down. I'll tell you everything."

{{ "You better, missy! Oh, before that, I heard something strange." }}

"What is it?" Syn inquired, picking up the utensil once more to resume eating.

{{ "The police investigation concluded this morning and Tristan acquainted me with the details. It seems that there was someone who paid your assailants to invade your apartment." }}

Upon hearing what Mina said, Syn's grasp on the fork loosened. A nauseating feeling assaulted her. Reimagining the sight of blood pooling on the floor of her room brought back the horrifying experience in her consciousness, prompting her to shed tears.

She concealed the sound of her sobs by covering her mouth, hoping that Mina wouldn't descry her cries. Fortunately for the lady, her supervisor didn't catch on, but Helena did.

The woman hastily approached the lady, noticing that her shoulders were trembling. Helena spotted that Syn was in a call, so she stayed silent as she patted the younger one's head.

{{ "We did our own investigation on the issue, considering that it concerns the safety of all of our workers. In spite of the efforts we've exerted, the individual who commissioned two of your past clients was quite cautious. It's proving to be difficult to trace them with the pieces of evidence found in the scene of the crime." }}

Syn breathed, heavily to prevent another sob from coming out of her quivering lips. She then responded to Mina, "W-what have you discover s-so far?"

{{ "Well, the leadoff teams that were dispatched have not communicated with us yet. Usually, our people can delve into the matter absent any delays, but it's taking them too long to solve this case. I- oh, wait a minute. One team just got back." }}

A brief moment of silence passed on Syn's end. She could only hear the commotion ongoing in the agency's office. After a few seconds, Mina reinitiated their conversation, though her tone indicated nothing but fret.

{{ "Syn" }}

"Yes?"

{{ "Did you have any secret meetings, or even encounters, with someone influential outside of work?" }}

"I-"

Syn was about to oppose, but  the visage of a man from a certain occurrence appeared in her mind.