Ruining Evidence

Justin queried about the men who played the arson tricks on the main corridors in a hospital. He secretly met them up on a fire exit with no other intention but to clear the profile Aria had. Justin paid them a huge amount of compensation.

He even promised, "The police wouldn't know the two of you have done this."

The two of them nodded and lowered their cap down. Justin motioned for them to come out of the fire exit silently, as if they just had a small talk before regarding to the floor where their relatives were. Justin watched as the door close and straightened his collar.

He walked up a flight of stairs before stopping at the fourth floor, and came out naturally.

Little did he know, someone was following him, and didn't even lose sight of her, probably he's overly confident no one was there to tail. The woman sat down on a bench with her knees closed. As the door closed, she finally located Justin Gucci.

Lara wore off her cap along with the burgundy hair wig and rested it on her lap. The hospital was still on a recovery, and all of the patients have been transferred to another wing. This time, Justin must be taking the aftermath.

Lara gripped the tangled hair strands, glaring at the space from where he came from.

She doesn't need an explanation about it. Prince had done a very great job on hiding Aria.

Right now, she's unsure of where her daughter was. Lara has been searching up on the internet about her location, but there's nothing popping up. She thought that leaving her in the care of Tin, she'd be alright as a shadow.

Today, Lara wanted to travel around Vasteria to see if she's intact.

She rode on an elevator and fortunate enough to get a single ride. No one was there to bother her with deep thinking. Lara sighed, tapping her foot impatiently, and waited for it to reach the ground floor.

She was still on the second one when an unexpected crash came.

SCREECH!

The lights dimmed in and out. The car waggled left and right, and the rope screeched down. Lara fell down to the elevator's floor and the wig she's holding throw up at the corner. She bumped up her head on the wall, and held her body on the side.

Lara should remain conscious while it's happening, because it might be sabotage. Someone must have known she'd be here, even watching every place she goes into. Lara wouldn't let the one who ordered to crash the elevator she's riding as the cause of her death.

When a loud thud below made Lara roll onto the left side, she smacked the back of her head… too hard it might bled out. With the jolting pain spreading all over her head and body, Lara's breath got ragged, slowing down, as if someone hit her with a glass bottle.

Lara tried to open her eyes, but the image twisted and blurred, circling around, as if she's on a rollercoaster ride that only go round and round. Lara pushed her hands up, but it's nothing to the strength she has earlier.

She gave up already… sigh…

Lara closed her eyes, hissing, cursing Prince's inside her mind.

As everything went black on her far end, someone opened the elevator doors with a crowbar. Justin forced the metal doors out of the way, shedding the basement lamp inside, recognized Lara's restless body on the floor.

She's bleeding, too.

Justin pressed a button in his coat, recorded a message towards Prince, saying, "She followed me, like you said."

He waited the beep before coming inside the ruins and stare at her petite frame.

"Lara Cortez, you really don't know how to stop."

…

Aria retrieved a pan of cookies inside the oven when a familiar figure at the door frame startled her.

She nearly dropped the pan down at the floor by the sight of Prince in a coat and briefcase. Aria hissed, putting it at the counter, and wore off her pan holder. Prince gave her a small smile, saying, "You really don't have to make that. I've eaten dessert outside."

He approached her, placing the briefcase on the side. Aria shrugged it off, saying, "I like to bake cookies. When I saw the ingredients in the storage room, I asked the head cook if I can use some. And they agreed."

Aria retrieved some tissue papers but realized the cookies were still hot. Prince beamed.

He had listened to it all afternoon. Aria was keeping up with the maids, talking about simple house chores, or even conversing with the head cooks about what they do in their cuisines. She's too friendly to deal at, and every maid here has gone fond around her, admiring every single moment along with Aria.

"You're getting along with the cooks now, eh? It's just your first week," Prince pointed out.

He took a seat down on the stool, and waited for her to serve the cookies. Prince doesn't know if he's getting comfortable around Aria about talking with life or what, but he hadn't scraped off the fact he needed to kill her.

"I was getting along fine, you know. Still, some of the maids didn't like how I work, so I don't have any choice but to stay like this for a while. I might adjust in a little, don't worry about that," Aria pointed out. She picked up the tongs from the utensils container, and a saucer.

"Do you want one?" Aria asked. Prince admired the soft melt of the chips above the cookies.

"Ah, sure," Prince simply said. Aria grinned for a while before assuring the cookie wrapped on a thin sheet of tissue paper. Prince observed her being all giddy about serving a man with the cookies she made.

The excitement in her eyes, the way she tried to please Prince in every way she could, and all the efforts she had made to repay back what she owe. It's all the reason Prince can fell in love with her. Maybe it's the thousand reasons Bryce can list down if he ever asked him.

As Aria served the platter and a tiny fork in front of him, Prince thanked her with a generous smile.

"You're welcome. I still have a stash on the refrigerator. I can cook it every night."

Prince didn't answer and tasted the cookie. In an instance, it activated his sweet tooth. When he nibbled on it for a while, the chocolate chip melted at the right perfection. Prince turned to Aria, nodding, and said, "Wow, this is…"

"How was it? Is it good? Is it much sweeter than the other cookies?"

Prince shook his head, and bit another one. With the taste of the hot cookie in his tongue, he mumbled, "I like it, Aria."

Aria widened her eyes. She leaned by the counter, anticipating his reaction.

"What did you just say now?"

Prince cleared his throat, and put the fork down gently. "I like it, Aria."

She pursed her lips, hid her smile, and retrieved a roll of tissues over, picking up one, too. Prince said, "You should cook me this cookies every night to warm me up on the main cuisine."

Aria chewed on the little dough she had baked and turned to Prince.

"Give me these cookies every time I come home," he reassured.