Chapter 8

Iris

It's being three days now since I last went to office, when I say office I mean the Asher enterprises. I've had enough about them and I don't think I can face them anymore especially Kieran. All I want to do is to really see all of them serving jail time.

A message pumped up from Delilah telling me she finally got the girl's name and her mother's whereabout. I read through the file sent to my phone and noticed that the girl name is Lily and she has been Kieran's girlfriend/puppet in high school till she died. Nobody knew what caused her happened to her. 

I checked through her mother's whereabout and saw that she's not quite far from me. I took my jacket from my chair handle and left to find Lily's mum and get solid information from her.

I got the place in no time. 

I stepped out of my car, my eyes fixed on the small, worn-down house in front of me. This was it ,the home of Lily's mother.

 I had to know what had happened to Lily, and I had to bring justice to her family.

I took a deep breath, smoothing out my jacket as I approached the door. I knocked twice, and a frail voice called out from inside.

"Who is it?"

"I'm Detective Iris," I replied, holding up my badge. "I'm here to speak with Lily's mother."

The door creaked open, and a woman probably in her late fifties with wrinkles on her eyes came out. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said quickly, trying to shut the door.

I set my legs on the doorstep making it hard for her to close the door . "Ma'am, please," I said, holding out a hand. "I just want to talk to you about your daughter. I promise I'll do everything in my power to bring justice to her case."

The woman's eyes flickered, and for a moment, I thought I saw a glimmer of hope. But then her expression hardened again.

"My name is Naomi now," she said firmly. "I don't go by that other name anymore."

I nodded sympathetically. "Okay, Naomi. Can I please come in and talk to you?"

"What do you want from me woman" She almost screamed.

"Naomi, I know you're hurting but please I just need to ask some questions and clarity somethings" I said as calm as I could, but she still wasn't giving in.

"Please, Naomi. I'd be quick" I pleaded.

Naomi hesitated, then stepped aside, allowing me to enter. She offered me a glass of water, and I sat down at her kitchen table, pulling out my notebook and my recorder.

"Tell me what happened to Lily," I said gently.

Naomi's eyes welled up with tears as she began to speak. "It was the Asher family," she said, her voice trembling. "They silenced us, paid us off. But I'll never forget what they did to my daughter."

I leaned forward, my pen over my notebook. "Can you tell me more about that? What exactly did the Asher family do?"

Naomi took a deep breath before speaking. "They...they killed my daughter. And then they covered it up, made it look like an accident."

I nodded, my heart heavy with sorrow. "I'm so sorry, Naomi. That must have been incredibly painful for you."

Naomi nodded, tears streaming down her face. "It was. It still is."

I asked another question, trying to gather as much information as possible. "Did you report the incident to the police?"

Naomi's expression turned bitter. "Yes, I did. But the Asher family has connections, Detective. They made sure the case was buried."

I frowned, my mind racing with possibilities. "I see. And do you have any evidence that could link the Asher family to Lily's death?"

Naomi hesitated before speaking. "I...I have a letter. From Lily. She wrote it to me before she died."

My eyes widened with interest. "A letter? What did it say?"

Naomi's voice dropped to a whisper. "It said she was in trouble. That Kieran Asher had hurt her, and she was scared."

I felt a surge of anger at the mention of Kieran's name. I was determined to bring him to justice.

"Can I perhaps see or take the letter with me" I said

"Sure, let me get that for you" she said and went to the room inside to get the letter. 

She returned with an enveloped letter that looks very old and dusty. She blew the dust off making both of us cough in the process and then hand it over to me.

"Thank you, Naomi. This will serve as great evidence" I said.

As I prepared to leave, I turned to Naomi and made a promise. "I'll see justice served, Naomi. I won't rest until the Asher family pays for what they did."

Naomi's eyes locked onto mine, and for a moment, I saw a glimmer of hope. "Thank you," she whispered.

I nodded, tucking my notebook into my bag. "I'll be in touch soon."

As I walked back to my car, I felt a sense of determination wash over me. I was going to bring down the Asher family, no matter what it took.