Chaper 16: please leave, people lie

Chapter Sixteen: People Leave, People Lie

The spoon clinked against the glass as Kim mindlessly scooped up more cereal. The room around her was silent, but her mind buzzed with noise. The old photo stared at her from the screen, her small hand clutching her mother's, her eyes avoiding the camera—avoiding the truth.

She tossed her phone aside and leaned back on the couch, letting the wine glass balance on her stomach. Her mom had always dodged questions about her father. "He wasn't built for family," she used to say, as if that explained everything. But it didn't. But there used to be happy she thoght why birthdays passed like ghosts. Not why love, for Kim, felt like a contract with fine print.

Her phone buzzed again. She ignored it.

Then another buzz. Then three more in quick succession.

Kim sighed and grabbed the phone. Ten missed calls from Caramel. Two from Kelly. One from an unknown number. She opened the last text.

> "You should come outside. Something's happening."

No name. No details. Just dread.

She grabbed a hoodie and slipped into sandals, not caring how she looked. As soon as the elevator doors opened to the lobby, she saw him—Kelly, leaning against a pillar, arms crossed, his usual calm cracked at the edges.

"What's going on?" she asked.

He turned. "I didn't text you. Someone else did."

"Then why are you here?"

He walked toward her. "Because someone knew you'd come. And I don't trust that."

Before she could respond, Caramel burst through the front doors of the building. Her curls were half-up, her heels uneven, one strap falling off her shoulder.

"I tried calling," she said, panting. "Kim, you need to hear this."

"Caramel, slow down," Kim said, blinking.

"Monika's gone."

That stopped everything.

"What do you mean gone?" Kelly stepped forward.

"She disappeared. Her apartment's been cleared out. No signs of struggle. No cameras. Nothing."

Kim's mind spun. "So she ran."

"Or she was taken," Caramel said, her eyes flicking to Kelly. "Depends on who wanted her quiet."

A heavy silence.

Kelly glanced at Kim. "Did she threaten you again?"

Kim hesitated. "Not directly. But… she sent a message. About Zuri."

Caramel flinched.

Kelly's jaw tightened. "If Monika's gone, someone else is behind this."

"You mean like… who she was working for?" Kim asked.

He nodded slowly. "We've been looking at her like the monster. But what if she was just the messenger?"

---

Back upstairs, the three of them sat in silence. The air was tense, but not just because of Monika. Caramel kept glancing at Kelly when he wasn't looking, watching the way he subtly leaned toward Kim, the way he responded to her tone without her needing to finish a sentence.

Kim noticed too, but she didn't have the energy to unpack it. Not when her chest sti

The words were soft, but they hit hard. Caramel blinked and looked away. Kim clenched her fists.

"No," she said. "But I care. And that should count for something."

Kelly stood. "It does."

But the room said otherwise.

---

Later that night, Caramel lingered behind after Kim went into her room. Kelly stood near the window, one hand tucked into his pocket, the other rubbing the back of his neck.

"She likes you, you know," Caramel said quietly.

He turned. "Kim?"

She nodded. "She won't say it. But I know her. And I know you."

Kelly gave a humorless smile. "I'm not good for her."

"No, you're not," Caramel agreed. "But you're all she's got right now."

He looked down at the street below. "What about you? You're still here."

"I'm not here for her," Caramel said, stepping closer. "I'm here for the mess. And maybe," she added, more to herself than to him, "for someone who makes a mess worth staying in."

Their eyes met. And for a second, everything paused.

Then Kim's voice broke through the air. "I heard that!"

Kelly chuckled. Caramel laughed awkwardly and stepped back.

Kim walked out holding her laptop. "If Monika was a messenger, then we need to find the message. Someone wanted her quiet… but maybe she left something behind."

Kelly nodded. "You think like a criminal."

She raised a brow. "I've been learning from one."

He didn't deny it.

---

The screen glowed as they opened a hidden drive Monika had once emailed to Kim months ago during a fake PR leak. They'd all ignored it back then, thinking it was a trap. But now…

The file opened.

And on the screen was a video—grainy, shaky, but real.

Zuri. In a warehouse.

And a man's voice off-camera:

> "Tell your daddy to stop digging. Or next time, it won't be pretend."

Kim's hand flew to her mouth. Kelly's face went pale.

Caramel whispered, "That wasn't Monika."

And just like that… the real game began.