Denella sat at the kitchen table with her laptop and tried to contact John. Apparently, something happened to his mom. It had almost been three days since he was gone. Denella felt like something was wrong with him because he only stayed a few hours away from work when his sister died a year ago. It was strange, yes. He didn't even attend the funeral. But that was so like him. It was his training. You always had to be strong and pretend like you didn't care about certain things, even if you did. Sometimes, you couldn't even spare to shed a tear.
Denella began to type her short letter to him:
Dear John,
I just wanted to know how you were doing. Brandon told me about your mother. I hope she's feeling better. I'm pretty sure you saw what happened on TV or somewhere online, but I want you to know that Brandon and I are fine. Please tell me if you get this. Thanks.
-Denella
Just as Denella was about to press send the doorbell rang. She ran to the door to answer it. Looking out if the window, she unlocked the door happy and relieved. It was Raphael. She ran into his arms and stayed there for a while. It was warm and comforting.
"I thought you were dead!" Denella roared. Then, she hugged him again. "What happened to you?"
Raphael smiled. He didn't even know what exactly had happened to him. "I can't even remember half of it. I just woke up, and I was at T.E.R.S.E. Headquarters. Where were you this whole time?"
"I was at the hospital. I don't know how I got there, but thankfully I did. I had a small concussion."
"What? Are you okay now?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She lowered her voice. "Are . . . you okay? You look upset, like there's something bothering you."
He looked down until his eyes met the floor. "Henry's dead."
Denella felt horrible. The guy she thought wasn't innocent was now dead. "I'm so sorry. How did you find out?"
Raphael swallowed. "My boss told me." There was a long moment of silence until Raphael finally spoke. "I need to tell you something. Earlier today, I saw Judy Walker."
"What? That's impossible." The word confusion was written all over Denella's face.
"I know that was her. It had to be. Maybe she faked her disappearance and Celcus was the one who looked guilty. But I still don't understand why." Before Denella could speak, Raphael's phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to check who was calling him. Raphael didn't recognize the number. Not knowing who it was, he answered it. "Hello?"