326: FALLEN FRIEND “Detective, come take a look!” Jack Ryan hollered from down the hill. The day had now brightened, and the cops were carrying out their duty, which had been going on for the past few days. They all gathered around, looking at the lifeless body. Blood covered the back of the head, and the eyes remained closed. The detective, Lucas Grayson, walked from his car, his eyes fixed on the scene before him. The days–long search had finally come to an end. Sitting on his heels, close to the lifeless body before him, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, mourning for this person. It was Mason. Lucas and Mason had been good friends, and hearing the news that Mason was missing, Lucas set out to search for him, doing everything he could just to find his great comrade. Now, he was seeing the body of his friend, who was no longer breathing and whose heart was beating no more. Tears rolled down Lucas‘ cheeks as he recalled his wonderful times with Mason. This was definitely not suicide; who could have killed him? Who could have been so heartless to end the life of this nice and wonderful young man? Lucas rose to his feet, not taking his eyes off Mason one bit. His fists clenched tightly as if he was about to strike someone with his anger. “Sir Lucas, is everything okay?” The question came from Hailey, a recruit who had been following him around. A beautiful young lady who recently turned nineteen is chasing her dream of being a cop, just like her father,who made a great name in New Haven. Lucas turned to her/not willing to say anything, but he would have to give her a response. “It’s… it’s okay.” M12R PALEEN FRIEND “Do you know him?” Jack asked, standing closer to the both of them. They all fixed their eyes on Mason, but Lucas was most grieving. The other two showed no feelings since they had no idea who the dead man was. But the fight for justice was revolving around them. “We should get going,” Lucas said in a low voice. Although he was not crying out, his heart was mourning for Mason. He needed to know the person responsible for this killing. He needed to start the investigation, and he needed to do that fast. He wanted justice for his friend, but he was unaware of the terrible things that his friend had done. or any more words. Hailey noticed Lucas’s pained expression, so she refused to She turned her eyes back to Mason, hoping Lucas would break the silence. One of the cops advanced in front of them. He scanned their faces and saw how they were all silent; he wondered if they were at a funeral. They didn’t move; they didn’t shake. But their eyes transposed, and the gaze on Mason did not come to an end. When this cop took his eyes off the lifeless body, he became shocked. He knew who this was, so now he had knowledge of the silence between the three folks standing next to him. “This is Mason Jones, brother of Andre, the owner of Vitality Group!” Hearing the beautiful sounds produced by the birds, Ariel woke up from her sleep. After looking around the room, she yawned. She spent a great night with Luke yesterday, which brought tons of joy to her heart. It was her second night with Luke, returning to his arms once again as his lovely wife. Ariel glanced at the clock, only to see that it was 11:00 a.m. Her eyes widened at that very moment because she was quite surprised. She was really startled that she had slept this far. But she was lucky it was a Saturday. FA; LEN FRENO Sitting up on the bed, Ariel continued to wonder why her sleep had to take this long. Was she so happy in Luke’s arms that she forgot the proper time to wake? And why didn’t Luke wake her from her sleep? He was no longer in the living room. This could have made Ariel mad, but she decided to overlook the situation because it was a Saturday. She even needed rest, by the way. The weekend’s activities had all been exhausting, following the dispute with Laura and so many more. Ariel wondered if Luke was still in the mansion until she heard the toilet flush. Then she had her answer. Luke walked out without a shirt. He was just wearing a pair of white shorts. Ariel couldn’t take her eyes off his chest. It was like this was the first time she had seen him. Luke, walking to the mirror, noticed Ariel’s gaze at him. But he paused, staring at her through the corner of his eyes. Although he was trying to hide it, Ariel knew he was staring, so she gave him a smile. A smile was too wide, which caused Luke to laugh. He took his eyes off her and set them on the mirror. He grabbed a shampoo and poured some on his dark hair, looking in the mirror. With his hands moving around his hair in slow motion, Luke noticed how Ariel couldn’t take her eyes off him, so he asked, “Why are you staring at me?” Ariel chuckled. The question seemed quite funny to her, but Luke was amusing himself. Occasionally, he would act irrationally, teasing her and behing in a clown- like manner. It wasn’t something new to Ariel. Crossing her hands together, with a smile on her face and her eyes going upwards, Ariel decided to follow through with a replication. “First of all, that question is lame. Secondly, I am your wife; I have every right to stare at you.” Luke laughed in his heart upon hearing her words. Her comeback fascinated him, and he wanted the conversation to go on. He loved teasing Ariel, and he liked that she was always able to match his energy. “So what if you’re my wife? Can’t I have some privacy?” 326: FALLEN FRIEND Luke shrugged and continued to shampoo his hair. His eyes were on the mirror, and he could see Ariel sitting on the bed with her aesthetic countenance. “Luke, it’s too early for this.” Ariel vawned and lay back on the bed. “I’m really tired. I can’t believe I’m still sleepy.” “I can’t believe that myself.” The door opened, and Luke’s gateman, Marcus, stepped inside the room. Turning to Marcus, Luke didn’t give his gateman a friendly look. How could he just barge into the room like that? Couldn’t he knock? “Sir, there are some…” Before Marcus could finish his sentence, Luke rebuked him, “Who told you you could just walk into my room like that? Can’t you knock or something? Where are your manners, young man?” Despite his dislike for the yelling, Marcus lowered his face and refused to speak. But what could he do? Luke was his boss, after all. Ariel, too, didn’t like how Luke yelled at the gateman. Yes, Marcus should have knocked, but Luke getting angry over little things was just not it. Having tolerated Luke’s actions, Marcus finally said, “I’m sorry. I just came to let you know that you have some visitors.”
