Chapter 9

As Zen and Cyrus walked toward the door, the tension from the room lingered. Nia approached them suddenly.

“Mr. Zen, wait,” Nia called out. “I want to apologize for Jane’s behavior. She was out of line. I’m grateful for what you did for my father.”

“Can I get your contact, so I can call you to check on my dad once in a while?” Nia added.

Zen paused, his expression still guarded. “Thank you, Nia. I understand the stress you’re under. However, I don’t think it’s wise for me to leave my contact information.”

Nia looked taken aback. “Why not?”

Zen glanced at Cyrus before responding. “I’d prefer not to be involved in situations where I’m met with hostility. Perhaps it’s best if we keep our interactions to a minimum.”

Cyrus gave Nia a reassuring look. “I’m sorry for the trouble, Nia. I understand Tom’s point of view.”

“Your keys,” Zen turned to Cyrus.

Cyrus immediately puts his hands into his pockets, retrieving the key for Zen.

With that, Zen walked out of the house, leaving Nia and Cyrus standing in the doorway.

Once outside, Zen took out his phone and dialed Keisha’s number. She answered quickly.

“Good day, Chief?” Keisha’s voice was bright but quickly shifted to concern.

“I remembered something significant,” Zen said. “The other night I passed by the university my brother used to attend. Look for details on that school. Get your hands on anything you can find.”

Keisha took a deep breath. “I’ll start looking into it right away. I’ll keep you updated if I find anything.”

He hung up and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the next step.

Zen walked towards Cyrus’ car and got in, driving off to the prestigious university his late brother had attended.

Its imposing architecture was a reminder of his late brother's past. He parked and walked towards the library, determined to find any clues related to his brother’s life there.

Inside, he wandered through the vast aisles of books.

“Yearbook, yearbook,” he muttered as he scanned through shelves.

Until he bumped into someone, who was searching through the stacks. He immediately bent down to reach for the book that had fallen.

“You?” He heard a female voice.

He picked up the book and raised his head.

“Who could have thought I would see you out of nowhere. I’m sorry for the way my assistant behaved last time,” she said.

“Uhm, who are you?” Zen asked with a straight face.

“Rosalia,” she said smiling but her reply was an inexpressive face from Zen.

“Oh—“ Rosalia smiled awkwardly, “you mean you don’t remember me?”

“I have no idea who you are, Miss,” Zen replied instantly.

“At old man Cyrus’ event, we bumped into each other in the hallway,” Rosalia said.

“Oh, that Rosalia Albrecht,” Zen said.

“I definitely remember who you are, now get out of my face already,” Zen thought to himself.

“Uhm—“ Rosalia uttered.

“Tom, Tom Diel,” Zen said as he walked past her.

Rosalia smiled, “I’m just doing some research for a project. What brings you to the library?”

“I’m looking into the past,” Zen explained, trying to sound casual. “I’m trying to figure out if there was anyone who might have had a grudge against me.”

“You see— I was involved in an accident that seemed too clean to be natural,” he continued.

Rosalia’s expression softened. “I see. How can I help?”

Zen hesitated. He turned to her. Rosalia wore an innocent determined face.

Zen sighed, “I need to check old yearbooks and records. I’m trying to understand if there were any significant conflicts or issues I might have forgotten.”

“Sure,” Rosalia said. “Follow me. The yearbooks and records are kept in the archive section.”

As they walked, Zen added, “Are you the librarian or something? How come you know the locations of things in this large library?”

Rosalia nodded, leading him to a section filled with dusty old yearbooks and files. She pulled out a large book and began flipping through the pages.

“Do you have any specific names or incidents in mind?” Rosalia asked as she worked.

“No specific names,” Zen said. “Just looking for anything unusual. I don’t even know if I’ll find something.”

Rosalia nodded and continued to flip through the yearbooks. After a few minutes, she stopped on a page and pointed to a group photo.

“Here’s a photo from one of the college events,” she said. “Awwn, you looked so young in this picture.”

Zen leaned over, scrutinizing the image. In the group photo, his brother was clearly drenched in water, looking uncomfortable and out of place.

“Why was I drenched in water,” he muttered.

“Maybe, you were playing around before they took the photo?” Rosalia said.

Zen looked closer and saw an arrogant-looking student, had his arm around Tom in a way that seemed more taunting than friendly.

“This guy, who was he again,” Zen being true to his roleplaying as his late brother.

“Who the hell is this!” Zen thought to himself.

Rosalia’s eyes widened as she recognized the person Zen pointed. “Oh, that’s Silas Wales. He’s from one of the big 4 families in the country. He was known for causing trouble, but he always managed to stay just under the radar of serious consequences.”

Zen’s heart raced. “What kind of trouble?”

Rosalia looked thoughtful. “Silas had a reputation for being a bully. He used his family’s influence to avoid serious repercussions for his actions. There were rumors of him being involved in harassment and bullying, but nothing concrete ever stuck.”

Zen’s mind raced. “Did he have any specific targets?”

Rosalia’s expression darkened. “From what I heard, Silas was particularly cruel to people he thought were beneath him. There were stories about him harassing a few people, but no one could ever prove it.”

Zen studied the photo again. “My brother looks… distressed. It’s like he’s begging for help,” Zen said to himself.

Rosalia added. “Silas was known for making people’s lives miserable, especially if he had any sort of personal vendetta. That sounds really scary.”

Rosalia reached for a file. “There might be more records or incident reports in the university archives. Let’s see if we can find any documented complaints or reports about Silas.”

As they sifted through the documents, Rosalia continued to provide insights. “Silas’ family has a lot of influence. Normally, the big 4 families always have several smaller families under them and those smaller families are no joke.”

Zen nodded, “It seems like there’s a lot more to uncover. I need to dig deeper into Silas’s activities and see if I can find any direct evidence linking him to my accident.”

Rosalia, “that’s a bold accusation, plus you guys looked like good friends in this group photo.”

“Friends? We were definitely not friends,” Zen stood up and walked towards the window.

Rosalia gave him a smile. “I’ll help you find whatever we can. If Silas did anything wrong, it’s important that it comes to light.”

“Thank you, I guess,” Zen said as he stood up and walked towards the window.

“What is this?” Rosalia said from behind.

“Isn’t this, Malia Rossi?” she added. Immediately, Zen’s eyes widened and he moved to the table instantly.

“Where?” He asked with a serious tone. Rosalia paused for a bit, staring at him as he wore a look on his face that she had not seen since he got there.

As Zen took a look at the photo, before him was the ‘Silas Wales,’ holding hands with his ex-wife Malia.

“Interesting,” Zen grinned.