The dim light of the laptop screen reflected on Roxy's tired face as he sat beside Tay, both of them staring at Smily's phone records. Hours had passed, yet they had found nothing useful. The room felt suffocating with frustration.
"So you're sure there's no other number?" Roxy asked again, rubbing his forehead.
Tay sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I checked everything. Hidden contacts, deleted logs, backup files. There's nothing else."
Roxy clenched his jaw. Every lead they followed seemed to collapse into nothing. It felt as though someone had erased the truth carefully, leaving behind only confusion.
"There has to be something," Roxy murmured.
Tay hesitated before speaking again. "There's still one person we haven't fully questioned."
Roxy looked at him.
"Jahnae."
The name lingered in the room.
Smily's best friend.
The one person who had been closest to his sister during her final days.
Roxy remembered the moment he had confronted her earlier. The tears in her eyes had looked real, but something about her reaction had felt wrong. Something hidden behind her grief.
"Do you think she's lying?" Roxy asked.
"I think she knows more than she's saying," Tay replied quietly.
The possibility tightened Roxy's chest. If Jahnae knew the truth, why had she stayed silent?
Across town, Jahnae sat alone in her bedroom.
The room was dim, lit only by the faint glow of a table lamp. Her eyes stared blankly at the wall as memories of Smily drifted through her mind.
Laughter. Conversations. Promises.
Her phone suddenly rang.
The sharp sound shattered the silence.
Jahnae picked it up cautiously. "Hello?"
For a moment she listened quietly.
Then her expression darkened.
"Don't call me again," she snapped angrily. "If you try this again, I'll call the police."
She ended the call and threw the phone onto her bed.
Her breathing grew heavier.
Anger exploded inside her.
She grabbed a book from the table and hurled it across the room. It struck the wall with a loud thud.
Her room slowly turned into chaos as she knocked things over in frustration.
Memories of Smily haunted her like ghosts.
The two of them laughing during college festivals.
Sharing secrets late at night.
Promising they would never betray each other.
Jahnae covered her face with her hands.
Everything had gone too far.Back at Roxy's house, the tension was rising.
"We're running out of time," Tay said quietly.
Roxy nodded.
If the people responsible for Smily's death realized they were being investigated, they could destroy the remaining evidence.
"We have to move faster," Roxy said.
But as the night grew quieter, exhaustion slowly crept into his mind.He sat alone, thinking about his sister.Memories flooded his mind.
Her laughter during family dinners.The way she used to argue with him over small things.The way she always believed she could fix everything.His chest tightened.
He had not been there when she needed him most.
Footsteps approached from behind.
Stalin entered the room carrying his guitar. Without saying anything, he sat down and began playing a soft melody.
The music slowly filled the room, calming Roxy's restless thoughts.For a moment, the pain inside his heart eased.
Then suddenly— The music stopped.
Roxy looked up.
Stalin collapsed.
"Stalin!" Roxy shouted.
Panic surged through him as he rushed to his friend's side. Stalin was unconscious.
Without wasting a second, Roxy lifted him and rushed to the hospital.
The hospital corridors felt endless as Roxy paced outside the examination room. His heart pounded with fear.
When the doctor finally stepped out, Roxy rushed toward him.
"How is he?" he asked anxiously. The doctor studied him carefully. "How long has he been suffering from headaches?"
Roxy froze.
"I… I don't know," he admitted.
The doctor frowned. "That's concerning. If this condition has been ignored for months, it could become serious. He may be at risk of a stroke."
Roxy felt the ground shift beneath him.
A stroke?
When he finally entered the room, Stalin was awake.
"You idiot," Roxy muttered with relief. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
Stalin looked away. "I didn't want to worry you." Roxy shook his head.
"Don't ignore something like this again. Take your medication and go to your checkups." Stalin nodded quietly.
But even as Roxy spoke, a strange unease remained inside him.
Something dark was unfolding around them.
And he still didn't know how deep it went.