NORTHBRIDGE UNIVERSITY

BELLA POV

Since early this morning, the rain hasn't stopped falling. It was as if it, too, were mourning with our family.

I stood silently beneath a black umbrella, wearing a mask and sunglasses, staring at the polished mahogany coffin resting beside the open grave.

Up until now I still couldn't accept what had happened. It felt like I was trapped inside a nightmare I couldn't wake up from.

A week ago, my brother had called me. Exhaustion was evident in his voice.

I still remember teasing him.

"You sound like you haven't slept in days."

"Maybe I haven't."

"What's going on? Is there any problem? Care to share brother?" I asked worriedly.

"Nothing I can't handle it. Don’t worry too much,“

I never realized that my brother had been carrying such a heavy burden.

And now I hate that laugh. Because it had been a lie.

I watched as the priest stepped forward.

"We gather here today to honor Adrian Reed..."

I could barely hear or understand what he was saying anymore. My eyes remained fixed on the coffin.

This wasn't supposed to happen. He was only twenty-four. He was supposed to graduate next year and achieve one of his goals in life.

He was supposed to call me every Sunday. But instead, he was buried.

"Miss Reed?"

I turned to Detective De Castro. He's the lead investigator.

"Hmmm."

"We're sorry for your loss."

I nodded politely. "Thank you."

"The investigation is officially closed," he said.

"Closed?" I asked.

"The evidence suggests a random attack, an accident."

I wanted to laugh at what he had just said.

A random attack.

A random tragedy.

A random death.

It was all a lie.

Everyone kept repeating those words.

As if saying that would make us feel less of the pain of losing someone important to us.

"Did he suffer?"

The detective hesitated. "Miss Reed—"

"Did he?" I asked again.

He sighed. "There were signs he fought back."

I didn't say another word. The detective excused himself and walked over to speak with my parents.

Minutes later, the crowd slowly began leaving until only family remained.

Aunt Veronica walked over to me and handed me a small box.

"These were Adrian's belongings," she said.

I stared at it carefully.

His watch.

His wallet.

His keys.

Everything that remained of a life he has.

"Thank you," I said softly.

She squeezed my shoulder. “Let him rest, Bella."

I just nodded, but deep inside, I felt that something wasn't right. It felt so wrong.

That night, I was alone in my room, sitting on my bed. Memories of the moments my brother and I shared kept replaying in my mind.

I held the belongings that had been given to me earlier and stared at them until I noticed something.

A small envelope.

I frowned because I hadn't noticed it earlier. I immediately opened it to see what was inside and found photographs from the autopsy report.

The first photo showed bruises across Adrian's face.

The second showed defensive wounds on his arms.

And the third one made my hands tremble.

Three stab wounds.

Three deliberate stab wounds.

I stared at the picture and the police report.

Now I am sure that someone hated my brother.

Someone wanted him dead.

At the very end, I found a piece of paper with my brother's handwriting.

DON'T TRUST MATTHEW.

I frowned as I read that. How could I not trust Matthew when, as far as I knew, they were friends?

Why would my brother say that?

Did they have a falling out? Is that why some of their photos were torn? Impossible! The two of them were close, so I knew something like that was unlikely to happen.

Could he know something about my brother's death? But if he did, why didn't he say anything? It doesn't make sense at all.

I never knew discovering the truth could be this difficult. All I want is answers so I can finally have some peace.

Even now, I still can't accept that he's gone. It feels like it was only yesterday that we were talking and laughing together, and now he's suddenly gone.

I wish that when I noticed something was different about the way he was acting, I had pushed him harder to tell me what was wrong. I wish I had found a way to help him, or at least done something for him.

For now, all I need to do is be careful with every step I take, especially once I decide to carry out my plan.

If my brother told me not to trust Matthew, then I'll do exactly that.

I organized my brother's belongings and placed them in a safety box where no one else could access them. These are the only memories of Adrian I have left, so I can't let them be damaged or lost.

After doing that, I immediately went to rest. I know I'll have to face many more challenges in the coming days, especially in uncovering the truth.

BELLA POV

I studied every detail inside the envelope and compared it with the police reports they had given us, and I noticed many inconsistencies.

I talked to the detective countless times, but I never got a proper answer from him. He looked so defensive.

My suspicion only grew stronger that my brother didn't just die. There was a deeper reason why this happened, and that's what I needed to find out.

If there was anyone who knew my brother best, it was me. He was kind, friendly, and had no enemies. He loved adventure, and he loved trying new things on his own. That's why he enrolled at Northbridge University as a scholar. No one knew the true circumstances of his life.

How am I supposed to believe what they're saying?

I felt a hand rest on my shoulder, and when I turned around, I saw my parents.

"Bella, you need to get some rest too. You haven't had a proper night's sleep for days," Mom said. "I don't want to lose another child." I could hear the sadness in her voice.

"My Bella, I know what happened to your brother hurts you, and it hurts us too. But we can't bear the thought of putting you in danger. You're all we have left," Dad added.

"I-I just want the truth, Mom, Dad. I won't have peace until I get the answers to my questions. My brother is my everything. I can't accept that he would just die without me knowing what really happened," I insisted.

"My baby," Mom said as she hugged me.

"He's been my protector, he's my savior, he's my one and only brother. I don't know how to accept all of this. No more calls every Sunday. I can't hear his voice and laughter. I can't even see his face anymore." I felt them hold me tightly.

"Why? Why did they kill my brother? Why couldn't I do anything? Why couldn't I even protect him? I can't imagine his pain. I can't imagine his screams. I can't imagine the helpless look on his face. I can't imagine how he fought for his life. W-what if he was calling for help? What if he was looking for us?" I finally broke down in tears.

They didn't say anything. They simply held me close. If I were hurting, I knew they were hurting even more.

I knew they were only worried about me and didn't want anything bad to happen to me, but I couldn't sleep peacefully in a situation like this.

My brother had so many dreams in life, only for everything to end like this.

After a few minutes, I felt a little better. Maybe it was because my parents were with me.

"We're going out for a while. Get some rest," Dad said, and I simply nodded.

I organized the papers on my table when something suddenly caught my attention.

There was a page missing from Adrian's case file.

I carefully looked through the different photos my brother had taken at Northbridge.

There were five people in them, but I had never seen any of them before. The only one I recognized was Matthew, whom I knew was my brother's friend, so it wasn't surprising that there were many photos of the two of them together. But I also noticed that some of the pictures had been torn.

My mind was in complete chaos. I didn't know where to begin. It felt like every time I found a clue, the hole I had to dig only became deeper.

Then I remembered my brother's phone again. I hadn't found it among his belongings, and it wasn't included with the items the university had sent back to us. When I asked the police about it, they simply said it was missing, which only made me even more suspicious.

Was it really missing?

Or did someone take it?

Suddenly, my laptop chimed with an email notification, so I immediately checked it.

An anonymous email arrives.

"Your brother was murdered."