Chapter 36: FALLING APART

I left the hospital practically a zombie. I walked down the hallway as I observed the doctor's running about attending to their patients. I felt like I wasn't a part of this world anymore. I nearly didn't see Xender standing in front of me until he said my name. What is he still doing here?

What other purpose do I have left in this world? I couldn't protect my parents, as they were murdered in cold blood.

“Alda, you are coming with me; we need to speak to the officers.” Xender said as he took my hands, trying to lead me towards his car.

But I stopped him as I separated his hands from mine.

“This is none of your business, Xender, and I want you to stay away from me.” I said to him in a cold voice. I saw the hurt in his eyes as he looked at me, but I couldn't drag him into my mess.

“Very well then; I will do as you say. But don't ever think you can't run to me for help; my door will always be open.” He said, his voice coming out deep and husky.

I stared at him one last time before I turned and started heading out.

“Alda!” When I heard him call for me, I stopped but didn't look back. I didn't want to show how pathetic I was.

“Don't ever think you don't have a purpose to survive; your child should be your top priority.” I heard him say this before I stopped a taxi and we took off.

Arriving at the station, I was called in by the chief police officer. They said they had a few questions for me.

“Miss Barnard, I'm really sorry about your parents deaths. I know it's not the right time for us to be pressuring you, but we need answers to catch whoever killed your parents.” The chief officer said.

“Go ahead with the questions.” The detective in charge of the case was called in.

“This is detective David." I looked up to see the man in front of me before looking away. 

“Let's just get ahead with the questions.” I said I wasn't in the mood for introductions.

“Right, I'm really sorry about your parents, Miss Barnard.” The detective said that, but I ignored him.

“I heard you recently moved back with your parents; may I know the reasons?”

“I was having a marital issue, so I moved back to my parents house.” I plainly replied.

“May I ask what challenges you were facing with your marriage?”

“I divorced my husband.”

“When?”

“A few days ago, my parents wanted me to move back since my husband was abusing me.”

“Okay, according to your history, you were married to Mr. Seth Sebastian, right?”

“Yes,”

“You said he abused you, right?”

“Yes”

“Do you have any idea if anyone has grudges against your parents, like the workers?”

“Not that I know about? But I do know someone who has a grudge against my parents,” I said to him in a cold voice. Just the sound of his name alone is enough to make me boil. Seth is the only person I know who is angry at my parents, but killing them is what I never thought he would do.

“Please do tell me who you think that person is.”

“Seth Sebastian”

“Why did you say so?”

“Because my father is practically the reason why his company started having financial problems.”

“I'm sorry, Miss Barnard, but we don't just call people’s names out like that without proper evidence.” 

“That doesn't mean he can't be added to the list of suspects.” I said, staring at the detective with fury in my eyes.

“I will do that as soon as I find a reason to, but on the contrary, this man is a suspect, or he might even be the criminal. Do you know him?”

He had Albert’s picture with him. Is he insane? Why on earth will Albert kill my parents?

“Yes, he has been a family driver for years. Albert is not just a worker to us; he is family. He would never hurt my parents for any reason,” I said, defending him. How could he say such a thing against him?

“Even our own family can hurt us, Miss Barnard. His fingerprint was found not just on the weapon used at the crime scene; his fingerprint was also on the victims.” I began to panic at the sound of that.

What on earth is he talking about? Why would Albert kill my parents? He has been working for my father since I was little; why on earth will he kill them out of the blue?

“What nonsense are you saying? Albert will never do something like that; someone is trying to flame him up.” I said I was trying to make the detective see the reasons with me.

“When was the last time you saw him before the incident?”

“In the morning, he dropped me off at work before telling me he couldn't pick me up that evening; he said he had a meeting with my dad.”

“See, that's the more reason why you should start believing that he murdered your parents. He is on the run. We can't find him anywhere, but we are still looking.

I will suggest you call us if you ever get contacted by him. Mr. Albert might not be who you think he is. Thank you so much for your cooperation, Miss Barnard. I will keep in touch with you.”

With that being said, he left me there in a more devastated state. How on earth did we all get here? My parents are dead, and Albert, a man that I love as much as I love my father, is being claimed to be the murderer.

I thought I was dead after seeing my parents dead bodies, but now I just couldn't define what I was feeling inside. On getting off the police station, I didn't know where to go. 

I can't go home since it's still probably sealed by the police until the case is solved. I don't have anywhere to go except for Anna.

I need to call Albert; he is the only one who can give me the explanation I am looking for. I took out my phone from my handbag and saw Anna's missed calls.

I ignored them and dialled Albert's number, but it kept moving me to voice mail.

“Albert, Albert, what is going on? I came home to find out that my parents were murdered, and the police are saying you did it. I don't believe them. You will never hurt my family, so please call me back.

I'm sure we can fix this; please don't leave me alone on this,” I said as I tried to control my sobs. I sent him the voice note and practically dragged myself to the bus station.

I sat on the waiting bench and stared at the moving vehicles. I started having the urge to just walk straight to one of the moving vehicles and end it all.

The sound of my phone ringing snapped me out of my suicidal thoughts. It was Anna; she was calling back again.

“Alda, where are you now? I heard what happened to your parents.” I went silent on her for some seconds before deciding to say something to her.

“How did you know about it? The news isn't out yet; only a few people know about it, so how did you know about it?” I asked, getting suspicious. Since I found those items in Seth's house, I haven't been myself around Anna. She is hiding something.

“Alda, I'm your best friend. You could have told me something happened, but I had to hear it from Seth. He was called by the police, and he informed me about it because he was worried about you.”

Even as I heard her say those words, I could tell how fake it was. What is wrong with me? Why am I judging her even without proper evidence?

“Let's talk later; right now I'm not in the right mind to talk to anyone.” I told her and ended the call before she could say anything else.

I sighed out in frustration before boarding the bus that arrived a few minutes ago. It looks like I will be booking a hotel for myself.

Siofra's POV

I have been in this stupid bottle for, God knows, how long. And Alma is not planning on letting me out. No matter how much I screamed, no one heard me.

I couldn't tell if it was day or night in here. The least I could do was sit and listen. I am waiting to hear someone enter this God-forsaken place.

And just like now, I could hear footsteps approaching, and it began to get closer. Soon, Alma appeared.

"Hey, sis,” she said with a smirk on her face.

“Let me out of here!” I said to her.

“Oh, really? I can actually do that; if not, I need you alive until I can get those stones from you. Just wait a little longer, and I will set you free. It is not as if you can find your body,” she said.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Wow, I'm surprised you don't know about this spirit-leaving body spell. I don't know what Hama called it, but I will tell you once I remember it.”

“That still doesn't answer my question: what will happen to me if I leave this bottle without finding my body?”

“Are you that curious? Well, I will give you a brief summary. If you leave this bottle, you are going to die in the next hour without a body, so I will suggest you embrace that bottle because it is now your source of life.

Oh, and by the way, the whole Álfheimr is going crazy looking for you, but I will soon be their saviour.”

“You won't get away with these, I promise you,” I said to her.

“I will suggest you watch your tone, or I might end your life right here.” She threatened.

“I am not afraid of dying, and besides, kill me, and you will lose those stones. I will get out of here, and I will come for you. I will use another body, even if it is the last thing I will do.” She started laughing, and that annoyed me even more.

“Use another body; how are you going to do that? First, you can't possess the body of another elf except if the elf is in a vegetative state, and you also need to revive that body to be able to do that.

The last time I checked, you were not a healer, and even if you managed to possess a body, I would find you and end you,” she said to me before she stormed off. I need to get myself out of this mess, but the question is: how?