Epilogue

“Reese McKenzie, twenty-six years old, was found dead inside her boyfriend’s mansion at five in the morning.”

Freshly brewed coffee and the scent of newly baked goods wafted around the café across Dixon Enterprises. Usually, in the mornings there were plenty of employees milling around the area, but today was a blessing for Lawrence Meaver, who had the café all to himself save for three other people enjoying their cup of coffee. Normally, he would be dashing to the elevators or racing other employees to their workstations so he wouldn’t receive a penalty for being late. However, today was not a normal day given the fact that his boss, Cedric Dixon, was out doing other business and didn’t seem to give a damn about his work or role as the head of the company.

And frankly, Lawrence would rather listen to the news on the television in the café that usually had the volume lowered to avoid disturbing customers. But the volume was up today, and no one was complaining. They were too absorbed in the news. It had been a hot topic since the news aired and Lawrence wouldn’t miss it for the world.

“The verdict was suicide by poisoning. Fingerprints belonging to the woman were found all over the glass wine she drank from that was lying close to her collapsed form. Traces of arsenic were found in the cup and on the victim’s mouth.”

“Oh my god…” The barista served him his drink, setting the cup of steaming coffee on his table. Both their eyes were glued to the television. “Why’d she do that? Why would anyone throw away their life like that?” Clicking her tongue, she shook her head at the headline on the screen. Reese McKenzie’s picture flashed on the screen. “She’s pretty and has a successful boyfriend! I can’t imagine why she wouldn’t want her life.”

“I know…” Lawrence echoed softly, thanking the barista as she moved away. If there was anything more shocking to the secretary, it was to find out his co-worker had died in his employer’s home. Everyone at work must be shocked to hear that not only did Cedric Dixon date his private secretary, but that now Reese McKenzie was dead. He could just imagine all the messed-up people on the internet romanticizing such a story.

Seeing it would be enough to make him vomit.

“Cedric Dixon, the CEO of Dixon Enterprises, is the person last seen with Reese McKenzie. He reported the incident upon stumbling her dead body in the library. He said he was stunned and confused as to why she would’ve done this when they were celebrating before he went to bed.”

Lawrence couldn’t help but cough at the words of his superior. He would never forget the day Cedric ordered all employees in the department where Reese used to work to bully her and make her ‘uncomfortable.’ Those he fired after taking in the woman as his private secretary were later compensated with a huge amount of cash for their hard work and for their silence as well. Lawrence, up to this day, hasn’t figured out the reason why he did that. The man dated the poor woman, messing with her behind curtains and coming in to save the day—appearing to be her hero with the troubles he conjured up on his own.

However, Lawrence valued his job more than to rat out his employer. He, too, had to make a living unless he ended up in the streets with his expensive lifestyle. Still, it didn’t stop him from pitying Reese McKenzie. Everything happened so fast that no one seemed to have the answers as to why she killed herself.

She must’ve dug up the truth or something, he thought as he sipped his coffee. There can’t be any other reason than that, I guess.

“It is also worth mentioning that Reese McKenzie dated her employer before becoming his private secretary. Daughter of Nicholas and Katelyn McKenzie, who both died in a fatal car crash a few months ago, were socialites and often frequented the Grand Mari Hotel. It was then revealed that the couple bought the hotel prior to their deaths.”

Stopping short, the secretary set his mug down to narrow his eyes at the television as it offended him. It was the news that spoke of Reese McKenzie and their employer, Cedric Dixon, being lovers before they even met at the company that was confusing to Lawrence. This merely made him hold on to the mug, hoping to get some answers from the news anchor reporting the incident until they moved on to the latest scoop.

Rolling his eyes, Lawrence opted to fish out his phone and began searching for articles online that may have covered the suicide of Reese McKenzie. His coffee would go cold before he could read every news article about what occurred in the Dixon home. The sheer number of videos ranging from reactions to theories were a lot to take in seeing how it had just been televised.

Just as he was about to stop, he stumbled on one video that posted what seemed to be an email from Reese McKenzie. Knowing that it might just be a bait to lure in more viewers, Lawrence sighed as he pulled out his earphones to listen to whatever the woman had to say.

“This better not be one of those clickbait—”

“Hi, guys! And welcome back to my channel. Today—” Skipping the annoying introduction by the woman on the video, Lawrence clicked on the time stamp located below on the comments and started from there. “Okay, so today the death of Reese McKenzie has been so controversial because she is said to date her employer. Many rumors have been surfacing, saying that this woman was admitted into Dixon Enterprises without breaking any sweat. Like, yikes! Shouldn’t HR be very thorough with how they accept employees? I mean, no offense to Reese, but if I were to ever have an employee who has no work experience, I’d be having second thoughts too, you know?”

“I already know this, so might as well skip,” Lawrence mumbled, dragging the button to another timestamp. Hearing the woman talk was a bit infuriating on his part for he has never watched any videos about showbiz or anything that required a lot of energy to go through. Documentaries were always his thing other than watching cat videos late at night. However, he felt some sort of responsibility to know what happened to his fellow co-worker. Frankly, if he didn’t know Reese and wasn’t working alongside her, he wouldn’t have cared. But here he was, watching videos and articles to figure out what happened as the news always seem to cut out the good parts for more coverage later in the day.

“If you’re a journalist watching this video right now and maybe got the email sent under Reese McKenzie’s name, then perhaps you can relate to how I got goosebumps all over my skin. Because oh my god… look at how it’s spilling a lot of tea!”

A screenshot was then pulled up, showing Reese’s email to what seemed to be a well-known journalist in the area. Straining to read the email, Lawrence brought his phone closer to his face.

Hello and good day to you, My name is Reese McKenzie. I’m twenty-five years old and I live in Auburn City, in the east district with my parents. You may or may not know me, but I survived the car crash that fatally took my parents from this world. After that, I lost my memories and lived a simple life, trying to make ends meet. However, I never would have thought I’d get a job at Dixon Enterprises without any work experience. It was a dream come true, or so I thought…

Reading out the rest of the email was a difficult task due to its length and font size, but it proved to be silly to try as the woman filming the video started to read it aloud. Lawrence listened on quietly, waiting for the part to where I happened to stop.

“It was a dream come true, or so I thought. I was bullied and harassed in the company. Rumors started to pop out of nowhere and I was treated poorly. I thought it was due to my background as I haven’t done any job. And yet, the CEO of Dixon Enterprises took me in as his private secretary. I was super elated.”

The woman in the video stopped and pretended to wipe her tears for comedic relief, but it didn’t make Lawrence laugh at all. First, because the joke was tasteless. And second, because what Reese McKenzie went through was nothing to laugh about considering how it was Cedric Dixon who ordered those people to harass her. Shaking his head in disappointment, Lawrence continued to listen.

“It turns out, Cedric Dixon has been playing with my emotions and toying my mind since the first day. Upon recovering my memories, I discovered he was the person behind the car accident that took the life of my parents—Wait, stop for a moment. This shit is super messed up if it’s true!” The woman chuckled, unable to believe the letter’s content. “If she’s his girlfriend, why would he do that? There’s something going on between these two, more than this letter lets on. Oh my god… Just imagine the turmoil she went through when she realized her lover killed her parents. This looks like it came out of a soap opera, don’t you think?”

“I don’t have all day…” Lawrence grumbled, tapping his foot impatiently as the video played on.

Clearing her throat, the woman went back to reading. “I may not have the evidence to point out he did it, but my testimony may suffice. The other person who can testify he did it has been killed off by none other than Cedric’s security team. Her name was Hattie Johnson, and she was killed off with no hesitations despite her surrendering. Cedric’s motive in doing this was because of the Grand Mari Hotel. His family owned it for generations until they were forced to give it up due to bankruptcy. The Richardsons, the owners at that time, had a daughter named Francesca. He tried to woo her even when we were in a relationship just so he could marry her and have a chance to take the hotel under his family’s name. When my parents bought the hotel from the Richardsons, he was angry at how my family foiled his plans. He sabotaged our car that led my parents to lose their lives. And even after what he has done, he took advantage of me, who had no memories of the past. He cheated and lied to me. A man such as Cedric Dixon doesn’t deserve to bathe in riches every day but to rot in jail for the rest of his life.” The woman paused, hand over her heart as she heaved a heavy sigh. “Oh my god… That’s so messed up!”

Having heard enough, Lawrence paused and exit from the video. Figuring how Cedric manipulated Reese, it was clear that she didn’t want to live a life controlled by her parent’s murderer. Emptying his cup, Lawrence then left the café after finishing and went to the company. It would have been a slow day and for the rest of the week, he figured, if it weren’t for how controversial the letter and email Reese has sent out for the world to see.

Weeks passed since her death, and it was still making a buzz around town. Everyone then knew of Reese McKenzie and her story. Her parents’ success in climbing up the social ladder to owning the biggest hotel in town. People knew of Cedric’s name, yet the public opinion on him went from mediocre to crying out of sympathy for losing his lover. This continued on for days, bombarded by calls wishing to speak with Cedric or to express their condolences.

Reese McKenzie, on the other hand, was buried in a private cemetery where her parents were put to rest. The Richardsons then jumped into the wagon, pointing fingers at the deceased woman. Saying that she got what was coming to her for hurting Francesca Richardson and that her death could never atone for her sins. Yet, even as they cried out for their daughter’s justice and for the public not to give any pity to Reese, this didn’t change things as they have seen the woman as a victim. People who merely met her due to circumstances appeared on television, saying words of praise for the dead and how she was misunderstood. Lawrence gagged at the sight of one of her harassers paid by Cedric along with the other interviewees.

Everything has been tough on the secretary as he, too, was bombarded with calls.

Lawrence almost choked on his own spit when on one fine day, police came through the office doors, seeking Cedric Dixon. His employer, after participating in every interview or activity about his dead girlfriend, was buried in paperwork when the authorities came knocking on his door.

Lawrence couldn’t help but feel scared as he watched as the policemen dragged Cedric away from his desk, kicking and screaming. The secretary hid behind his desk as he watched with wide eyes as the usually composed and domineering Cedric Dixon was escorted out by the police as he yelled out his protests.

“This is an outrage—a scandal! I demand to see my lawyer before I talk to anyone! Who told you to come in here without an appointment? I haven’t committed any crime! I demand—” The door slammed shut as Cedric disappeared from Lawrence’s sight. Left to wonder what just happened, the secretary stood up from where he sat to hide himself before fixing his frazzled nerves.

“What on earth…” Trailing off, Lawrence sighed as he took out his phone. The website where job openings are listed for Auburn City visible on the screen. After what he has witnessed today, he might as well start looking for a new company to work for.

If there was one lesson he learned during his time here at Dixon Enterprises, it was that love is a dangerous thing to possess and give away.