11. Break The Brake

On a quiet night, Alex stood in the darkness in front of a large glass penthouse that showed the glittering city of Manhattan from above. The skyscrapers and their lights enlivened the atmosphere.

The smoke from Alex's cigarette billowed through the air. The man wore only formal pants, leaving him shirtless as he smoked along with his wandering mind.

After all, he was still curious about Celine's whereabouts. That's right, he hated her for leaving him for dead. But Alex was also worried about her. No, not because of his love. Alex was self-aware that he had been fooled by his feelings for her. Alex was now only worried if Celine opened the card.

"I still have to catch her," He was furious and determined. His hands were clenched tightly into fists.

Alex then pressed the end of the cigarette in the ashtray. He took a sip of his drink. His Adam's apple seemed to rise and fall, making his appearance even sexier.

"Argh!" he sighed, putting the glass back on the table.

Alex's face turned bright red. The muscles on his muscular body suddenly bulged like embosses. They seemed to stiffen as his emotions flared.

Alex groaned, then slammed his fist against the wall

Pow

The wall cracked instantly, but Alex's hand was unharmed. It was like he was possessed by something.

From a distance, Steve was silent. He was breathing softly. "He's being ambitious and uncontrollable."

+++

"Yesterday, a woman asked for a tarot reading. After I touched her hand, she was Alex Matthew's aunt."

"What? Really?"

Irene nodded.

Danni held her head in thought for a moment. "Okay, what do you see about Danni? Anything important?"

"I don't know for sure because I was surprised too," Irene described herself at that moment. "I was surprised when there was Alex in the memory. I haven't seen anything about Alex either. I only saw his aunt's problems."

"Who knows, that could be a clue."

Even after getting a small puzzle piece from his wife, Danni rushed to the crime scene where the victim died in the same pattern as before. The man in the denim jacket stood examining some things around there while the forensic identification team was taking pictures and samples at the site.

"We should immediately search the mart that the secret agent said."

Danni nodded. "Come on, we need to have a meeting. I have a bit of information that will come in handy."

"What information?"

"Let's go to the office and gather the others, including the commander!" Danni ordered.

+++

"Are you going to enter the tarot cafe, sir?" asked Chou looking back.

Alex was leaning back casually while holding his throbbing head. "That's right. What do I do now?" He looked across. There was a vintage building with a queue outside.

Alex squinted. "Everyone there is waiting in line for a tarot reading?"

"It seems so, sir."

Feeling awkward, Alex called Steve to confirm again about the tarot cafe his mother's aunt had visited.

"Are you serious?" asked Alex incredulously when was connected by his friend.

"What are you doing? I'm in a meeting with the production team. You're submitting a music competition show."

"I know, you have to."

"Then what?"

"About the tarot cafe... the one on 23rd Street?"

"Ah, that. Yes, that's right."

Without giving a closing sentence, Alex disconnected the call. He fell silent, lost in thought.

"Excuse me, sir. But would you believe in superstition?" Chou still felt something was off with his boss.

Alex always stood firm with his decisions and thoughts. He never believed in prophecies and the like. Even he didn't care about the existence of God. He just wanted to take care of his own life.

"My aunt told me that tarot readings are not fortune-telling," Alex said and turned around, looking at the increasingly crowded cafe. "A tarot reading is a reading of the situation with the medium of cards that can be used as a reference. Besides, the tarot reader here is also very good at giving solutions."

As Alex said this, Chou listened intently as she nodded to indicate her understanding.

"So, wait in line for me."

"Yes, sir."

+++

The narcotics team was gathered in one place like a conference. In front of them was a blackboard that had been plastered with some clues related to the deadly drug case.

"Alex Matthew!" Danni circled the photo of the alleged drug dealer. "So far, we've never been able to investigate his background and source of wealth. But I've found a bright spot."

"Alex is an orphan raised by his aunt, Sarah Bellinda." Danni posted a new photo next to Alex's, which made the other members quite surprised.

"Hey! How did you get that?" the Commander was shocked, then suspicious. "Don't tell me..."

Danni rolled her eyes. He didn't want to respond to his commanding officer in front of the other members because he knew where the conversation would end up.

"Anyway, she is the niece of Sarah Bellinda, a businesswoman, owner of several beauty salons around New York," Danni continued. "Sarah Bellinda is known to be wealthy thanks to her late first husband. Then she raised Alex Matthew alone by pampering him, which made him grow up to be a free man."

"Then when did Alex allegedly make this dangerous business?"

"As we've discussed before, he didn't just start a drug business." Danni tapped the picture of Alex with a marker. "He built other businesses such as health care, retail, and entertainment."

"As for how it started, I still don't know," Danni continued. "But at least we can investigate some other things, like Sarah Bellinda and her business. Especially since Sarah is seriously ill, we can have a chance to investigate."

"Again, Alex has been dumped by his girlfriend Celine. We can immediately find out about that woman for the investigation." Danni added. "Celine is known to have left after having sex with Alex."

"Whoa!"

The atmosphere in the room was suddenly excited.

Danni tapped the blackboard with a marker to get things back on track. "Don't worry! We can also do it after the investigation is over."

That sentence made the other members laugh.

+++

Irene took off her mask for a moment after reading tons of tarot for her customers. She took a moment to stretch her body, which felt stiff from all the sitting and focusing. Irene was exhausted.

"Irene! Hurry up and put on your mask!" she exclaimed.

"What else? We're closing soon, so why the rush? Huh?" complained Irene. "You have no idea how sore I am."

"Please, this is the last time." Jeff was so antsy

Even Irene was only in the market, putting back the mask that covered half of her face as a dashing man in a shirt entered.

"Welcome..."

Irene couldn't make a sound when she saw the man. She quickly checked the customer name report, but the name listed was not the person in front of her. Yes, Irene knew him well.

"I'm Chou Andrew."

That voice, the voice that whispered her into oblivion. Irene was dumbfounded.

The man came closer so that their eyes were very close. "Why, have we met before?