Chapter Nine

Gabriella. FLAMES! That was all I could see right at this very moment. Everything around me spun around in 360° and my heart felt like it was just about to jump right out of my body. "Excuse me Sir, what's happening? How did this happen?" I could hear Liam faintly asking the people around but right after that, my eardrums started to feel like they were burning from the inside. I could neither hear or see anything aside from the terrible fire that the firefighters were trying so hard to put out. A few feet away from me was an ambulance that I suppose is here to carry Katherine's body away. Apparently, they found a gunshot wound to her stomach which means that definitely, her death is a murder case and one way or another, this misfortune was gonna involve me since I owned the place where she was found dead, I happened to be her boss and coincidentally, a fire started on the exact same night that her body is found. This had to be the worst day of my life and at this point, I can slowly feel myself losing my mind and at the same time, my sense of reasoning. Everything around me looked dark and felt gloomy. It's like I'm only going to keep experiencing the most horrible things in life and I highly doubt I deserve it since I've never done anything to hurt anyone, ever. "Babe, are you okay?" Liam's voice asked suddenly and when I didn't reply, he started to shake me vigorously to snap out of it. Truth is, I could hear him call out my name and beg me to answer him but I just couldn't bring myself to say a word. The entire environment smelt like smoke and seeing the aftermath of the fire broke me in ways that I cannot even express. Some would think I'm only like this because the cafe was all I had but no, that wasn't the case. I was very much capable of buying a whole new building if I truly wanted to keep the cafe going but this cafe wasn't just any cafe to me, it meant way more than that to me. This building, as small and as insignificant as it may seem to some was my sign that I still had hope, hope that everything would be okay, hope that my life hadn't been put on a complete pause for something I knew nothing about, hope that the entire world didn't completely hate me since they could still walk into a place that I owned without actually harassing me and my employees. This cafe, was the only thing I held on to assuring myself that this horrible phase in my life would eventually come to an end and even if things don't go back to normal completely, at least I would be able to walk around freely without strangers pointing fingers at me and calling me a murderer. Unfortunately for me though, my hope is now nothing but ashes. Just like that, the only thing that kept me sane disappeared and all I see in front of me is a burnt down building and another murder case that is bound to add more fuel to the already terrible fire in my life. I don't deserve this. No, I don't. I'm too good a person to deserve so many horrible things. I've never hurt anyone and I never will so why does nothing ever work out for me? Why is everything good in my life always short-lived? Where did I ever go wrong? Why in the world is all this happening to me? Is God punishing me? Was my mom right? Am I really nothing but a cursed and unfortunate child? "Gabriella, please snap out of it!" Liam's voice yelled even louder this time and I unconsciously turned to look him in the eye. "Li...Liam, w...what's happening? W...what d...did I...do to deserve this? P... please t...tell me where I went wrong cause I d...don't u...understand anything," I stuttered shakily as teardrops started to roll down my cheeks uncontrollably. Liam pulls me in for a hug, holding on to me tightly and I immediately burst into tears. My lungs felt clogged and my heart felt like it would burst right out of my chest in any minute. "You did nothing wrong baby. This isn't your fault at all," Liam whispered assuringly but that only made me feel even worse. "What do you mean this isn't my fault? I'm cursed Liam, I'm definitely cursed and that's why nothing good ever happens to me! T...this place was my only hope Liam, it was the only thing I had left to hold on to and just like that, it's gone. Gone like it never even existed. How the hell is this not my fault!" I yelled at him furiously, pulling myself away from him aggressively and attempting to walk as far away as I can from this tormenting atmosphere but he's quick to stop me. "No Gabriella, don't say that! You are definitely not cursed, you hear me! A fire can break out at any time Ella and it's absolutely no one's fault and as for Katherine, you have no involvement in what happened to me. She was unfortunately found dead here but it's only because the bastard who did that to her probably knew she worked here but this doesn't mean you're at fault, understand?" He tells me, raising his voice slightly and I stood in front of him, unable to speak or move for a few long seconds. "Liam, you don't get it and honestly, I don't expect you to. Katherine was my employee. I saw her yesterday, I spoke to her, I laughed with her and just like that, she's found dead today with a freaking gunshot wound and for some weird reason, I think I may have something to do with it. As if that wasn't enough, the cafe suddenly starts to burn terribly from the inside and you and I know this wasn't an accident of any kind. I can smell the damned fuel Liam, which means, someone did this to me for no reason. Someone wickedly snatched the only hope I had left and you're telling me that I'm not cursed?" I said to him and he sighed. "I know it sounds crazy but I can't shake all this off Liam, I just can't. I feel like I'm slowly losing my sanity and it feels like someone's trying to slowly drive me mad with misery. I'm under investigation for an attempted murder when I can't even hurt a darn fly. I lost my job, my reputation that I may never get back and now I've lost my cafe and another murder case is about to surround me cause they will investigation and since I already have a pending case, they'll add me to the list of possible suspects. Tell me now Liam, am I really not cursed?" I asked, heaving a sigh of frustration as it dawned on me that I am indeed a misfortune like mom always told me. "Listen to me Ella, you did not murder anyone and you have no connection to Katherine's death cause you did not kill her. If really someone is behind all of this, then we will find the person no matter what it takes. If you keep talking and feeling this way, you're giving that bastard exactly what he or she wants. You can't feel defeated Ella cause you are not guilty. You're a good, kind and admirable human being and eventually all of this will become a thing of the past, I promise," he muttered reassuringly, putting his forehead on mine and holding on to me tightly and a flood of tears started to pour out of my eyes. "What if they succeed Liam? What if I end up guilty for a crime I didn't even commit? What then Liam? No one will believe me, everyone will think I really tried to kill Martin and I'll get locked up unjustly," I said to him whilst in tears, wondering what I'd do if that really happened. "I believe in you and I swear on my life that I'll do everything in my power to make sure nothing happens to you. Get every negative thought out of your head cause you are innocent and that is the only truth there is, okay?" he tells me sharply, pulling me in for a hug and gently patting my back to comfort me while I cry uncontrollably. "I feel so tired Li, I really am," I muttered in between sniffles and he gently used his hands to massage the back of my head to calm me down. "We'll get through this baby, I promise we will," he assured and I nod slowly, confirming that I believe him and he uses his hands to wipe off the tears that were starting to dry. "The officers over wanted to speak to you but I don't think you should do any talking for now. I'll let them know you don't feel well," he says to walk off but I stop him. "I'll talk to them, Liam," I told him quickly. "Don't worry babe, you don't have to. I'll handle them and you can just wait in the car for a while. I'll be quick," he replies and I disagree. "There's no need to do that babe, I'm fine now. I'll speak to them and get in contact with Katherine's family to offer my condolences. I also need them to investigate the fire to confirm whether or not it's an arson and if it is, I hope they get them soon. I can only hope it's not who I think it is," I said to him, sincerely hoping that my hunch at the moment is very false. "Do you suspect anyone?" he asked. "No one in particular babe, just ignore it. Let me go ahead and speak to the cops," I replied, immediately walking away from him and towards the cops who were speaking with Taylor. The poor girl looked completely distorted and her eyes were puffy and swollen from all the crying. "Good evening officers," I greeted calmly. "Good evening madam. You must be Gabriella Johannson, is that right?" the taller one of the two men asks. "Yes, I am Sir," I replied. "I'm officer Gray and this is my partner officer Lopez," He introduces and I bowed curtly to the other cop, who just stood there with a serious look on his face. "We're deeply sorry for your loss. It is quite unfortunate what has happened here today but we hope you don't mind us asking a few questions, or do you?" he asked. "No please, of course not. Go right ahead," I permitted, taking in a deep breath before they start to hit me with questions that I will most likely find uncomfortable. "Miss, you can go now. We'll let you know if we have any more questions," he directed at Taylor and I signalled Liam to come help her walk since she looked way too disoriented to comprehend anything. "Okay miss, first, we're gonna have to ask how close you were to the victim Katherine Jones. Was she merely just an employee?" Officer Gray asked. "Well, I wouldn't say I knew her all too well but I was fond of her. She was a really sweet employee and she and I spoke quite a few times," I replied calmly, holding back the tears that threatened to pour out as memories of my last conversation with her clouds my mind. Katherine really didn't deserve to die like this. We may have not been that close but the few times I interacted with her, I was amused by her vibrant personality. "Do you perhaps know anything personal about her? Something that could relate to why someone would do this to her?" Officer Lopez asks. "No, nothing much. The only thing I knew about her was that she had a relationship and she told me she was happy with him. Aside from that, we never really talked much about our personal lives," I replied. "Hmm, did you know she was expecting a child?" he asked and I deadpanned. Katherine was expecting a child? Oh my goodness! "She was pregnant? Oh my goodness, I had absolutely no idea. She did mention something about her dreams finally falling into place but I had no idea she was talking about her baby, oh Jesus Christ!" I exclaimed in tears as tears slowly started to roll down my eyes. I can't believe someone just mercilessness murdered a mother and her child just like that. How horrible! "We completely understand how you feel and we assure you that whoever did this will be found. We'd like to ask you one last question, if you don't mind?" Officer Gray says and I urge him to go ahead. "Do you perhaps know if she had any altercation recently with anyone? Even a customer or a fellow co-worker?" he asked and I froze for a few long seconds as realisation dawned on me. "I...I don't know about an altercation with a coworker but she did have a few disagreements in the past with customers. She can sometimes be impatient with disrespectful customers so she has had altercations with them on a few occasions," I replied and something about where this conversation was headed did not sit too well with me. "Since the cafe is unfortunately the way it is, we cannot get security footage of the people she had issues with but do you know any recent customers that she had issues with?" He asked and my stomach dropped. A sudden realisation that my twin sister is about to get involved in this sent a weird feeling down every fibre of my being. I know Elle is crazy but was she capable of killing someone? I highly doubt it. I wouldn't want to think the worst of her even though she is the most annoying person on earth. "She did have a little back and forth with a twin sister, Gabrielle, a few days ago. It wasn't anything serious though. I only asked her to relay my message that I didn't want to meet her," I told them and for some reason, they looked surprised. "Hmm, do you recall anyone else?" he asked. "Not exactly, even if I did, I wouldn't exactly know their names," I replied and he nodded calmly, obviously satisfied with his questioning. "Thank you very much for your time Miss and once again, my deepest condolence for your employee and your cafe over here. We'll make sure both cases are investigated thoroughly and we'll also be keeping in touch with you for a while. See you soon, miss," Office Gray says, bowing slightly alongside his partner before they both walk back to their car. I stare once again at the once upon a time vibrant environment that is now clouded with smoke and darkness. A tired sigh escapes my lips when I realise that this may actually just be the beginning. I know it's weird but I just have this feeling that the worst is yet to come and the truth is, the thought of it alone scared me like nothing else.