The outside noises started to quiet down as the full moon appeared lonely in the sky, but Yeonica's thoughts were not the same. Her still wearing her disguise uniform proves that her mind was nowhere near her.
Her room was covered in keyboard taps and clicks, perfectly matching the melodies of her thoughts. She was sitting at her desk, searching for information about her "most trustworthy" colleague and longtime boss, trying to find some anomalies.
"Something is wrong. I am fully sure I never mentioned that I was hit with a rock when I reported to Mr. Felmor," she frustratingly murmured, biting her thumbnail unconsciously.
Yeonica checked Leana Secre's information first. She planned to scroll and scroll until she got satisfied, but her fingers did not seem to stop moving.
"Leana came first in the law firm before me. We became close since I got in. I never thought of her differently," she told herself. Leana has been an outstanding lawyer throughout the years. They are almost inseparable, as they handle cases together almost all the time, which made her extremely confused right now.
"Being hit with a rock in the head must've been so painful."
"The old man told you that?"
"He did. Hey, he may seem like he doesn't care, but he's worried about you sometimes. After all, it's the name of his law firm you're carrying."
Their past conversation echoed in her mind.
"Wait. Mr. Felmor told her that," she analyzed.
Yeonica slammed the table in irritation. The bottled water toppled over, causing the white envelope to fall down. Her eyes turned to the ground as the pictures inside the envelope scattered.
Yeonica gritted her teeth. These pictures she got from Zaranaia are bringing her memories about her back. She took a deep sigh. She wanted to forget everything for a while, but the world made it nearly impossible. It aches her.
"Wait, the pictures," Yeonica fixed herself; a bell rang inside her mind.
"Yeonica, you poor thing. Your adviser is still waiting for you at the faculty. Guess you'll be late again?"
The notebook with pictures that Edem threw at her before a mysterious woman hit her was gone when she woke up. Did that woman get those?
She got up immediately and went to her wardrobe. Yeonica rummaged through her school uniforms, trying to see if there was something in there. But she found none.
Yeonica massaged the side of her head. "This freaking case is killing me for real. I should die and ask the victims myself," she whispered.
She went back to her seat, leaving the mess she made as it was.
Yeonica saved all the information she found about Leana, though she knew none of those would actually help. Her next goal today is to find details about Felmor.
"This old man is the second CEO of Marshall Law Firm. He was appointed in 2009? Wow, I was in high school back then," Yeonica murmured in shock.
Upon researching, she also found something about the law firm she is working for. Marshall Law Firm was established in 2006. It remained weak and unpopular among law firms but gained its power after it was relocated and started over in 2009. And the CEO at that time was already Felmor.
Yeonica continued scrolling.
"Marshall Law Firm was turned over successfully to Mr. Sylvio Felmor in 2009, after the first CEO accepted the law firm's low performance throughout the years after it was established. Marshall Law Firm was originally founded by..."
"What?!" she almost threw the mouse in surprise. Her hands trembled as she held her chair, leaning for strength.
"... Jasper Maiven."
Yeonica immediately opened the desk drawer and searched for the envelope containing the records of the past suicide cases in Olkizia High School. Each page was almost torn apart as her hands flipped in a rush.
She reached the last page: the first-ever incident—the suicide case handled by her mom in court.
Case Record: Suicide of Jeasyl Maiven
Date: September 13, 2008
Lead Investigator: Mance Luther
"Where is it?" Yeonica said as she flipped the last page. At the back, there was the personal information about the deceased Jeasyl Maiven.
Name: Jeasyl Maiven
Age: 16
Date of Death: September 13, 2008
Her eyes squinted as she read every line; her heart beat faster with every word.
Mother: Joane Maiven
Father: Jasper Maiven
Yeonica's body weakened; her back unwillingly leaned back on her chair.
"What is this? I don't understand," she blurted out of puzzlement.
"Marshall Law Firm was founded in 2006. The founder was the father of the student of Olkizia who took suicide in 2008, Jasper Maiven. The law firm was passed to Mr. Felmor in 2009. And now, in 2023, he seems to have secretly betrayed me in the dark. What the fuck? How are they connected to each other?"
Before Yeonica died from too much strange information she found, her phone rang. She picked up her phone. It was Zeumro.
"Fine. Will another information kill me again?" she told herself before answering.
"Attorney Harmie? Sorry for calling this late."
"No problem, Detective Ignari. What's up?"
"We've got the CCTV footage of Olkizia you requested on the day someone hit you."
Yeonica stood up as she listened attentively. She remembered that the day she was hit was the same day she discovered the real identity of Zeumro. Him being a detective was also a chance for her to request help to obtain footage around the school.
"Oh? What about it? Have you found who the woman who hit me is?"
Yeonica heard click sounds over the phone. Zeumro must be replaying the footage.
"Not yet. Sorry, I maybe got your expectations high. Unfortunately, there's no CCTV on the place you were hit. But there's a CCTV on the covered court. A person you know visited the school on the same day you were hit. I just thought you needed to know this."
Her eyebrows raised. Someone she knows?
"Who? I didn't know. There's no one who texted me that day."
"Uhm, Attorney Secre from your law firm. Atty. Leana Secre. She was almost unrecognizable due to her attire that day, but the footage still caught her face."
That was probably Yeonica's last straw before she explodes. She clenched her fist. The familiar figure of the woman who hit her came to mind, the last conversation with his colleague whom she thought was her friend for a long time. She laughed, trying to suppress the anger she feels.
"Is this what Edem was talking about, that I'm being played?"
"What? Are you still there, Attorney Harmie?"
"A-ah, yes. Sorry, I zoned out."
"Is this another problem? Is Attorney Secre involved?"
"I honestly don't know, Detective. I think we should talk about this. I've discovered something just now. The puzzle is getting bigger and harder to complete."
The line became quiet for a second, until Yeonica heard a sigh.
"I understand. I've also got something to share anyway."
Zeumro hung up after they shared formal goodbyes. Yeonica stared at Zeumro's contact number on her phone's screen. She firmly closed her eyes.
"I hope you're not another bait that is thrown at me," she whispered.