Two days later, at night, in a different state in a city known for its casinos and resorts, a well-dressed, middle-aged man smoking a cigar burst into a high-rise CEO's office. He slammed his fist on the desk and stared at the man sitting with his back to him.
"My son is dead. They found him mummified in an apartment in that city. He was my only son and the heir to my business," the man, Benjamin, said, his voice raw with sadness and anger.
"Hmm, I see. So what do you want, Ben?" asked a gravelly-voiced, middle-aged man, who was still looking out at the city lights from his huge window.
"I want to find out who had the guts to kill my son, Brandon. Send your people to do it. We can't rely on the police; they take too long," Ben said.
"Your son caused too many problems, which sometimes got in the way of our business. Why should I help you?" the man replied without turning around.
"Please, just this once. In return, I'll give you half the shares of my casino. We can build a new empire together, Mark," Ben said.
The gravelly-voiced, old-man whose called Mark was silent for a moment, as if thinking about Ben's offer. Then, with a click and a puff, he seemed to light his cigar; Ben could see the smoke rising from behind the chair.
"Hmm... that's interesting offer." The man, whose called Mark, spun his chair around. He was bald, with severe burn scars covering half his face and neck, and blind in one eye. "I'll have Zack look into your son's case. Don't worry about it," Mark said with a terrifying smile. He crossed his legs, took a drag from his cigar, and blew the smoke in Ben's direction.
"Thank you, I knew I could count on you," Ben said with a sneer.
"We're partners. Don't worry about it. We'll handle the paperwork tomorrow," Mark said.
*****
At the same time, Dean, Claire, and Bianca were watching TV, which was showing the news about a strange body found in an apartment. Suddenly, Dean's phone rang, and he saw Laila calling. He immediately answered.
"Hello," Dean said.
"Dean, are you okay? I just read a news blog from Compass News—they found a body near your cafe," Laila yelled.
"Oh, it's far away from the cafe, Mom. Don't worry, we're safe," Dean replied.
"Really? Far from the cafe?" Laila asked.
"Yeah, it's far. Don't worry, everything is fine," Dean said.
Laila was silent for a moment, and her breathing slowly became normal again. Then she started talking.
"Okay, but still be careful. If they're finding bodies near you, that area is dangerous," Laila said.
"I know, Mom. Don't worry, I can take care of myself," Dean replied.
"Alright, I trust you. Just please let me know if anything happens," Laila said.
"I will, Mom. Don't worry," Dean replied.
"Are you living alone?" Laila asked.
"Huh... no, Claire and Bianca are here," Dean accidentally blurted out.
"Oh, your girlfriend, Claire? And Bianca?" Laila asked.
"Uh... oh... yeah, sorry, Mom, I'm cooking. Bye-bye," Dean said quickly.
"Plip." The call ended, and Dean sighed, putting his phone back on the coffee table and leaning back. He immediately turned to the side and saw Claire on his right and Bianca on his left, staring at him intensely.
"What?" Dean asked.
"The one who wrote the article... that was Janet, right?" Claire asked.
"I think so," Dean replied.
"Hmm... there's no problem, is there?" Claire asked again.
"No, why?" Dean said, relaxed.
"But her office is regional. How did a story get all the way to another state?" Bianca asked.
"She writes on a blog. The internet is global; anyone can open it from anywhere, especially my mom, who is always checking up on me," Dean said casually with a shrug.
"But there's no problem, right?" Claire asked one more time.
"No. Actually, I think NS put the body in Janet's apartment so she could write about it, that's why he said Janet must be happy because he put the body near her apartment," Dean replied.
"Hmm... let's hope that's all there is to it," Claire said.
"Yeah, seriously. I mean, we've been normal these last two days, going to school, opening the cafe, just chilling... normal... but we still need to be careful," Bianca added.
Dean looked at Claire and Bianca, who were still staring at him intensely, even leaning their faces closer to his.
"You guys aren't staring at me like this because of the news article Janet wrote, are you?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. Bianca and I are your wives. Why didn't you just tell your mom?" Claire asked.
"That's right. Why weren't you just honest with your mom?" Bianca asked.
"What am I supposed to say? I'm married to two people and in a polyamorous relationship? Seriously? Besides, we aren't officially married yet." (He thought to himself: and I have no plans to get there), Dean replied.
"Oh... hmm... that's true. It's unethical," Bianca said, moving back.
"Yeah, you're right. She'd probably come here and beat us all up," Claire added.
"But at least you could've said we're roommates or in an open relationship," Bianca said.
"Yep, as long as we're not married, it's not a problem, right?" Claire replied.
"Why didn't you guys tell your parents?" Dean asked.
"I don't have any," Bianca said.
"My mom and dad are traveling the world; I don't want to bother them," Claire said.
"Ugh, you guys are the worst," Dean replied.
"What?" they both said.
Immediately, they both wrapped their arms around Dean's, then rested their heads on his shoulders. Claire took out her phone, opened it, and "snap," she took a selfie of the three of them.
"Can I posting this picture, hehehe," Claire said.
"Don't," Dean replied.
"Just post it," Bianca said, smiling.
"Don't cause trouble," Dean replied.
"Don't worry, my account is private," Claire said, looking at Dean, smiling, and winking.
"Grrr... don't. What if your friends and family see it?" Dean said.
"Oh...right, you've got the point," Claire replied.
Claire turned to look her smartphone screen. But suddenly, Claire's face went completely pale. She turned stiffly to Dean with a look of fear.
"I... I'm sorry, Dean," Claire said.
"Huh... sorry for what?" Dean asked.
"Driiing... driiing... driiing," Dean's phone suddenly rang. He looked at it, and his eyes went wide. He answered it right away.
"Bro... what's this picture? Why did Claire send me a selfie of the three of you? What does this mean? Did she mocked me?" Angel shrieked, her voice so loud that Dean had to hold the phone away from his ear. Bianca immediately backed away, leaning against the back of the sofa. Dean turned to look at Claire.
"That's why I said sorry," Claire said. "I accidentally sent it to her."