The Hybrid Girl Captured by the Werewolf

The Investigation

...continuation...

This garden was built by her father when he was still in his final years of college when he courted Cellestine's mother. They met here. They created memories here.

"That's good to hear. I'm sure your parents will be at peace knowing that their daughter will look after this place," Harvey said as he ruffled her hair.

"No! Not my hair!" Cellestine complained, but she was just met by her uncle's hearty laughter.

Harvey and Charles, Cellestine's father, were both architecture students back in the day. They were best buddies. Henriette, Cellestine's mom, took up music, majoring in piano. Harvey and Charles were three years ahead of her. This place holds the memories of how they started out. Somehow, Cellestine feels like they are still here.

Suddenly, her uncle put his arms over her shoulder and pulled her closer to his side, like a side hug. "I know it's hard for you. But all of us are trying to cope with the situation." He sighed. "You're a strong girl, your parents will be proud of you."

"Thanks, uncle. Maybe my parents won't actually worry too much about me. I have the best uncle here to support me." Cellestine smiled warmly.

"You know you're just being cheeky."

After a while, Cellestine felt like Harvey was squeezing her too much.

"Umm, uncle? This is not a hug anymore. You're squeezing me, you know?" It took several seconds before he let her go. He looked like he was in pain but the expression quickly disappeared and he replaced it with a bright smile.

"Nah, I was just teasing you," he said. "You better go and check your dorm. I know you'd like to mix in the crowd for a while, so I arranged for the staff to give you a place in the student dorm. You will have a roommate but no need to worry. I am sure you'll get along with her just fine. She should be arriving later in the afternoon. Go check with my secretary. She knows what to do," he added while dismissing Cellestine.

"Okay?" she stood up and walked backwards facing him. Then she noticed something moving in the woods. She stopped and stared at it for a while.

"What are you looking at, Missy? You better leave now," Harvey said with a serious expression. But he again changed it to a smiling one.

"Alright. I'm leaving. See you at lunch!" Cellestine replied as she waved him goodbye and started to head to the direction of the student dorm.

But she turned around one last time. "Oh, and uncle?"

He looked startled but then responded, "Yes?"

She smiled. "You're weird.", then she went back to her business and headed to the dorms.

But she swears, her uncle is acting weird and there was really something in the woods. She shook her head. She still needs to check on her new dorm.

After Cellestine left, Bryce suddenly appeared and helped up the collapsing Harvey. At the back side of his shoulder, just at the spot that used to cover Cellestine earlier, was a small dart.

"Sir, I'll take you to Tessa now. You're poisoned.", Bryce mentioned with worry in his voice.

Harvey didn't even try to respond. He knows and he can feel that he is poisoned. He leaned on Bryce's back so he could be carried to the underground hospital.

What he is worried about at the moment is the situation with the intruder. Bryce must have noticed his restlessness.

"Isagani is with the team, tracking the intruder. Karmi has already arrived and she should be able to take care of the little miss' safety."

With this statement, Bryce felt the body of his boss relax. What just happened was a miscalculation on their part.

All along, they thought that the university was totally under their tight grip. However, it seems like some spies actually swept past their radar.

The person who tried to assassinate the Miss just now was actually a cleaning man in charge of the garden area. There were a lot of them around, but no one was expecting that he would actually just strike Cellestine with a dart out of nowhere.

They warned Harvey through their communicator. Luckily, he has a pretty good reflex and quickly blocked the poisonous dart.

He directly carried Harvey along the forest trail at the back of the park. Unbeknownst to the students, there is actually an entry and exit point to the underground passages just a few meters behind the garden. These entry and exit points are spread throughout the premises of the university.

This is to allow the security team and permitted school staff to go around the school without the students noticing. It's especially useful in times like this. Imagine running through the school grounds with the unconscious school administrator on your back. Bryce can't afford that chaos.

When he opened the passage and finally got underground, Tessa, his wife, the head physician of the university, was already waiting with her team. They had been informed earlier and they had already brought an ambulance with them.

The medical staff quickly stabilized Harvey.

"Will the boss be okay?" Bryce asked his wife.

"I can't identify the poison used just yet. But his situation is currently under control," Tessa answered. She noticed the expression on her husband's face and grabbed his clenched hands.

"Hey, it's not to be blamed on you. If bad people want to do bad things, they'll find a way, no matter what. The best thing to do right now is to take charge of the situation. I don't know how soon Harvey can recover. You must take care of Miss."

"Thanks. I will. Don’t worry about it," he responded. He kissed his wife's forehead and headed back to the school campus to meet up with his team.

Tessa couldn't help but worry about her husband. She took one last glance at her husband's hurrying back and heaved a deep sigh before she turned around and went after the medical team.

---

Cellestine does not have a single clue about what just happened. She didn't know that she had yet again missed an appointment with death. She's also unaware that her uncle has actually been poisoned in her stead.

She made it to her dorm after speaking with Leah, her uncle's secretary. In all fairness, she's beautiful. But too bad she already has a fiancee. Cellestine would love to pair the two of them together. She seems like such a nice person.

Harvey Guevarra is still very single at the age of thirty-six. Yeah, he's that old already, but he doesn't have a family nor a girlfriend yet. He said he's too busy for a relationship. He's still an eye-catcher, though. That's not Cellestine being biased.

In high society, she's exposed to different social events and parties and she has seen all sorts of beautiful men and women. Her uncle looks just like he's in his early twenty's at most, so a large number of the new students here at the university mistake him for a college student. It makes it easier for him to mix in the crowd every first day of school to spy on students.

He does that as a tradition every new semester. One can just imagine the scare-of-their-lives the students will have once they realize that they were acting too familiar with the school administrator and talking some s**t about him in his face.

He says it's fun and fulfilling, though. Cellestine smiled at that thought. Sometimes, she thinks he's not really thirty-six years old at all. He behaves like a teenager sometimes. But still, for her, he's the best uncle in the world. When she told him that she didn't know what to do without him, she meant it. With her parents gone, he has become the only parent figure she can look up to.

Thinking about it again, she's excited to see her uncle fool around on the first day of school in person. She used to hear him talk about it every year as a big joke. What she did not know, however, is that her uncle's recovery date is still uncertain.

Putting that thought aside, she opened her room using the key Leah had provided her. The room is a two-bedroom suite.

When you enter the room, you will be greeted with a comfortable couch and an elegant center table as part of the living room. On the ceiling is an elegant four-lamped chandelier. The right wall has a floor to ceiling window with a balcony outside. To the left is the dining area with a modern dining set. Then, the two rooms are situated to the left and the right. In between the two rooms is the kitchen area.

She entered the room to the right which had her name posted on the door. Inside is a queen-sized bed, a closet, a mirrored dresser, and a study table. She has her own connecting bathroom as well. The color motifs are black and white. She walked towards the closet and opened it. Yup. Definitely her room. This is her stuff.

She decided to sit by the study table and noticed that her laptop was already there. She hasn't seen her laptop since last night. She opened it and checked her emails.

She actually received an email from Caleb.

From: Caleb Howie

Subject: 'Results'

He's really reliable. After she recovered from the shock of losing her parents, she coordinated with one of her close friends, Caleb Howie, to start her own investigation into the accident that caused her parents' death.

The police had already ruled out any possibilities of foul play and closed the case as "Hit and Run". But she really doesn't believe it. Recently, even before her parents' death, she sensed that they were always being followed. She even told her parents about it but they said that she should not worry. So she didn't.

But now she realized that she should've followed her suspicion and made a move to investigate right then and there. However, thinking about it can't bring back the past now. What she pledged to do is to make sure that those responsible will pay.

She opened the email he sent her and downloaded the attached files.

This tattoo looks familiar.

She said to herself as she saw the picture in one of the files.

'Hailey,

I checked the CCTV footage of the incident. There was no footage that would show how the truck-driver escaped. It seemed like the driver just disappeared out of thin air.

I reviewed all the CCTVs near the crime scene and I luckily got hold of footage from a nearby warehouse that caught the truck passing by. The driver's face is not very clear because he's wearing sunglasses. But there's a tattoo that is very visible on the back of his hands when he was holding the steering wheel. This is the best lead that we have so far.

I attached the picture of the driver and the tattoo along with copies of the CCTV footage that I managed to collect. (It was very hard, mind you. The file is secured and it seems like the police are really hiding the footage from the crime scene). Please take care of this evidence. I'm also keeping a copy, but it's better if you can also hide a copy of this somewhere safe.

For now, you can review the evidence yourself and I will also try to look for other clues from the current leads that we have. I'll see you in person very soon.

Yours,

Caleb

PS: Don't call my number for now. She's at it again. ^_^'

...to be continued...