Hidden Horns

Wanted criminal in Manhattan

Nonstop ringing of her phone awakened her, with heavy eyelids and severe headache, she forced herself to sit up. Then her eyes searched for the loud noise. Hundreds of missed calls and her friends and her fiance blowing up her phone with messages, asking where she is, is she okay and what happened. While scanning through her phone, one message came from Joey that caught her attention.

She read it twice, as if she couldn't believe the accusation she got from Joey.

"What the hell is he saying?" She mumbled. She looked up and roamed her eyes around, waking up in an familiar gives her a sudden fear. She looked down to her body and sighed in relief when she saw that she's still fully clothed. But then again, she gasped when she remember that she's with Aaron, and the last thing she remembered was she drank in one gulped the wine to piss off Yohan and walked out of the restaurant.

After that, everything became hazy and she thinks she passed out.

Chloe finally picked up her phone when Charlene's number registered on her phone screen.

"My God! Where are you?!" Charlene asked exaggeratedly.

"I don't know." Chloe replied while getting off the bed.

"Everyone is going crazy! You're in the news!"

"What? Why? I'm not even dead or missing." Chloe chuckled. Her eyes were still roaming around the house as she stepped out of the room. "But I'm in someone's house."

"Great, is there any television in there?"

"Uh I see one but I'm not touching anything, I don't even know where I am."

"You should turn it on so you're aware of what the hell on earth is going on!"

"Fine, fine." Chloe groaned as she walked to the TV and turned it on. The moment the screen flickered, her face appeared on the screen, then her jaw dropped upon reading the headline.

A man was found dead inside a hotel room.

Then there's Aaron's picture next to Chloe and a blurry photo but she could tell that the body was covered with blood.

"Oh my god." Chloe gasped, covering her mouth with her hand and she dropped the remote control on the floor while the other hand was still holding her phone.

"I know, it's f****d up but we know that you didn't do it—."

"Of course I didn't!" Chloe exclaimed.

The authority said that the receptionist gave them information, which pointed at Chloe Smith, the last person seen with the victim entering the hotel room. Police are still conducting investigation as they didn't see through the CCTV that Smith came out from the room but she wasn't at the crime scene as well. Police are looking for her because they believe that she was kidnapped and the suspect is still unknown but they are not removing the possibility that Chloe Smith is one of the main suspects.

"What the hell?" Chloe gasped again then she hit her, that's why Joey texted her that she's calling the wedding off because she cheated on him which never happened. "I didn't kill him."

"We know." Charlene said. "Now turn off the TV and tell us where you are."

"I didn't kill him, I swear."

"We know Chloe, we know. Please calm down. Just tell us your exact address and we're picking you up."

"I don't even know where the hell on earth I am!" Chloe said and she started to cry hysterically. "Oh my god, please help me! I'm scared!"

"Chloe calm down please? Just open your location and we'll try to find you."

Even if she's panicking and shaking, she still did what Charlene told her. She opened her GPS and turned off the TV. She ran to the door but she stopped again, thinking that there might be people outside and she'll get recognized. So she went back to the room and locked the door before hiding in the corner, crouching.

"Found her—." Charlene paused when she located Chloe's phone. She's in Missouri, which is a 16 hour drive from Manhattan. "What is she doing there?" She asked herself but Ivy, who overheard what she said, approached her.

"Where is she?" Ivy asked worriedly.

"She's in Missouri."

"That far? Why is she there?!"

"I don't know, her GPS says that she's in that place." Charlene said with a creased forehead and she looked up. "We should go and get her before the police get her first."

"I'm not going with you." Joey said emotionless and turned his heel. Ivy moved and was about to attack Joey but Charlene stopped her from doing so as she grabbed Ivy's hand.

"Is he crazy?! Chloe is his fiancee!"

"But he believed that Chloe cheated on her because she was seen with Aaron, entering a hotel room."

"And so?! He could see clearly that Chloe was drugged! She couldn't even walk properly!"

"Let's just forget about him, we should focus on how we are going to get Chloe from Missouri." Charlene said dismissively and she called Jess to inform her that they already have Chloe's location.

____

"Her GPS said that she's just around the block." Agma said when she found Yohan's location, which made them confused. Chloe is in Missouri while Yohan is in Manhattan when in fact, they both believe that Yohan was with Chloe.

The last call Jess received from Yohan tells them that she has something to do with the crime. But how come that Chloe is in another state and Yohan is just wandering around their street?

"You think she already has an idea that the authorities are after Chloe?" Agma asked.

"I don't know, but we should let her know." Jess said and she dialed Yohan's number. It kept ringing but no one picked up the call, while Agma was still watching how Yohan was still walking around the block. "She's not answering the call."

"But she's still moving here and actually, she's 5 metres away from here." Agma said and they both ran out of the house but instead of seeing Yohan, they saw a garbage truck, collecting trash at the waste cans right outside their house. "Great, she threw her phone."

"It just gives us more proof that she did that." Jess shook her head.

"Did what?" Yohan asked, stepping out behind the garbage truck. Then she turned to guy and tapped his shoulder. "Thanks for giving me a ride."

"You're welcome, thanks for helping me to pick up trash."

"No worries." Yohan said while the two just staring at her dumbfounded. When the garbage truck continue on their way to pick up more trash bin their subdivision, Yohan finally turned to the two. "So who threw her phone?" She asked again.

"You." Agma said.

"What? No." Yohan replied and she even pulled out her phone from her pocket to prove that she didn't throw her phone. "See? It's here."

"Why are you not answering my calls?" Jess asked.

"Just like what the guy said, I'm helping him pick up the trash."

"Okay fine, but did you even know what's going on, right now?" Jess asked again.

"Unless you tell me, then I would know." Yohan shrugged her shoulders and she continued her way inside their house, she sat on the sofa, pulled up her one leg to cross and one arm rest on top of the sofa.

"The police are looking for Chloe because she was the last seen person with the victim who found dead inside the hotel room." Agma said.

"Oh that?"

"Yeah and we know that you killed the guy." Jess said with certainty in her voice.

"Excuse me?" Yohan gasped a bit exaggeratedly then she laughed. "I didn't even know that guy."

"But you called me and—."

"Chloe did it, it's not me." Yohan cut off Jess.

"What? There's no way she could do that. The man's body was parted apart and some of his remains were even missing!"

"She did that." Yohan repeated with a chuckle. "Look, I admit. I was there, I almost killed the guy because he drugged Chloe but when I got inside the hotel room, I saw Chloe sitting next to the dead body. I was shocked, confused and anything that I hadn't had the chance to ask her how she did that because she ran to the window and f*****g jumped. I followed her, but she's no longer around and she didn't even leave any trace where she'd go."

"And you're acting like it wasn't a big deal?"

"How do you want me to act then?" Yohan asked, a bit irritated.

"That's suspicious. It sounds like you just made it all up." Agma sneered.

"But it sounds good, right?" Yohan said then she laughed obnoxiously, receiving a smack on her head from Jess. "Ouch!"

"Dumbass!" Jess snarled and she fished out her phone to call Ivy. "Hello? Yes, she's here with us."

"Why is she asking for me?"

"Because.." Agma trailer off she sat next to Yohan. "You just made a big mess into Chloe's life and as a friend of Chloe, she's concerned."

"Okay fine, I'm guilty of what I've done. I just lost it." Yohan lifted up her shoulders. "When I saw him carrying Chloe inside a hotel, I lost it. I went up to their room, killed the guy and dragged Chloe far from the crime scene so she could have an alibi once people see his body."

"That's not what is happening right now." Jess said who's listening to their conversation. "She's the main suspect."

"Well, not for too long once the media finds out that she's in Missouri at that time."

"She's in the CCTV." Jess said.

"Okay, listen to me." Yohan sat and uncrossed her legs. "Do you have a copy of the CCTV?" She asked. Jess nodded her head and she showed Yohan the video of Aaron and Chloe entering the hotel. "Okay, so the time stamp here is exactly 6:23 PM, Chloe checked in at the rest house in Missouri at 7 PM. And Missouri was 16 hours drive from here, so do you think she will still be the main suspect?"

"That's some bright lie, but how will she provide some alibi like that wherein all of her employees know that she was with them yesterday."

"Do you really think I'm stupid? Of course I took care of that. Chloe left last night, well, at least that's what I told them." Yohan said and she received slow claps from her friends while they were shaking their heads. "Thank you." Yohan said teasingly with a bow of her head.

"You're so evil." Agma chuckled but proudly.

"Of course." Yohan said smugly.

____

Chloe heard a knock from the door which made her flinch, she didn't want to move from her spot but the knock wouldn't stop. So she stood up and peeked at the window first, she saw a two old couple outside. The old guy carried a tray of food while the old lady was the one who kept knocking. Chloe opened the door and was greeted by an old couple.

"Good evening, this is the food you ordered, we're sorry if it took too long to deliver, I had to ask my husband to buy the fresh ingredients from the wet market." The lady said as she motioned to her husband to give the tray to Chloe.

"I hope you like it, my wife is a great cook." The old guy said.

Though Chloe was confused, she still took the tray from the old man and smiled. "Uh t-thank you." She stuttered. "May I know the exact address of this place?"

The couple exchange glances, which made Chloe nervous but she still managed to hold her smile so she wouldn't be so obvious that she's scared.

"You're in Chesterfield, St. Louis county." The old lady replied. Chloe's mouth fell open in shock.

"I'm in Missouri?" She asked in disbelief.

"Uh yes, you arrived last night with your friend—."

"Her girlfriend." The old guy interrupted his wife. "How many times do I have to tell you that there are people like them who's gender doesn't matter for them as long as it's love."

Chloe became more confused and she might have an idea of who's the girlfriend they were talking about. None other than Yohan Ceyx.

"I'm sorry." The old lady apologised.

"It's okay. Some people might not use it in this kind of relationship but as long as you're not insulting me or my girlfriend, it's fine." Chloe said and she smiled at the old couple before retreating back and closed the door. She put down the tray of food on the table before she ran back to the room to get her phone.

As soon as she grabbed it, her phone rang and she pursed her lips tightly before answering the call.

"What the f**k did you do?!" She growled.

"I saved you, for the hundred times." Yohan said from the other line. "So how's the view?"

"Where the hell are you? And why did you kill Aaron?! Now the police are after me!"

"Relax, sweetheart. You should just enjoy your sudden getaway rather than thinking about things that are not even true." Yohan said.

"Relax? How could I even relax if I'm in Missouri and a wanted criminal in Manhattan?!"

"You'll thank me later, trust me." Yohan said. "For the meantime, just enjoy your vacation." She added before hanging up and threw her phone on the sofa and she stood up.

"Yohan." Jess called her name which caused her to stop walking and looked back to Jess. "There's someone who wants to meet you."

Yohan's eyebrows knitted and tilted her head sideways. "Who?" She asked.

"Them." Jess said and she opened the main door, revealing Carolina and Molly.

"Please help us." Chloe's mom said.

_______