GREETINGS FROM W

Nine

I had no idea what I was doing. 

I parked my dad's car in front of the Glass Entertainment building and stayed on my seat for an hour. 

I was scared. 

I was scared to leave my car and walk the few steps to the main entrance, scared to panic in their hallways and have all eyes on me, scared they would suspect me and ruin all our plans, and terrified not to pay Wolfe justice. 

It was my idea to interview Sixth Sense, the company's best current boy group.

I heard Wolfe and Luke worked with them since their debut, and I thought it was wise to speak to them and see if they have anything to comment on both incidents.

But then, a wave of ideas from my friends crashed me, and I found myself obliged to accept. They suggested I bribe the security agents to give me the deleted footage, and I didn't know how to feel about that. It was not about the money or the possibility of the absence of the footage, but I had no idea if I could do it. 

I had the money in my purse, and I left the car before I walked to the building. 

I couldn't just get inside and head directly to the CCTV room. The receptionists won't let me through without an appointment, and that's why I proposed we program a meeting with Sixth Sense to avoid suspicion. Rex was in charge of calling one of their managers as he was his friend, and he got me a date a few days later. 

I was thinking of inviting them to the memorial and ask them if they would like to sing a song in honour of Wolfe. 

I planned the entire conversation in my mind and even acted it during days. I even imagined the look on their faces while they talked, and the short answers they would give me as I was a stranger to them. 

I took a breath, and the automatic doors opened for me, like two giant devils welcoming me to hell. My favourite black heels walked the few steps to the reception counter, and I made sure to flash my most charming smile not to look suspicious. 

“Good morning, miss. How can I help you?” the beautiful blond smiled back. I noticed the employees wearing the same outfit and having the same allure; women wore a black mini skirt, too uncomfortable to walk in, a baby blue shirt exposing their chest, and all of them had short hair. Men wore skinny jeans, too tight around their butt and crotch, and the same baby blue shirt opened to the chest. 

It was a little painful to watch as they looked more like robots than human employees. Even their walk and the way they talk were programmed.

“I have an appointment,” I tell the receptionist.

“Your name please,”

“Skylar Clarke.”

Her long fingers waltzed on the white keyboard before she looked at me and smiled at me with her perfectly aligned teeth.

“Welcome to Glass Entertainment, miss Clarke.”

I smiled, “Thank you.”

“Are you a journalist, or a magazine writer?” 

“None,” I chuckled, “I'm a friend of Wolfe Gray.”

Her perfect smile dropped as soon as I pronounced his name. She gulped and looked down for a moment before she lifted her head again and gave me a sad smile, “I am so sorry for your loss. Mr Gray was an angel.” 

“I know,” I nodded and took the baby blue visitors badge from her hands before I put it around my neck. “Thank you again.”

I thought I would be walking alone, but to my surprise, there was another barbie waiting for me in the hallway. 

“Good morning, Miss Clarke,” she smiled, and I tried hard not to laugh as she looked exactly like the beautiful doll I just saw behind the counter. Kye Wright had a weakness for gorgeous blond bimbos as I could see. 

“The members of Sixth Sense are waiting for you in the meeting room,” she said. “You have twenty minutes.”

“Oh, it's timed,” I chuckled. “I see.”

“They have a tight schedule,” she said, “As the most popular boy group of the country, it is normal.”

I hummed and walked behind her as I looked around and admired the fancy interior. Kye Wright invested a lot of money to make the building look like a spaceship. Everything looked futuristic, such as the asteroid lamps hung on the ceilings, the steel round couches, and the glass tulip chairs. 

“Here is the meeting room,” the blond stopped in front of a huge glass door and entered a code before it opened. “Good luck,” she said politely as I walked inside. 

My heart pounded when I saw the six men sitting around the glass table surrounded with blue LEDs. It was strange to see them in reality as I was only used to watch their videos and online shows. They were more handsome now than the pictures. 

“Good morning,” I smiled and shook their hands. I was expecting them to be a little distant and cold, but on the contrary, they greeted me with charming grins. “It's nice to meet you all. I'm honoured to be here.” 

Their manager, a tall long-haired, pulled a chair for me and I took a seat. Glass chairs might be pleasing to eyes, but my butt disagreed. 

“I must introduce myself first. My name is Skylar Clarke, a good friend of Wolfe.”

“Oh?” Aaron, the leader and oldest of the group, raised an eyebrow, “So, you are the famous Skylar!”

I widened my eyes, “You know me too?”

“Wolfe mentioned you before,” Dan, a cute  curly-haired, said. 

“Yeah, he happened to talk about you and your other friends,” Aaron continued, “He said you have a nice voice.”

I smiled, “That was kind of him.”

“We are sorry for your loss,” Ian, the guy everyone envied for his long healthy hair, said. 

“Well, it is a loss for all of us,” I sighed, “I heard you were close to him.”

All of them nodded.

“We worked a lot together,” Aaron said, “He taught us everything we know today about music production. He was a genius.”

I agreed and noticed the posters glued on the glass walls. I recognised the cover of their latest album. 

“By the way, congratulations on your album. I heard it was a success.” I said.

“Thanks to Wolfe, yeah,” Ian smiled, “He helped us produce all fifteen songs before he... uh... yeah.” he looked down and pressed his lips.

Their manager received a call and stepped outside to take it, and I noticed their eyes followed him until they made sure the door was closed before they all looked at me. 

Aaron looked around again and gulped before he asked, “Does Luke know?” 

He caught me off guard. I didn't know if it was an honest question or a trap. I learned through the years that I couldn't trust anyone and that most people approached me only when they sought something from me. But then again, I was here to extract information from them too. 

“He does,” I nodded slowly, “He's devastated.”

The Sixth Sense members forgot their charisma for a moment and looked like normal human beings now. Their heads were down, some were sighing, and others were silent. 

“Did you see him before the incident?” I asked, hoping to get an interesting answer.

“We did,” Aaron nodded, “He was with us at the studio while we were working with Wolfe.”

“Wolfe was there too?” I raised an eyebrow and immediately tried to change my facial expression into a more relaxed one. 

“Even though he could just email us the tracks, he preferred to pay us a visit from time to time to monitor us,” Ian added. “And Luke had a meeting with Mr Wright that day, so he passed by the studio.”

“I see,” I pressed my lips. “What happened was unfortunate.” I sighed. 

The guys checked on their manager, who was still on the phone and shared a look.

Aaron rested his arms on the glass table and approached his face, blessing me with his piercing brown eyes. “We don't believe he did it.”

And again, I didn't know how to react. 

“We're still confused,” Joe, the one with the bright honey eyes, whispered. “We've known Luke since before our debut, and he never disrespected us in any way. He never dared to lay a finger on us, let alone Luna, whom he didn't even know personally.” 

“Yeah, even Wolfe couldn't swallow it,” Aaron added, frowning. “Since that day, he wasn't the same anymore. The Wolfe, who used to smile every day, disappeared.”

I gulped, “How was he?” I asked, feeling tears burn my eyes. “I didn't have the chance to see him as I was away. Now I regret not having visited in three years.”

“Wolfe wasn't the same,” Dan started, “It's like he knew he was going to...” he pressed his lips and looked down, “He was getting ready to leave.” 

I clenched my fists and looked away as it hurt to know how Wolfe was before his departure. But hearing that he was ready to die felt like a stab to my heart. I was eager to keep believing that he didn't commit suicide and that someone killed him, but every time I heard something that proved me otherwise. 

“But you know the crazy thing,” Aaron continued with a shaky voice. Just like me, he was blocking his tears, but his body exposed him. “He said this confusing thing before he left.”

“Right!” Dan exclaimed. “We didn't get it.”

“What did he say?” I hurried to ask.

“It was the last time we saw him,” Aaron said, “We finished recording the outro about two weeks or more before his death. It was late at night, and he bought us dinner.”

“Hamburger and fries,” Joe smiled sadly.

“Yeah, we ate and talked about Luke,” Aaron added, “Wolfe said he couldn't forgive the ones who trapped him, and he started saying strange things as he was going to get him out and help us leave the company and sign a contract with Gems.” 

“The entire conversation was confusing,” Ian ran his fingers in his long brown hair.

“And when he finished, he stood us and said, trust me.” 

“And he left!” Joe exclaimed. 

My heart threatened to explode as I remembered the first letters of the album he left us. 

TRUST ME.

“Does...uh... does anyone else know about this?” I asked calmly, and they shook their heads.”

“We didn't know whom to tell, to be honest,” Aaron whispered nervously, “If the police know, the media will too. And one thing we learned since we entered this industry, it's better to stay away from problems.”

I left the meeting room later after giving them flyers to invite them to the memorial service. I asked them if they would like to sing a song in honour of Wolfe, and they didn't hesitate to accept. Their leader said their schedule was tight as they were still promoting the new album, but they would come to memorial no matter what. 

Fortunately, the blond bimbo wasn't waiting for me outside. I was alone, and that was what I needed for my mission. But on another side, I wished she was there to find an excuse not to do it because I was scared. 

My legs were noodles as I walked in the empty hallways. I had to pretend to be lost as there were cameras in every corner. 

There were plenty of rooms, and I wondered if other celebrities were behind the doors. 

I couldn't hear my steps as my heart was like drums. I was getting a little dizzy and even thought of leaving, but I didn't want to be a coward. I didn't want to disappoint Wolfe or my friends.

I spotted the CCTV room from afar, and I saw the cameras towering me in each corner of the walls. I took a breath and decided to play dumb and pretend I was looking for the bathroom. I couldn't even stop in front of the door and hesitate to enter as it would look suspicious.

My hands were jelly, and they stuck around the knob as I opened the door to be welcomed by a wall of screens, and a smell of pizza. 

Two men, wearing the same doll uniform, turned their chairs and looked at me with confusion. One of them had a slice of pepperoni pizza in his hand. 

I gulped and widened my eyes on purpose, “Oh? I thought it was the bathroom.” I chuckled nervously. 

“The bathroom?” they raised an eyebrow. “CCTV room is written in capital letters on the door.”

“Are you sure you were looking for the bathroom, miss?”

Well, shoot.