Psycho x mob

chapter two: Copy cat

​Clara smiles as she sees what is in front of her. "He must have been in pain," one of her colleagues said. Clara is now a medical doctor, somewhere she had never imagined she would be, and on this fateful day, Clara feels so proud of what she had done nine years back.

​In front of her is the corpse of a middle aged man. His stomach has been cut open and it has the same signature she had left on Aunt Amy the day she had taken her life. Clara feels so proud of her achievement because this made her feel so special to him. When an autopsy was carried out, they came to realize that the signature on his body was crafted when he was still alive. No doubt, he is either a drug dealer or a gang member. This confused Clara. Vincent is now a lawyer, why is he associating with gang members? Did she miss something when she was away for some months?

​"This is the fourth case about this killer in one month," another doctor added. But then he points something out, "This is a copy cat." Clara stood still, wondering how he had figured that out. Unlike the other victims that had been brought in for autopsy, Vincent's signature is quite different. He indeed carves out the signature, but just the star in the moon and not the one usually written on the victims' arms, the three alphabets. Clara could not understand why he did not add the other signature to mimic her completely. Could this mean he is trying to send a message, Clara thought.

​"Why are you trying to cover up for someone else's crime?" Vincent's bodyguard asks him as he proceeds to light up the cigarette in his hand. "Because she is my role model." Vincent turns his head toward his bodyguard with a huge smile on his face. "Girl? Oh." He finally understood what his young master meant.

​On the night Aunt Amy died, his personal bodyguard was the first person he had called that night, requesting him to get the CCTV footage in every possible way he could. After getting it, Vincent hid it away somewhere in the house and only decided to watch it two years later, just when he was preparing for college. In the CCTV footage, after running a few steps away from the scene, the killer picks up the bicycle lying on one side of the road before cycling off. Vincent could tell at once that it was a female: the body shape, the length of the hair when she bends down to pick up her bicycle. No doubt about it, Vincent knew he was right. Though he could not tell if it was a teenager like him or a young adult, all that did not matter. Whether she is a teenager, young adult, or married, Vincent vowed to find her. He does not just see her as a model anymore but rather someone he would want to have for himself for the rest of his life.

​"Grandpa wants us to come home," his bodyguard says as he stood up, putting the cigarette in his hand away without putting out the smoke. Vincent's face changes immediately. He does not like going home at all and he does not like everyone either. They all still see him as the little monster he was. Vincent does not mind what they think of him, but the atmosphere in the house, his parents' hatred towards him, the picture of his dead Aunt hanging on the wall right in the living room just feels like they are deliberately trying to make him mad and guilty. His little brother being fed with lies about him and his cousins and nieces not wanting to talk to or running away from him always add more fuel to his anger.

​Vincent had to put up with their hatred for another two years after his Aunt's death before finally leaving for college, and ever since then, things have never been the same. Vincent would not stay up to two hours each time he visits. He does not talk to his parents anymore, nor the family members, except for Dwayne, his personal bodyguard. Grandpa Voss had once fired Dwayne because he believed Dwayne was also contributing to Vincent’s bad behavior, only for Vincent to hire him back the moment he got into college.

​Dwayne was only twenty one when he was hired to look after Vincent. They quickly became friends and their bond only grew stronger. Whenever Vincent does something bad, Dwayne either hides the evidence, covers it up for him, blames the maids, or takes the blame instead.

​"Hello Grandpa, you look as healthy as ever," Vincent greets his grandfather as he enters the living room with a glass of wine in his hand. "And you are as bad as ever," Grandpa Voss replied him, noticing the glass of wine in his hand.

​"I missed you," Vincent said as he takes his seat opposite his grandad, ignoring his parents who are also in the living room as well. Unlike everyone, Grandpa Voss cannot bring himself to hate Vincent. He knows just how much Vincent loves him and he cannot deny the fact that he loves him too. Whenever someone reminds him of his deceased daughter, he just makes an excuse up, saying there was never any evidence showing him do it. And whenever they remind him of how Vincent would draw on people's faces with his small knife, he would defend him, saying he was traumatized by the death of his Aunt, leading him to misbehave in the worst possible way.

​"Why am I here today, Grandpa?" Vincent asks as he drops the glass of wine in his hand, ready to listen to whatever his grandfather wants to say to him. But instead, he ignores him and faces Dwayne instead. "You are looking more built. Have you been taking my son along with you as well?" As Grandpa Voss talks, Vincent's mother rolls her eyes from behind, getting mad at the fact that Grandpa favors and likes Vincent and not his brother. Vincent saw the expression on her face but chose to ignore it. Dwayne smiled, bowing his head slowly as a sign of respect toward the old man.

​"Vincent Voss," Grandpa Voss calls out his grandson's name as he removes his glasses and places them back into their case. "My dear son, it is time I finally marry you off," he said, looking directly into Vincent's eyes. Vincent could only break contact and looks at Dwayne instead, almost as if telling him it is all his fault for dragging him to his grandfather's house.

​Vincent starts talking about how he just started his career, how young he is, how he is just building his army, and how he is not ready for marriage yet. But Grandpa Voss keeps talking about how he wants to start having his great grandchildren.

​"The wedding is next week and we have picked a bride for you," Grandpa Voss said without stuttering. Vincent could only sit there disappointed. How can they pick a bride for him, a stranger, someone he has no feelings for, a wedding date, something he never knew of, and in just a short while as well? Knowing that his grandfather will not listen to him, Vincent stood up, finished drinking his wine, and leaves his grandfather's presence. For the first time, Vincent walked out on him without saying a goodbye.