Chapter 107 - A Beautiful Facade

Silvia Grey could feel the heat rise as she tried to think of a way to answer Long Ah Hai.Stuttering a bit,she asked,"Sh shi Ai? I do not remember anyone by that name Mr Long! I am sure you are mistaken.."

This time Ah Hai deliberately lowered his gaze and decided to out wait the woman. He did not like liars and right now Miss Silvia Grey was lying.Silvia tried to avert her eyes but the strong gaze would not let her,leaving her with no option but to lower her gaze. Getting more nervous by the second,Silvia tried to stammer out an explanation,"Mr. Long, I really am not aware of the person you are looking for. I am sorry that you have wasted your time in having hope for me. I have met and befriended so many people over the years that I really do not have any memory of such a person. I am sorry."

Getting up from her seat,Silvia Grey bowed and then said,"In case..in case I remember something I will let you know."

She had almost escaped to the door when the man's cold voice interrupted,"Do you need me to threaten you Miss Silvia. I can use the fact that you have just signed with this company and then proceed to ruin your career. I can throw you out right now and make you an accomplice instead of a victim in the eyes of your dear fans. I have a million ways to ruin you Miss Grey and if you think that KSS media is important to me then you are mistaken. I can establish a hundred other such companies so please take a seat and start the story.

Sighing deeply,Silvia closed her eyes and then opening them sat in front of the man. Her eyes held a stubbornness that come what may she was not going to co operate. Ah Hai waited for her to speak and she silently stared at him.Finally the cold war was broken after a few minutes when Silvia was unable to withstand the pressure.

In an irritated voice,she said,"Shi Ai is dead!And I don't know why you are curious about her. She died almost 10 years ago!"

Ah Hai absorbed this piece of news and cocked his head to look at her. 

In a conversational tone,he answered,"Then would you mind telling me why there is no record of her death?There is no death certificate. No report. Nothing. She seems to have never lived or died.."

Raising her chin,Silvia stared at the cold man and asked,"Why are you interested in this anyway? Whoever she was,whether she lived or died,the hows and the whys..how are they your concern? And how did you link her to me?"

"If you did not want people to know then you should not have put her picture in her home. Someone recognized her and wanted to know about her. I am just a small investigator. And your reaction just now was very interesting,Miss Silvia! You were young neighbors in a small apartment building in country C,weren't you? But suddenly, eleven years ago,Miss Shi Ai disappeared into thin air and you moved here with your parents. Don't you think anyone who would know of this situation would find it a bit fishy.."

Long Ah Hai's insinuations made Silvia realize that this man had done proper research and he was looking for something specific from her. But she did not understand how mush the man knew and how? As fas as she knew,Shi Ai and Shi Xaio were both dead. Her parents were also long gone.The only other people who would know about this were Mr and Mrs Shi and they would not gain anything from this and would not be curious. Also,she knew that Long Ah Hai was richer than hades so he had no need to blackmail her but she could not understand what he wanted. So she decided to repeat the smae story she had told the police many years ago.

"Shi Ai..she was thirteen that year and her sister was eight. We lived in a very poor neighborhood so all the parents had to go to work. Shi Ai was usually left to baby sit us and as she grew up she started to resent,having to take care of us. She wanted to go out with boys her age and have fun so she used to lock us up in the cupboard and go. This caused us a lot of trauma and a fear of closed spaces. One day, I cried a lot and complained to my parents who then did not send me there again. Her parents were angry at her for this and gave her a beating making her even more angry and resentful. But she pretended to have learnt her ways. Then one day,they were gone longer and Shi Xaio was having a tantrum so in her anger so she threw some things around and mistakenly caused a gas leak. By the time the adults came back their house had been burnt to ashes and both the girls had been gone.. My parents had a strok of luck in their business soon after that so they moved here to help me get over the shock and so that they can have better prospects here. I don't know why her parents did not get their death certifacates or what the problem was. I was just a kid. And it was a painful time for me also Mr. Long. I would rather forget that miserable period of time. Now if you would excuse me Mr Ah Hai, I have somewhere to be and would like to take your leave."

After she had left, Ah Hai picked up the phone that was left on the table and spoke into it. "You heard everything."

An emotional voice answered,"Yes. And I know she is lying.." Shi Ai answered slowly..

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