Quick recap: At the event, Tessa saw something strange that occurred between two people that she wasn’t supposed to see.

Warning: This content includes strong language that some may find offensive or triggering. Discretion is advised.

If you’re encountering this series for the first time, you can read the previous chapters first:

On the Front Cover Chapters

On the Front Cover | Ch. 6

The dawning light was softly coming through the curtains, and Tessa, who lay wide awake in bed, was resolved never to show her face at Brev Publishing again. She was convinced it was the best thing to do after what had transpired at the Klub Klap opening. Nobody was going to miss her—nobody really knew her to begin with—and she wasn’t going to miss them, that was for sure.

Then a ringing sound echoed in the room during her quiet staring match with the ceiling. She glanced at the lit screen on the bedside table. An unknown number was calling. She heaved a deep breath and hesitantly picked up—the voice on the other end was rather shouty. It was Wilson, telling her to be at the office thirty minutes early for something important.

“I’m no longer coming to work, as I’ve said. I’m sorry,” she said simply, then hung up. A surge of adrenaline shot through her half-awake veins. But it was immediately interrupted when another call came in. A different number—this time, it was Peej’s. Unlike the first caller, his voice sounded calm and collected. Still, something told Tessa that Peej and Wilson had coordinated this back-to-back call.

“I’m sorry to bother you so early,” Peej said. “But you have to come in today. Whatever you and Wilson said to each other yesterday, please set that aside for a moment. This is quite urgent.”

Bingo. Once again, her adrenaline kicked in. But instead of hanging up, Tessa asked, “Just what do you mean by urgent?”

“Oh, glad you’re there,” Peej replied, not expecting her quick response. “Someone from Makati Police will be coming by later to talk to you.”

“Why?”

She could tell Peej already knew what this was about.

“It’s about the incident last night inside one of the rooms behind the red doors,” Peej said, his voice tight. “Look, Tessa. We’re talking about famous people here. Just come here already.”

He hung up, and Tessa was left to process the information. Could it be about the incident she had accidentally witnessed—or something else completely unrelated? Whatever it was, the involvement of the police was no longer something she could ignore.

She needed to think. She needed a clear head. Her small place felt too confining, so she grabbed her keys and stepped out.

In a chaotic, unpredictable world ruled by even more unpredictable elements—most of all, humans—control had to be maintained. Less effort meant fewer mistakes. Fewer mistakes meant a faster path to mission completion.

To achieve this, she decided on her usual walk to the minimart. She needed to recenter her core. Routine served as drills. She walked straight to the fridge section, third door from the left. Item of choice: the yogurt drink, middle row bottle—for cold temperature and smoother texture, ideal for same-day consumption. She wasn’t veering from this again.

She downed it in a few seconds right after paying and made her way back to her flat. Let’s get this over with. Her eyes narrowed, and her footsteps quickened. It became clearer in her head that there was no way out of this mess. If she didn’t show up at the office, they could still track her down and raise some flags. If she did, maybe the interrogation would end there. Following her general rule, she chose the path of least resistance. The end would justify the means.

Tessa arrived at the Vallant Building thirty minutes before 9 a.m., as instructed. A police patrol car was parked right in front, and a small crowd was gathering near the revolving doors.

She passed through, ignoring the stares of barely familiar faces. What for, anyway? She was only doing what she’d been asked.

There was little time wasted once she stepped inside. In the lobby, two individuals in uniform—a man and a woman—approached her and led her to a room that likely served as a conference space on normal days. Today, it had been turned into a holding area. The female officer pulled open the glass door, and as Tessa entered, Ollie exited, doing a tiny skip when he saw her.

There was no time for greetings. Tessa looked past Ollie and met the eyes of a man already seated in the room. He was a bit older than the other two, though not by much—probably mid-thirties. He wasn’t in uniform, but he wore a black windbreaker with a police badge dangling from his neck.

“Tessa Mari?” the man asked, gesturing toward the chair across the table.

“Yes,” she said coolly.

“My name is Officer Dantes—I’m an investigator with Makati Police. I’m just here to ask you a few questions about what occurred last night at Klub Klap. Don’t worry, this is just routine. Is that alright?”

Tessa nodded as she settled in the stiff chair. She scoped the surroundings and quickly determined that nothing was out of place. The interview was safe to proceed.

“So, you were a guest at the Klub Klap event, correct?” Officer Dantes asked, alternating his glance at Tessa and down on his notes.

“Correct,” Tessa replied, remembering to maintain eye contact.

“And you were at the event from what time to what time?”

“From 4 p.m. ’til 9 p.m., I think.”

“Why were you there?”

“I work as an assistant for The Manilense. I came to Klub Klap yesterday with two others who work here—I think you already called them in. We’re supposed to write about the club’s opening for the publication.”

“Tell me what happened there—whatever you can remember.”

“There’s not really much I can remember at the start because it was pretty boring, but aside from the press, there were a lot of celebrities. I don’t really follow them, but they made the night entertaining, I suppose. The basketball player Jakey danced on the counter with some girls.”

“So you do know him?”

“Not really. Someone just told me he’s a big deal. Him and his girlfriend, Adeena.”

“Did you ever see them argue last night or have any misunderstanding?”

“Not really. He was too busy drinking and making a fool of himself.”

“So he was drinking heavily,” Dantes muttered as he jotted something down in his notepad.

At this point, Tessa could no longer overlook the direction of his questioning. “Can you tell me who exactly you’re investigating?”

“We’re aware of death reports circulating, but we can’t confirm any details at this time.”

Death? Tessa barely held in a gasp. Her raised brows betrayed her shock.

“Anything else you’d care to share with me, Ms. Mari? Any information could help with our investigation.”

“I was upstairs by the red doors, waiting for an interview with Adeena—”

“Did you get to talk to her?”

“I didn’t get the chance—”

“I see.”

“Wait, I’m not finished. She was in the red room, and I caught her topless with the owner of the club, Mr. Padilla.”

“And then?”

“I left. I just had to.”

“Anything else?”

“Wait, you’re not writing this down?”

“I have an audio recorder.”

“Yes, but your written notes are what your investigation will always refer back to. People in high-pressure jobs are notorious skimmers. Everyone knows that.”

“Ms. Mari, you’ve been very helpful. Thank you. We know how to reach you if we need anything else,” Officer Dantes said with a smirk, signaling to someone outside the room.

“What? Really?” Tessa raised both hands in disbelief, but the investigator was already tapping on his phone as she was slowly escorted out.

Her forehead burned red. She marched straight to the ladies’ room and splashed cold water on her face. Then again, she had expected this. From what she could tell, Officer Dantes was an ambitious junior investigator eager to solve his first big case. He was trying to validate a working theory through skewed witness statements.

“There have to be CCTV cameras all over that place,” Tessa whispered.

But her train of thought was interrupted when three girls—editorial interns—entered the restroom mid-banter, oblivious to Tessa slouching at the sink farthest from the exit. They each slipped into a cubicle side-by-side, continuing their chatter.

“It’s all over the socials now,” one girl said.

“Yeah, I saw Jakey looking all Chad with his mugshot. What a tool,” commented another.

“Oh, it’s gonna be a circus here again, in our last two weeks at that,” the third one groaned. “Let’s not even start with the unpaid overtime.”

“Be for real, Ella. You love it when they cover scandals, because you see more of Peej circling the office.”

“Will you shut up? People might hear you, you know?”

“Oh, no one uses this bathroom but us. Although I may have bumped into Ms. Lucita here once.”

“When I’m done wiping, I’m gonna kill you, Ingrid.”

“Fair. If I’m gonna unalive, at least I’mma unalive in the bathroom like Adeena.”

For the first time, all three girls went silent.

That was, until Ingrid spoke again after two long seconds.

“Was that too soon?”

“Too soon, babe,” one of the others finally replied. “Too fuckin’ soon.”∎

Read the next chapter…

On the Front Cover | Ch. 7

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