His Forbidden Truth

Another Mauled body

Ava’s POV

“Stop here!” I yelled at the cab driver and got down in haste, running toward the sound of police sirens and the ambulance parked not too far away.

I stopped in front of the yellow tapes that had been put up almost everywhere and adjusted my press tag as the officer walked up to me.

“Same thing as always, Miss Monroe,” he said flatly, looking at me with a bored expression.

“This has been the tenth death in five weeks, and you're saying that it's some uncontrolled animal mauling people to death like this, and not a single camera in the whole area has caught a glimpse of it?” I asked, one hand on my hip, my brow raised.

It was ridiculous for them to think I would buy such a crazy story. I mean, an animal? I might be a journalist who writes wild stories, but this? This was pure bullshit.

“Yes, Miss Monroe. It’s an animal, particularly a bear. Some people have sighted it. Now, run along and don’t teach me how to do my job,” he replied rudely before walking away and speaking to his junior. I was pretty sure he was telling him not to let me near the scene.

Another dead end. But I wouldn't give up. None of this made any sense. I looked back at the body being bagged, and I could spot the same slash marks. They looked nothing like that of a bear, and I would know. I’d spent the last few nights researching.

---

“I’m telling you, sir. This is a big scoop. You just need to pull some strings to let me fully investigate and get the real details. This will be big for us.,” I said to my boss, Anderson. He was the executive chief editor and well respected around here. He was basically a journalism god here. Everyone wanted to be in his good books, and those who were close to him benefited a lot. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t one of his suck-ups, nor was I someone he appreciated, so I was definitely not in his good books.

“And I have told you, Ava, that this is useless. You're saying this isn’t some sort of bear attack but a serial killer conspiracy? Are you out of your damned mind? If you want to run this company into the ground and let our competitors laugh in my face, then say it,” he huffed and turned back to the papers in front of him, totally ignoring my presence.

“But sir—”

“Get out.”

“Sir—” I tried again, but he wasn’t having any of it.

“I. Said. Get. Out,” he yelled, and I quietly bowed my head and walked out of his office with my jaw clenched and my fists curled in anger.

When I left his office, I could feel the eyes of my colleagues on me. As I walked to my cubicle, I heard snickering, giggling, and full-on laughter. They were making fun of me, and I knew it. Since I came here from Decorah, Iowa, I hadn't been properly welcomed by my colleagues.

Being one of the few females here, and one who actually wanted to do her job, the others weren’t so fond of me. I was stuck with their constant degrading remarks and mockery, especially when Anderson always dismissed my ideas.

I sighed as I fell into my seat, putting my head into my palms. What do I do now? Is this how my career will wither away and die because of my asshole boss?

I was still sulking when my phone rang.

“Hello?” I said, raising it to my ear.

“He–hello,” a shaky voice said from the other end.

“Who is this?” I asked, confused. Who was this and how did they get my number?

“They're n–not animals,” he whispered.

“What?” I said, a bit louder, making some people turn to me with curious eyes.

“Huge men in black… not bears or animals. Th–they weren’t—” He broke down crying, and I tried my very best to comfort him for a bit, but it was no use.

“They killed my father. Not some fucking animal,” he yelled the last part in anger, startling me.

“Okay, do you have any proof I could use?” I asked, but then I heard footsteps from his end of the line.

“Shit,” he cursed, followed by rustling sounds.

“Are you still there?” I asked, but got no reply—until I heard a breathless voice.

“M–mafia.” And the line went dead.

The mafia? What does the mafia have to do with—

Damn it. I finally got a lead. It was the mafia. I needed to let Anderson know. Maybe he’d finally listen to me and let us investigate this. We might even become the top newspaper and journalism company if we could break this.

Compared to when I took my seat earlier feeling dejected, I felt better now.

I was almost at his door and raised my hand to knock when my ear picked up on something.

“Yes, I’ve informed the police force to keep saying it’s an animal, sir.”

Huh? What’s going on?

I put my ear closer to the door, thankful no one was near me.

“We do have a worker who keeps sniffing around, but I’ll put her in place soon. Nobody can do anything about it if the police keep giving that particular statement, sir,” Anderson went on.

He knows what’s going on? Is Anderson part of the mafia?

“I have sworn my loyalty to the Morettis. I will never betray my benefactor.” And I heard the line go dead.

Moretti?

“I need to stop Ava from going too deep before she puts us all in trouble,” he muttered.

So I was right—this wasn’t just some ordinary animal attack case. But if my anonymous tip was right… This is extremely dangerous. The mafia’s involved.

What should I do?

I stepped back just as the door opened, revealing Anderson. He looked at me with surprise, and maybe suspicion, but quickly masked it with a smile.

“Monroe! Just the person I wanted to see. I finally have a big job for you.” He placed a hand on my shoulder.