Tsubaki slept soundly after having her lunch. Aunt Ume and Kouichi had already left. Toshiro said her vital signs were in good condition and she didn"t display any sort of mental trauma, much to Ren"s relief."Guard the door properly. Call me if she awakes," Ren instructed to his bodyguards outside the ward once he made sure Tsubaki was sleeping comfortably.
"Yes, Master."
Ren took one last look to the closed doors. He was reluctant to leave her sleeping alone in the room but Akashi had came to find him in the hospital. Instead of meeting him somewhere else, Ren felt it was quite good to meet him in the hospital. At least he wasn"t separated miles away from Tsubaki.
Ren walked along the hallways to get to Toshiro"s office. The hospital was still bustling with patients and visitors.
Once he opened the door, he found the two of them playing deck cards.
"Should I feel happy you"re willing to see me?" Akashi asked Ren while he was flipping the cards in his hands.
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"I think we should be grateful because he"s willing to be apart from her wife even for a short while," Toshiro interfered. He threw three cards on the table.
"Yes... What?" Akashi cried out, looking at Toshiro"s newly thrown cards in disbelief. "You win again?"
"See that, you loser?" Toshiro laughed out loud. He leaned against the couch with a smug look on his face. "Now, I"ve won three times in a row. When would you give me your new limited edition figurine?"
Akashi threw the rest of his cards on the table, letting them scattered as he sighed exasperatedly. "After I deal with our Big Boss."
Toshiro shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. Both he and Akashi stared at Ren who had just taken a seat opposite them. The weary look on his face was far from his usual stern and cold one.
"You said you"ve found something new about Miss Hinata"s life in the orphanage?" Ren went straight to the point. His gaze was heavy as he looked at Akashi.
"The kidnapping attempt 5 years ago wasn"t the only one Miss Hinata encountered," Akashi gathered the cards in one deck while speaking business. "The director of the orphanage said once during her second year of middle school, Miss Hinata said she felt like she was followed by a van. It happened from two to three times. That"s why she took notice of it."
Ren"s brows knitted, he didn"t expect to hear such a thing from Akashi. "Has the kidnappers tried to get a hold of her during that time?"
Akashi took the water jug and poured himself a gla.s.s of water. He shook his head as he drank. "The van disappeared after the patrol was alerted by the director. Since then, nothing happened. Until the day she entered high school."
Ren didn"t move from his seat, not even to get the gla.s.s of water offered by Toshiro. His eyes were focusing entirely at Akashi.
"The first day Miss Hinata entered the school, an envelope containing her admission letter went missing. But, I"m not sure whether this info could be related to the first kidnapping attempt. I"m just telling you, who knows if they are related?"
"Did she find the envelope back?"
Akashi nodded. "It was crumpled and thrown into her table. If I"m not mistaken, there were several personal information of her together in the envelope."
Ren"s eyes darkened as he was thinking. An unsuccessful attempt of kidnapping and a stealing of her personal information. Why did the kidnappers stop just because the patrol was alerted? Was there another reason? And did the lost of the envelope related to the kidnapping attempt?
And why did the kidnapping attempt suddenly continued after she finished her schooling? Even to the point of breaking into her home and stealing her birth certificate before returning back to her days later?
How did the mastermind work in this sloppy manner? Was it because he lost his interest gradually? Or he just wanted to toy with her?
At this point, he could rule out the possibility of different kidnappers trying to get Hinata. Only one person was involved.
"And I got this from the director." Akashi rummaged inside his bag, looking for something. He retrieved a piece of crumpled paper from a file. The paper switched hands to Ren"s.
"This is..."
Ren read the content of the paper. It was a short note. Although the paper had discolored due to the ongoing years, the writing was still clear to be read.
Please take care of my Hinata. I hope she could her life safely and grow up to be a dignified woman, away from any harm. Please, take care of her.
There was no signature or any short introduction under the note. A clean cut.
"Is this the note attached to her when she was left in front of the orphanage?" Ren scanned the paper again, trying to find another clue but the short note was all there to it. "There"s nothing else?"
"No. The director would call me if she remembered something."
Ren nodded in understanding. Rereading the paper, he was reminded of something.
"This note was from Miss Hinata"s mother, correct?"
"Yes, it"s a big possibility looking from the content." Akashi took a jar containing mixed nuts from Toshiro"s working table. "Why?"
"I want to cross-examine it with Tsubaki"s mother"s handwriting," answered Ren heavily. "I think she would leave books in her handwriting behind in her family home."
Akashi went silent. He understood why Ren decided to do that. When he gave the samples to Toshiro, it was obvious Ren was doubting Tsubaki"s birth.
If the test between Tsubaki and Kouichi came out positive, they needed to know if Tsubaki"s mother was indeed her biological mother.
"That"s a good move," Toshiro said after being in silence all this time. "But, how do you want to cross-examine the note? I don"t think you"d tell your wife about it. Or do you want to send Hibiki to retrieve her books from their family home?"
Satsuki"s face appeared in Ren"s mind.
"I know someone. And I might give you another sample to be tested."
Ren folded the paper carefully and placed it inside his wallet. He needed to meet Satsuki as soon as possible. To ask about his late mother and...
"I"ve tried to dig deeper of the accident again but I haven"t found anything new."
Akashi"s voice cut through Ren"s thoughts. He turned to look at him.
"There"s nothing suspicious over the ident.i.ties of the people involved in the accident? Including the truck"s driver?"
Akashi nodded. He was busy munching on the nuts.
"You want to find clues about her accident before? And how did the accident impact her memory regarding your existence in her life?" asked Toshiro.
Ren lowered his head, his eyes closed as he was trying to calm himself. The question Toshiro asked was what he wanted to know.
"Yes, I"m curious too," Akashi b.u.t.ted in. "Why did she forget about you? It wasn"t like you"re involved in the accident with her. It"d be more possible for her to have a short-term memory loss about something else instead of erasing your existence in her life."
Ren sighed deeply. His gaze turned heavier as the aching of his heart made it unbearable for him. He opened his eyes and looked at his friends. His gaze dimmed as he answered deeply.
"I might be involved with the accident, although indirectly." As he spoke, Ren unconsciously gripped the handrests of the couch.
It was his biggest fear. What if his a.s.sumption was true? And what would be of her reaction once she knew about it?
Would she...
Would she leave him?