Chapter 2 Family Tragedy

That afternoon, Yuli and I had just returned from our piano lesson.

The car that usually picked us up stopped in front of our house, but something immediately felt wrong.

Several police cars were parked outside the gate.

A small crowd of neighbours stood on the sidewalk, whispering to one another. Their voices were low, but their expressions said enough.

Something terrible had happened.

My heart began to pound.

Before the driver could say anything, I pushed the door open and ran toward the house.

"Yudha! Don't go inside!"

Someone called my name.

I didn't stop.

I rushed through the front gate and into the house.

The living room was filled with strangers.

Police officers moved quietly from one room to another, speaking in calm voices that somehow made everything feel even more frightening.

In the corner of the room sat Bi Lastri, the housekeeper who had worked for our family for as long as I could remember.

Her face was pale.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn't say a single word.

I took another step.

Then I noticed it.

A small stain on the floor.

I froze.

Before I could look any closer, someone grabbed my shoulder.

"No!"

A neighbour quickly pulled me back.

"Don't go any farther."

"Let me go!"

I struggled to free myself.

"What's happening?"

"Please... what's going on?"

The neighbour didn't answer.

Instead, he held me even tighter.

Behind me, I heard Yuli crying.

Her frightened sobs echoed through the house.

I tried to push forward again.

"Please!"

"Tell me what's happening!"

No one answered.

The only sounds I could hear were quiet sobs...

and the clicking of a camera somewhere deeper inside the house.

A few days later...

The cool morning air of Bandung greeted us as Yuli and I boarded a crowded public minibus.

Neither of us spoke.

Since that day, silence had become a part of our lives.

Yuli hugged her school bag tightly on her lap.

Her eyes were still swollen from crying.

She had barely smiled since we arrived in Bandung.

We were now living with Grandma and Aunt Santi.

Everything had changed so quickly that it still didn't feel real.

Dad had been taken into police custody.

Mom...

was never coming home again.

The minibus stopped at a traffic light.

A newspaper boy walked between the waiting vehicles, holding several newspapers above his head.

"Morning paper! Morning paper!"

Without meaning to, my eyes drifted toward the front page of one of them.

The headline was impossible to miss.

SURGEON ACCUSED OF KILLING HIS WIFE

Shocking the Entire Nation

My chest tightened.

I immediately looked away.

I couldn't bear to read another word.

I already knew who the surgeon was.

I didn't need a newspaper to remind me.

Outside the window, life continued as if nothing had happened.

People walked to work.

Street vendors prepared their carts.

Students laughed with their friends on the sidewalks.

The world kept moving.

Mine had stopped.

A few minutes later, the minibus slowed down in front of a large school gate.

A sign stood proudly near the entrance.

Harapan Muda High School.

This would be my new school.

A new city.

A new life.

Or at least, that was what everyone kept telling me.

I stepped off the minibus and looked at the unfamiliar buildings before me.

For a brief moment, I wondered if anyone here knew who I was.

Then another thought crossed my mind.

Maybe they already did.

I took a deep breath.

No matter how hard I tried...

I couldn't escape what had happened.

And somehow...

I had a feeling that this school was about to remind me of that every single day.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***