Jake pinched his lips, unsure what to do now that he had an audience. Should he speak up, or…?
Masha pestering him about the circumstances behind her death in the first timeline wasn't something new; it was even one of her favorite pastimes when they were alone, out of earshot. If anything, it was often the first thing she asked when they met at the hotel, enough for him to have grown sick of hearing the exact same words coming out of her mouth every single time: "So, what was Camille's role in my death in the first timeline again?"
There was no good evening, no how are you or how are you doing today, just the usual question he refused to delve into. No matter what he said, Masha stubbornly kept asking, so after a few more times of this, Jake decided to simply not answer her. Whenever she brought the subject up, he'd stubbornly keep his mouth shut and continued working on his report, not giving her the time of day whatsoever.
Bygone ghosts should stay bygone; that was his mentality. Yet, it seemed like someone hadn't gotten the memo. Why did that viper have to pop up in Masha's life again? Such an annoying pain in the neck.
Still, the question remained. Why did Camille approach Masha this time around? The first hypothesis that came to his mind was that Angela wanted another leverage against Masha, as if she hadn't had enough already. Digging around wasn't hard, and if one was aware of Masha's actual preferences, his mother could have done one plus one and contacted Camille to confirm her doubts. Money easily swayed people, and knowing Angela, she could have dangled a mouth-watering reward to entice Camille to help her gather more evidence of Masha's depraved behavior. The question was: would Angela bother, especially when everyone seemed to be under her thumb already? She was a cautious woman, not to say paranoid, so perhaps.
As for his second hypothesis, Jake didn't want to accept it, but that there was a possibility that Camille might have become entangled with that group of people again. Her uncle was a member of that said group, and it wouldn't be surprising if he'd dragged her into this little inner circle of his for a third timeline. It wasn't like Jake had done anything to pry her away from a bad influence. He pretty much left Camille to her own devices and didn't exactly bother keeping tabs on her, as she was supposedly out of Masha's life now. That was a blunder on his part. If she were indeed part of that organization, it could give her an incentive to grow closer to Masha again, who was allegedly Gabriel's girlfriend. Rekindling her relationship with Masha would probably be the fastest way to get to his brother, and ultimately, their asshole of a father.
Whether Jake liked it or not, the fact that he and his brothers were his father's children remained. It painted a bright, red target on their backs. The kidnapping incident and his now empty eye socket were a dire reminder of this.
Whatever the case, Camille wasn't back only for the sake of it. Jake did frequent her in his second life, albeit only for a short time, and he had a good grip on her personality. He doubted it had changed much between the two timelines and over the past two years.
In a nutshell, Camille wasn't the kind to spout out sweet things and try to renew an old flame for no reason. Despite being an arrogant brat who thought she was the center of the universe, she wouldn't keep pursuing someone who clearly wasn't interested in her and kept rejecting her. Her frail ego wouldn't be able to take it.
Considering she hadn't yet lashed out at Masha, it was overly suspicious indeed.
"For someone who knows nothing," Gabriel smiled lightly, "you sure seem to be getting lost in thoughts. How about sharing them with us?"
"They're just conjectures," Jake clicked his tongue, trying to hush the topic away with a wave of his hand. It was without much success, as Gabriel's words had brought everyone's attention to him.
This time, he might not be able to escape the interrogation.
Back when Jake had just recovered from his injury and was still on bedrest, he was pretty much an outsider to the close-knit group, and it didn't feel right to pursue the matter. Now, however, he was part of the circle. He might not get along well with Masha and wasn't very familiar with Yuki, but it didn't mean they hated each other's guts. As for the others, Gabriel had become something akin to a confident, and both Tristan and Misha were people he saw as little brothers. In Stephan's case… He didn't want to think about his relationship with this one. All that to say that he couldn't hide behind some slimy pretenses anymore. It wouldn't work.
Most of all, his knowledge about Camille was now relevant. Previously, he hadn't wanted to bring it up, just to avoid twisting the knife and rubbing salt into the wounds unnecessarily. Today, however, he might not have a choice.
"Are you still worried about me?" Misha asked as he sat on Gabriel's legs, comfortably nestling himself against the man's chest while munching on a croissant. He very naturally pretended not to hear the faint 'huff' that escaped Gabriel's mouth; Misha wasn't exactly feather light now that he was an adult. Not like he cared. "It's been years since I've traveled back in time. The first timeline is sad, but I've left it behind me. What matters is this life we're living, not a past one, and it's better for us to know what we might have to face than enter the fray ignorant and vulnerable. So, stop fretting and just speak up."
"I agree!" Masha raised her hand, flipping over on her belly to prop her chin on Yuki's thigh. She seemed to hesitate a second before spouting out the words that needed to be said, "My anger from back then, too, has subsided. I only want to know what stupid stuff my other self was up to. She's not me, and I know she was dear to Misha, but she's dead and gone. That won't ever change. What matters is the me of today, isn't that right, Mish'?"
The statement was harsh, and it did pierce Misha's heart. It flinched slightly in his rib cage as memories of the first timeline passed through his mind, but his sister was right. What was important to him now was her, not her ghost.
"Yeah, you're right."
It's the you of today I want to protect, not a dead person.
"Fine, fine," Jake sighed before sharing the two most likely hypotheses that came to his mind. The room grew silent as the information sank in, and Misha momentarily forgot to chew on his croissant.
"Organization?" Tristan tilted his head. "What organization?"
"I say organization," Jake shrugged, "but it's more like a group of thugs that answers, mainly, to cartels, doing some dirty work there and here. You're aware of whom our dear paternal screwed over for a trading route when he was on a business trip in Mexico, right?"
"How can I not be?" Tristan smiled wryly. "It was pretty lively on Pierrot's side at that time. Not like I understood everything that transpired during that period, but it was pretty obvious something huge happened."
"I thought Matthew was working hand in hand with cartels to suppress the villagers, though?" Masha frowned, remembering how the man was dealing with the angry people whose lands were being destroyed by the mines he was developing and excavating in South America. It wasn't anything glorious, and every time she thought of this, her stomach churned.
Whenever there was an uproar among the villagers, gangs would suddenly feel like paying them a visit and swiftly suppress them. Sometimes, it could lead to death. Of course, there were no proofs or traces left of deals between Matthew's mining company and the criminal organizations, but it was easy enough to deduce. It was far less costly to hire thugs than to build the facility to treat the polluted water the excavation released onto the land, or any other treatment facilities for all that mattered. Environment and native rights were often not the government's priorities in certain countries, and some would sell the lands to the mining companies and get the hot potato off their hands in exchange for monetary compensation. Who cares if some lands in the countryside have been polluted beyond salvation and some people have gotten sick? It had nothing to do with them. International laws could be easily bypassed when the country itself pretended to be dumb.
"It's not like he gets along with all of them," Gabriel pointed out. "Same goes for politicians, although quite a few are so corrupt it makes the devil look like a saint."
"Fair enough."
It was a depressing matter. They had tried to raise awareness about it over the past few years through anonymous tips, but the media didn't seem interested in the issue, and news outlets outright ignored them. For the few who listened, they were outraged for a few minutes before quickly forgetting the matter, as it did not directly involve them. Maybe because there was too much money involved, every article was swiftly hushed and pushed down.
"Masha," Tristan called, tilting his head. "Do you have a picture of Camille?"
"No, of course not. I deleted or burned everything related to her a long time ago! Why?"
"For nothing," Tristan shook his head. "I was just curious."
Masha had thrown Camille out of her life when she was a teenager, and Tristan thus never met her. He was the only one who didn't know what she looked like.
"We can always check out her social media," Misha cocked an eyebrow, as if that was the most logical solution. However, he failed to realize that social media had only started to gain popularity, unlike in the future, when most people used it. It was a reflex for him, but not for the others, excluding Jake. Right. Social media had gotten on the phone only recently, not even a year ago.
"I'm pretty sure Camille's on social media," Jake nodded. "She's quick on this kind of thing. Can you check it out, Stephan?"
Among them, only Stephan actively used social media and had the latest phone. He followed trends closely, and social media was among the novelties of recent years. The various platforms' popularity was growing at an alarming rate, and he took the opportunity to advertise his café on a few. He was an eccentric fellow, but he had a keen business sense, and his flair was usually spot on.
"Sure thing," Stephan nodded and flipped his phone open, scrolling to the app. He searched for Camille's name, and as expected, he found her relatively quickly. Opening her profile picture, he then bent over Jake's knees to show Tristan, who was sitting on the other side. "There you go."
Tristan unceremoniously snatched Stephan's phone from his hands, frowning as he stared at the picture. He let out a laugh that sounded like a scoff before shaking his head and saying through gritted teeth, "I've seen her before."
"What, you did?" Misha asked, puzzled. "Where?"
"In my dreams," Tristan smiled darkly. "From Pierrot's point of view."
A deafening silence fell in the room, but only for an instant. Gabriel quickly broke it, asking Masha, "Mind if I tag along to your workplace tonight?"
"No," Masha sneered. "You're more than welcome."