People trust me with their pets. They shouldn't.

That's what I thought as I stared at the empty leash in my hand. I gave my tired legs a rest as I sat on a nearby bench. I couldn't return an empty leash to Mrs Lashfield, my neighbour. She trusted me with her extremely dear dog, Flame, a gigantic yet adorable husky. Who had somehow managed to vanish into thin air.

My search across the park and all neighbouring streets proved futile. I tried asking passersby if they had seen Flame, but they all shook their heads and hurried off onto their way to work. It was a normal busy Monday morning after all. Even shouting out her name didn't help, it only made me embarrassed because of the stares I attracted.

I released a deep sigh and tried not to freak out. I stood up, did some stretching and got ready for search part two. As I started to march towards yet another street, my ringtone blasting out of my pockets made me stop in my tracks. Praying it was not Mrs Lashfield, I released a sigh of relief as I saw the name Attorney Kim flashing brightly on my mobile. I took the call.

"Be at the office in 30 minutes."

"Good morning to you too, Boss."

"30 minutes, Haelyn."

"Sir, you may have failed to remember, but today is my day off-"

"I know. And I don't care. Be here in 30 minutes."

I scrunched up my nose in irritation. I started walking again, dragging an empty leash behind me. "But again, sir, I have a pressing matter right now that I need to handle."

An annoyed gruntle was heard from the other end. "Handle it first, or drag your issue to the office and handle it later. I don't care. Your job is the more urgent matter here." And he cut the call.

I put my phone back in my pocket and was about to cross the street and continue my search when I finally noticed her. There was that big bundle of a husky, across the street, under a tree. Taking a dump.

Relieved, I crossed the street and approached Flame who noticed me and acted as if she didn't run away, making me spend an hour searching for her. She lifted her head up, sticking her tongue out, wagging her tail at me. Yes, that definitely didn't bring a smile on my face.

I quickly put the leash on her again as she finished her toilet matters. Seeing that I was twenty minutes walking distance from the office, I decided to do some more additional walks, this time my eyes strongly fixed on Flame and my hands having a stronghold onto the leash.

You will not get away again, buddy.

☆☆☆

I arrived at the Harrington law firm soon enough, entering the steel grey building. Flame sauntered in front with such confidence that she could pass as a worker here. Flame's barking quickly grabbed the attention of all the employees as I headed towards Attorney Kim's office on the third floor. Some were already stepping forward, reaching out to pet her. Flame, attention-loving as she was, wagged her tail eagerly.

"Not now, people," I said as I dragged Flame along, careful not to bump into the desks stacked with papers and files. Reaching at the far left end of the corridor where Attorney Kim's office was situated, I knocked on the door twice and waited. I heard his faint voice from inside telling me to enter. I opened the door and let Flame enter first as I followed behind.

"Come, sit dow-" he started before he stopped at the sight of the enormous dog who went straight up next to him and sat down staring at him. "What is this? You know animals aren't allowed in here, right?" he asked in a clipped tone while narrowing his eyes at Flame.

"But sir, you told me to either handle my issue first, which I couldn't, or drag my issue to the office, which I did."

Attorney Kim huffed with annoyance and ignored me. Instead, he reached in one of his drawers and took out a file. My eyes followed the file as I reached for one of the chairs and sat down. Then he reached out for another file and handed it over to me.

"This is a case we need to prepare on. It's actually a case from a few days ago. No one took the case as they supposedly already had priorities. Mr Lawson gave it to me today but I am already handling that murder case from last week. The file I gave you is the copy. Prepare the details and report well. I'll attend to it as soon as I finish the current case."

"The complaint is against the Wellsworth Hospital? Isn't that one of those important hospitals uptown?" I asked while rummaging through the pages, trying to process all data in my mind.

"Yes. The case is about the disappearance of one of the patients. There is a picture of the man in the file. Argan Gregore. A convict from the Eastern Prison. He suffered from a heart attack and was carried there urgently. He stayed there for two days and then no trace of him after. The obvious assumption would be that he escaped. But there was no sign of him leaving the hospital. And the hospital is hell bent on closing the matter because it will damage their reputation."

"Who was the one who filed the complaint then? The prison?"

"No, they couldn't care less. It's the prisoner's brother who filed a case against the hospital so we can't keep procrastinating on it for so long. Anyway, that's all I can tell you right now. Go through it and make sure we are able to close the case soon," he said as he motioned me to get out now. I stood up, with the file in one hand and the leash in another and head out.

After buying a drink from the office's vending machine, I headed to my table.

While most attorneys and lawyers had their own office, the legal secretaries and paralegals were all packed on the third floor.

I sat down with a thud on my chair and dumped the file on my table. I let Flame walk around as my colleagues showered her with attention, love and most importantly, treats. As for me, the tiring hours of walking finally caught up on me.

"Why are you here today?"

"I love my job too much so I don't want a day off. I want to work, duh." I said sarcastically to my best friend, Eliyah, whose table was right across me.

Eliyah McKenry. I've known her for a decade, since high school. I never expected us to end up working at the same place since she moved to Lancashire for university and stayed to work there itself. While I joined the Harrington law firm three years ago, she joined only a year ago when she moved back to London, due to my great efforts and skills at convincing her.

"Oh, did Attorney Kim pull an 'urgent case' again on you?" She laughed.

I stared blankly at her and handed her the file. She glanced through the pages as I filled her in on the details.

"Well, see the good side. You'll be on your own. He won't be poking his nose into the case with his constant commentaries. He's still busy with the murder case, and Eric is stuck with him."

I nodded in agreement. Though Attorney Kim tolerates my foolishness most of the time, he is very strict and thorough on his cases which is very scary when assisting him in his work.

"Anyway, what's up? You said you wanted to give me some good news yesterday," I said while leaning back in my chair, closing my eyes momentarily.

"Oh yes! Exciting news!" Eli beamed. I would guess she probably heard another insignificant gossip here and there as she always fills me in with gossips I don't care about.

"Really!" I said, trying to sound excited. But it only came out as nonchalant. Eli glared at me and then smiled again.

"I assure you, you'll be very happy," she insisted.

"By all means, go on."

"Castiel Alpens is back."

"What?" I asked in a gentle tone as I sat up straight. Eli crossed her arms and smiled smugly at me.

I scoffed and asked, "Where did you get that from?"

"One of the high school group chats."

"Those group chats are still alive?" I wondered. Usually, those group chats disappear mere months after school despite promises to keep in touch.

"I created one again after the last reunion, which someone didn't attend obviously," Eli said as she rolled her eyes at me.

"Anyway," she continued back on the topic, "Castiel returned after two years in Turkey. Brian filled us in."

Pfft, this was in no way good news for me. There was no reason for it to be. Castiel Alpens was one of my high school classmates. Leave both of us alone for a second, and we'd be at each other's throats.

We would never miss an opportunity to insult each other while still being able to be civil and all smiles. Castiel was like a balloon of ego, one that I really wished to prick with a needle. He was also a very competitive guy, probably to be able to boost his confidence even more. I wasn't one to put up with his ego so we clashed a lot. We always competed to be the number one in our school. Me doing so only to annoy him.

Last time, I heard he went to Turkey to join the training programme of the International Operation Forces. The IOF organisation has gained recognition worldwide for being one of the world's best law enforcement organisation. Its headquarters are splattered all over the globe in several countries.

The training Castiel had was a six months duration of Special Agent training. I envied that; the idea of being a Special Agent seemed so cool for a small paralegal like me. If I ever got a chance to join them, I'd go running at them. The only issue was that the training was tough and only a few are selected.

"Hey ho, are you thinking of him?" I heard a nagging voice break my bubble of thoughts.

I sighed, stood up, and grabbed my file. "I think I'll start with the hospital first," I pondered while again flipping the pages.

"Don't you think we should all meet up again since he's back? You haven't seen him in six years, right?" Eli mused over the idea with a gleam in her eyes.

"We don't want to start World War III, Eli. And I gotta go. I'm a busy working woman."

"Flame! Time to go!" I yelled for the dog to come back from wherever she was. I decided to bring her back to her owner, of course, leaving out some useless details like I almost lost her dog.

☆☆☆

After lunch, I headed to Wellsworth Hospital. I already had some questions ready. The sooner I carried out the research, the better.

I headed over to the reception, showed my work ID and asked if I could talk to Dr Martinez, the one who was responsible for the patient that disappeared. The receptionist called someone, talked a bit and informed me that Dr Martinez was in the middle of an operation. I decided to wait for him to finish the operation and asked the receptionist to inform me when he's finished.

I checked my watch again. I kept shaking my legs as I emptied my eighth cup of coffee. I've been waiting for Dr Martinez for four hours now. Still no sign of him. I inquired at the reception again and they said some operations can take hours.

I sat in a secluded area to not interrupt the constant movement of patients and doctors. I glanced around bored. All I wanted to do was to break into the operation room and drag that doctor away from his operation. Maybe I should go talk to the administrative team first.

Just as my eyes wandered around, I caught sight of the receptionist walking towards one of the doctors. I heard her mutter the doctor's name. I quickly stood up, ignoring the feel of pins and needles in my legs and rushed towards the doctor.

He too seemed to be in a rush. Pshh, it's like he's trying to run away from me.

I interrupted both the doctor and the receptionist. "Dr Martinez?" I confirmed. His exasperated look changed to a professional composed one. "May I help you?"

"I assume you've already been informed of my presence and the reason why. I need to interview-"

"I'm sorry but I guess that's something that will take time. I have a very tight schedule and I don't have time now," Dr Martinez blurted as he tried to brush past me and walk away. I stopped him.

"This is a pressing case for you as well. I need only five minutes. This concerns a complaint against this hospital. And before the administrative team, I wished to ask a few things to you."

He seemed to have lost his calm composure. "This case won't bring down our hospital. If you could let the police handle the investigation and also reserve your questions to them. Such constant visits are disrupting the hospital schedules!"

"Sir, this is MY case and I'm legally allowed to interview you on the matter-", I started before he, again, interjected.

"Then try getting an appointment." That's all he said before he practically ran out of the hospital.

I huffed and slowly followed out as well. So rude. People really look down upon us assistants. I'm only doing my job. As I walked out and into my car, I glanced up and saw that it's almost dark. Damn it! I groaned. A day off totally wasted.

I opened the file and searched through. I reached the contact number and called it.

"Hello?" A deep voice resounded from the phone.

"Hello. Argus Gregore? I'm Haelyn Carter, responsible for the case of your brother. Can we meet tomorrow?"

A/N:
Hi Wattpadians! Thank you for checking out my book. Since it's the first book I'm publishing, it may not be perfect. Even the first chapter may not have that much impact, but please don't be discouraged and continue reading. I will hopefully improve my writing.

With gratitude and love,
Celestia