Chapter 8: Whispers of a Hidden Past

Murie's curiosity had been piqued by her meeting with Kaito's family. As she walked back to her dorm room, she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more to Kaito's story than he had let on. She had always known that he was secretive about his past, but there was something about his family's dynamics that seemed...off. As she entered her room, Murie's eyes landed on her phone, which was buzzing with notifications. She ignored them and began to rummage through her bag, searching for the small notebook she had bought earlier that week. She had been meaning to write down some notes about Kaito's family, but she had forgotten. As she flipped through the pages, Murie's eyes landed on a piece of paper that she had found on the floor of Kaito's apartment. It was a receipt from a local restaurant, but on the back, there was a cryptic message that read: "Red-Handed Fate." Murie's heart skipped a beat as she stared at the message. What did it mean? And why had Kaito written it down? Determined to find out more, Murie pulled out her laptop and began to search for information about Kaito's family. She started with a general search, typing in his last name and seeing if anything came up. The results were mostly related to Kaito's college profile and some social media posts, but one result caught her eye: a news article about a notorious hitman who had been active in the city several years ago. The article mentioned the hitman's alias: "The Red Hand." Murie's eyes widened as she read through the article. Could it be that Kaito's family was involved in something like this? As she continued to dig, Murie stumbled upon a social media post from an unknown user. The post was a single sentence: "Red-Handed Fate is a legacy of blood and shadows." Murie's skin crawled as she read the message. What did it mean? And how was it connected to Kaito's family? Suddenly, Murie's phone buzzed with a text from Kaito. "Hey, what's up?" he asked. Murie hesitated, unsure of how to respond. She didn't want to confront Kaito about her discoveries, not yet. Instead, she decided to play it cool. "Not much," she replied. "Just studying for my exams. You?" Kaito responded with a string of emojis, and Murie couldn't help but smile. But as she lay in bed that night, she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was getting close to something. Something that could change everything. The next morning, Murie woke up early, determined to do some more digging. She started by searching for more information about Kaito's family, but she couldn't find anything concrete. She then decided to try and gather more information from Kaito's brother, Akira. As she scrolled through her social media feeds, Murie stumbled upon Akira's profile. She sent him a friend request, hoping that he would accept it. To her surprise, he did, and soon she had access to his profile. Murie's eyes scanned through Akira's posts, looking for any clues. That's when she saw it - a post from several years ago, about a charity event that Akira and his wife, Lila, had attended. The event was organized by a company that specialized in providing support to families affected by violence. Murie's mind started racing. Could it be that Akira and Lila were involved in something related to Kaito's family? And if so, what did it mean for Kaito and their relationship? As she pondered these questions, Murie knew that she had to be careful. She couldn't let Kaito know that she was investigating his family, not yet. But she was determined to uncover the truth, no matter what it took.