The cafe was filled with people on their lunch break, each one sipping their drink and relaxing.
Karma adjusted her cap and nose mask as she stared around the room.
She spotted the man she was looking for. He was a nondescript man with a few balding spot, he had a box of donut beside him.
She walked purposefully towards him, watched as his eyes widened a little with fear before realization finally set in.
Karma removed her face mask and smiled at the man.
"Good morning Mr Rogers. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me." She extended her fingers for a shake.
The man took her fingers with both of his, his palms were clammy with sweat.
"I should be the one thanking you Miss." He replied gravelly.
Mr Rogers had contacted Karma some months ago, about information he had to share concerning Seraphina.
Karma had dismissed him as one of the many people holding a grudge because of her sister.
She was doing no such thing anymore.
"Shall we?" She gestured to the man.
He mopped his brow several times and took a large gulp of his drink.
"This has been going on for some time now, even before I was sacked. It was around 3 years ago, when I first noticed. " He wringed his fingers in agitation.
Karma nodded for him to continue.
"The embezzlement of the company funds." His voice shook as if he was afraid.
Karma reassured him by placing her palm on his and nodding for him to continue.
"The act itself has been going on for a while, but I just got a whiff of it around three years ago. So, I began to gather evidence." He removed a brown envelope from his bag and placed it on the table.
"The General manager of the Huang corporation was in conjunction with a member of the family, when I found out, I start to dig deeper."
Even with the forewarning and everything, Karma could not believe her sister would do something like that.
Seraphina was cruel and selfish. She was only concerned about herself and what she can gain.
"Miss Seraphina has been having an affair with the general manager for a while,"
Karma's serene calm wobbled and she kept it in place with sheer force of will. Her fingers stilled against her thigh.
"This has been the most useful information Mr Rogers, you can't imagine how happy I am." She said softly, her fingers stretching to take up the envelope.
The man snatched it away quickly, a sweat trickled down his face.
"This is very dangerous for me, you see. I'm risking all I have to be here," He looked greedily at Karma.
Karma managed to keep her disgust minimum and smiled at the man.
"I'll write you a cheque." She brought out the cheque from her purse and scribbled on it.
The man's greedy eyes lit up and he smiled widely. But suddenly, his smile turned into a frown.
"I'm afraid this isn't going to be enough. You do understand the risk I went through to get my hands on this evidence?"
Karma took a much needed deep breath.
"I'll write you a referral note that'll guarantee you employment?" She asked.
The man nodded briskly.
"That'll be some other time as I'll need to go through your CV."
"We have a deal."
They shook hands and parted ways. Mr Rogers was a million dollar richer and Karma had a new evidence against Seraphina.
Suddenly a peculiar sense of being watched trickled in. She looked around the cafe, but everyone was immersed in their own business.
She dismissed the feeling but to be on the cautious side, she put on her face mask.
She ordered some pistachio pudding and coffee to go. She grabbed the brown paper bag in on hand, the envelope on the other and proceed outside.
She collided into a strong wall of warm muscle, the content on her hands flying to the floor.
She muttered an apology and cursed as she bend down to pick up her bag when she felt it.
The sensation of something slimy and cold, trailing all over her body. Like a trail of cold water sluiced into her veins.
She glanced up looking into a red eyes and fangs.
A scream bobbled in the back of her throat, as he stared at the tall man again. He was saying something, but she couldn't really hear.
She hurriedly packed her stuff, her heart pounding inside her ears.
"Are you okay miss?" He said. His voice was heavily accented.
When she stared again, his eyes were muddy brown and he was looking at her with concern.
"Yeah, thank you." She replied hurriedly.
Her hoodie was stained with coffee, her mask falling off, but it was the imminent sense of danger tickling her brain.
She glanced back to see the man standing there, watching her patiently.
What is going on?
"You sure you're okay?" His concern looked genuine, but his eyes scanned her person with barely perceptible disdain.
"Here," he offered his handkerchief.
Karma stretched her fingers but thought better of it.
"Thank you but I'll manage. There's wipes in my car somewhere," She hurried outside.
The hard thudding of her heart against her ribcage only subsided after she took many deep breath.
There was something sinister about that man and it couldn't be a coincidence that they met. Or could it? She had better be going.
She got back to the office and lost herself amidst the files and planning. It wasn't hard to forget about the weird enciuter once she was safely at the office, her fingers flipping pages rapidly.
A call came in and she stared at the screen with disgust.
"Hello sister!" Her voice was infused with cheer.
"Hope you've cleared your schedule for tomorrow?" Seraphina asked.
Tomorrow? Karma checked her calendar but came up with nothing. What was happening tomorrow?
"Don't tell me you've forgotten?" She sounded crestfallen.
"I'm afraid I have."
"Tomorrow
is the fitting for the dress, silly!" She squealed.
Karma rolled her eyes at the absurdity of it all.
She had a feeling it'll be disastrous as everything associated with Seraphina is prompt to be.