Obscuratus Anima

When Trouble Knocks at One's Door

As Leah was eating her cookies with milk, she suddenly had a thought. She wanted to open a facility to help those in need—those controlled by the greedy, their lives taken away from them. She wished for a place where they could be kept safe from the scornful eyes of the powerful. "I guess you and I have some work to do for tomorrow. Are you ready to tear off their masks of hypocrisy?" Leah asked Emmet whose reflection she saw in her cup of milk. "Yes. I'm well prepared. They can't escape the punishment for their sins. But, it's not revenge like you said. It's justice, and that will make this win of ours sweeter than honey." Leah felt uneasy when she heard the word justice. "Emmet," Leah called. "Yes." He replied. "Do you genuinely think what I'm doing right now is justice and not revenge? I'm continuously being caught up in revenge. So is this alright? Am I wrong for using their pains and miseries to quel my fire of vengeance?" Lea felt guilty for her actions.

"Leah Serpico, I promise that whatever I say is the truth. You desire both justice and vengeance. That's the nature of all living things on earth. So don't fear what you're doing because you feel like it's not the right thing to do. Besides, those girls allowed you to use their experiences to aid your revenge. So, it's not like you're doing any harm to society. I think you're kicking out the unlawful men and women. You have my full support." Emmet answered, cheering her up. "Now, head up to hit the bed. Tomorrow, we got a long day ahead of us." Emmet nagged Lia. "Okay. I will." Leah made her way back to her bedroom and slept. However, she failed to notice the presence of a shadow in front of her. "Leah, my sweetest niece, I hope we meet each other soon." The voice said and disappeared. Leah had a sound night's sleep. 

"How was your sleep last night?" Roland asked Leah. "It was well. I had to be freshened up to kick evil's butt today." Leah said as she seated herself at the dining table. "Dad, Jean told me that four of the great families are involved in this murder. We have to tread with caution because of the dangers surrounding this case. One wrong move could put many people in jeopardy." Leah was nervous about this whole scenario. "Nervous kid? Don't be. Before I became CEO of the Serpentines,  I was but an insignificant fool in the eyes of others. But ever since then, I've come a long way. Your mother was my pillar of support if I'm being honest. She funded me with all her savings at that time. Ah! An incredible woman. I can sometimes still hear her applauding me for every success of mine. I miss her so much." Roland's eyes turned red, and they began to itch. "Mother was a marvellous woman indeed. The amount of knowledge she held was incomparable to anyone else." Leah said.

"Okay. No more crying. Let's get serious. According to my knowledge, the intel which you got is accurate. However, this alone cannot determine what charges should be held against them. I need something more solid than this. People might say that video surveillance is a forgery and deny their misdeeds." Her father was worried. "Don't worry. I'll handle that part. The police can differentiate whether it's a forgery or an authentic copy. I have evidence for it. There is no inconsistency or lagging in the voices of the people and no difference in graphics. This alone is proof. Apart from that, We should contact those three families who suffered the loss of their kin. It's something we as humans should do." Leah said.

Leah headed outside and thought about what strategy they should use to persuade the Xerxes, Darius and Louis families to join hands with the Serpicos for justice. Leah sighed, "Gosh! This is driving me insane." Amid her thoughts, she reached the campus, where she was greeted by four girls shooting death glares at her. "What are you looking at?" Leah asked their all too familiar faces. "We've not been in for a few days, so you thought you could become the new boss around here?" One of them asked. "Alexa, Alexandra, Amy and Alicia. I won't say it's an honour to meet you because it isn't." Leah felt repulsed just looking at the faces of the girls whose names all started with As. "You've gotten cockier, I see," Alexa said. "Well," Leah said, "there has been a gap in my memory. I don't seem to remember insignificant people anymore." Her words made them furious. 

"Do you think we don't know that you scared off Emilia a few days ago?" Amy spoke up. "Oops! You were not supposed to find out about that." Leah smiled and said. "Do we need to drag you back to that place?" Alicia spoke up. If it were in the past and they mentioned 'that place', Leah might've been afraid and apologised, but she didn't have a reason to do so anymore. "Which place are you talking about?" Leah asked, sounding clueless. "You have a knack for irking people, Serpico," Alicia said. " Mox non habebis aliquid beatum esse. I'll make sure of it." Leah whispered and turned away from them. The three girls stood there dumbfounded for a few minutes. They wondered where the quiet, silent girl who never spoke up went. "Did she lose a few screws in her brain?" Alexa asked. "Mhm. Probably." The other two replied in unison. 'Weird', that's what they all thought Leah's actions were. Amy, who never spoke, suddenly remembered that Leah had mumbled something. "What do you guys think she said?" Amy did not know why, but she felt like something had changed about her and not in a good way. However, she ignored that creepy feeling that Leah's presence had brought and shifted her focus to other things.

Little did those four know that they would soon receive the shock of their lives because trouble would come knocking at the doors of their homes.