Obscuratus Anima

Behind their Innocent Faces

"Leah, do you know one thing you should remember when dealing with such situations?" Roland asked. "What is it? Are you onto something?" Leah asked him. "While your mother and I were in high school, the five families had a ginormous impact in every sector of this country. However, things changed after a series of murder events that began first with the heir of the fifth family. You see Leah, it wasn't always four great families. The fifth family was the Cailes family. Dmitri Cales, the heir of that family was my best friend. However, something changed one day. He stopped coming to school, and his messages became less frequent. Ellie and I became worried about him. He was probably the only 'rich brat' who showed some respect." Roland paused and continued. 

"We couldn't bear it anymore and went to his house. The crazy thing was that his house showed no sign of anyone living there in weeks. Your mother and I found traces of blood on the floor. We followed them and to our much horror, Dmitri's dad's cold corpse lay on the floor. Dmitri was nowhere to be found. I thought of investigating the incident. However, to date, none of my investigations bore any fruitful results. His life and death remain an unknown mystery to me." The whole family stayed silent.

"What of the other four families?" Leah asked. "The Leandros were indeed powerful more than three decades ago, however, since they never bothered with power struggles, the Lamiras came to be known as the fourth family. The Lamiras, Xerxes, Louis, Darius and Cailes. After the Cailes family fell, the other four families began claiming many businesses owned by the Cailes. However, recently according to statistics, the Lamiras have been fighting for the Cailes properties and business. They have acquired 95% of all the businesses previously owned by the Cailes. If I'm right, their next target should be the Serpentines." Roland pressed his temples. 

"Why the Serpentines?" Julien asked, shocked. "The Serpentines own the last five per cent. In Mr Cailes's will, he transferred 5% to me. There was no mention of Dmitri in that will." Roland said. "He's alive, isn't he? Dmitri?" Riven asked. "I'd like to think that. Dmitri was smart and cunning, like a fox that waits for its prey to let down its guard before it strikes. If he survived whatever happened at the Cailes mansion that week and returned, he would kill those who caused him harm. I know you all must be wondering how I know this." Roland looked at their faces, reading them like an open book. 

"I'd known Dmitri ever since I was five. He had a kind yet twisted personality. He was kind to those he liked and those who showed him they genuinely cared, loved and trusted him. However, if you acted fake in front of him, and he knew what you were like he'd make you wish that you never crossed paths with him. He was like the combination of a devil and an angel. Leah, I need you to ask Melinda and Jean whether there was anyone else there on the night the murder took place." Leah answered, "Sure." 

"Moving onwards Rowana is not as innocent as you think she is. She played a huge part in framing your mother for a crime back then." Roland felt disgusted as he recalled the incident. "She framed Ellie for drunk driving after feeding her a poison. Your mother was in a critical condition back then." "What?" The children screamed. "Nevertheless, the children were innocent and didn't deserve to face that fate due to the mistakes and actions of the previous generation. Do you want me to continue? Or do you want to hear what I think about this situation?" Roland said. 

"I would like to know more about Mum, but for now, I'd like to hear your opinion," Leah answered. "Alright. So, according to what I believe, Dmitri Cailes is alive, judging by the way those children were killed. He's not stopping until he's taken something or someone they cherish away from the four families. If this hypothesis is false, the Lamiras will come here and threaten me to hand over the last 5% of the shares, which I doubt is possible." Roland was contemplating all the possible outcomes. "What's the last possible outcome?" Leah could understand what her father was thinking. "The last outcome. Good question Leah. One that I have a very vague answer to. Dmitri will come here himself to ask me to give him something or he'll be the one giving me something." Roland answered. "Let me guess. He'll give you a surprise," Zac said. "Yes, he would be giving me a surprise. I'll have to give him something I promised him when he disappeared all those years ago." 

"And what exactly did you promise him years ago, uncle?" Sean popped out from what seemed like nowhere and asked. "I promised to keep someone safe. But I'm sure I failed since that person keeps trying to find answers to her origin. Also, when did you get here?" Roland looked at Sean and answered. "I've been here since you began talking about the fifth family. It's intriguing. Uncle, since when did you know that my mum was Mia Cailes? I don't mean to be rude or suspicious or anything. It's just that I saw someone from the Serpentine office holding my mum's file." Sean was curious. 

"There's a reason I needed your mother's file. And only recently did I find out she was Mia Cailes. Dmitri's last message to us was to find his sister. Your mother is skilled at hiding. I'd been searching for her for over 20 years. Also, I confirmed her identity when she drew money from an account only the Cailes family had access to. This happened five days ago. Sean tell your Mum to stop searching for answers on what happened 25 years ago. This is your uncle, her brother's last wish before his disappearance. I'll tell her whatever I can when the time is right." Roland informed Sean. 

"That's not fair. Dmitri Cailes is my family too you know. Why do you all know what happened to my family but not my mom?" Sean was on the verge of tears. He remembered how his mother ran around from place to place to find clues about where her brother might be. "I promise Sean, once this mess is over, the fox will reveal himself."