Chapter 215: Chapter 215
"Should we add Sister Shelby’s drawing to that of what we did? In our small gallery?"
"No," the older child said. She smiled knowingly at the younger child’s expectation and disappointment when she quashed that hope with her negative answer.
"Sister Shelby’s children like them, so let’s give it to her personal maid."
"Then, I’ll be the one to give it to Suzie!"
"Ok, hahaha hahaha...." The older child shook her head just as a car pulled up in front of the place and a man got off.
"Is that your pool house?" The man asked, pointing to the lone building off the main one they stood in front of. The older girl nodded, gently pushing the younger girl behind her in a protective stance.
The man smiled, then brought out a badge.
"I am Detective Leon from the T-Vino Island police station. Is your matron, Madam Ruby, there as well?"
The older girl nodded, still maintaining her wariness. She looked at the plain-looking car and wondered if the man was really who he said he was. He was not even in an official uniform! Leon let out a helpless laugh just as a couple of police cars and an ambulance pulled up. This sight made the older girl relax her vigilance, but the police presence made her wonder what had happened in there.
"Take your sister and go back in there. Ensure the other children stay there, and this nice policeman will be with you."
The girl looked towards the new police who had just walked up to them in uniform and nodded hesitantly.
She kept looking back while she guided the younger one, and they eventually went in.
Detective Leon walked up the small hill leading towards the pool house as a huge sigh left him.
’Is anything ever quiet with the Thornstons?’ He asked himself silently.
Elsewhere in an abandoned building and far away from the orphanage...
"It’s just a little girl, and you could not even get rid of her! WHAT IS YOUR USE THEN!"
A hooded figure shouted at the other.
"She’s twenty-three and not a little girl!" the other hooded figure replied quietly. Despite the raw anger and agitation from the other, he did not react at all. As usual, there was no indication as to whether the voice was male, female, old or even young, but a certain authority was exuded from him when the voice emanated.
It applied a slight pressure to the first hooded figure, who was the angry one. However, the first was too angry to care that there were certain bridges that could not be crossed.
"Same difference! You have lived for centuries and cannot even handle a mere girl! All the praises and reputations that supposedly show that you were invincible are just that... RUMOURS! I cannot believe that you cannot even handle this!"
The second hooded figure who was at the receiving end of this let out a rare sigh.
’The girl was indeed getting out of their reach. Despite all they had done, something told her that this girl, Shelby, was not one they could touch.’
"I did tell you that after they had consummated their marriage, nothing can be done to her. She has grown stronger through that bond between them." The calm voice floated out, which only agitated the first to an impossible level.
"DO NOT TELL ME THAT! You promised me that she would be ’taken care’ of in the park, but what happened!? How could you even lose that item? I can’t believe it! FIND A WAY TO GET RID OF HER!"
"I advise you to let go. Considering your current strength, you cannot contend with this Shelby Monroe." The second hooded figure’s voice remained the same throughout, but it further irritated the first. The voice was as calm and soothing as possible, but that was not what he was looking for.
"You know that you are not at your peak anymore. Let it go."
The first hooded figure turned and left decisively, indicating that he did not want to hear that response.
The second hooded figure watched as the first stormed off, anger emanating from their body. The second hooded figure remained in a thoughtful stance, but thoughts were running wild in him.
’Even that child failed... and she was the best of the best. I can’t believe that. This Shelby person is more interesting than I initially thought. It’s sad that I could not see what happened in that pool house, but the child’s lifeline has already been extinguished. No one can run away from what is meant to be. She’s already gone.... *sigh*’
In the pool house....
Desolate and sad cries sounded out in the place. The few patrons who had come in looked at the lifeless body of Sara, and genuine tears overflowed. Madam Ruby looked grim. She had just heard the narrative from Currey and just kept sighing.
’Such a young child with a promising future gone just like that? This is so upsetting!’ Ruby thought. All Ruby wanted was the best for the children, but sometimes, such wishes never made it to reality. Sara had only come to their orphanage about a month prior. She was left on their doorstep and had no recollection of who she was. It was sad that she would lose her life just when she had just started opening up and was making friends there.
One could say that Ingrid was Sara’s first official friend, which made the whole issue upsetting for Ruby.
It did not take long for the police that had been called to come. A couple of paramedics brought in a stretcher for the little girl.
With how Sara’s body looked cold and blue, it was obvious that nothing could be done. Suzie stood on the side and held on tightly to Gabriel, refusing to let the boy go. After a few struggles, Gabriel gave up trying to get out of Suzie’s grip and go to his mama, especially when he saw the sombre atmosphere.
"I am Detective Leon." Leon introduced himself to Madam Ruby, and the older woman nodded, thanking him for coming.
Leon also greeted the Thornstons respectively and politely.
Ian had already pulled Shelby up, and an even bigger towel was wrapped around her too. Ian supported her back as Shelby still had Ingrid in her arms. Ingrid tightened her arms around Shelby’s neck. The girl just refused to let go. It was clear that she was in a great shock then and all onlookers thought it was from Sara’s death... little did they know!
"What happened here?"
Currey stepped forward and explained to Leon, and the rest gathered as it looked like Suzie’s shock was too great for her to function. However, this was just a façade because Currey needed her to understand how they worked. It was a cruel way to thrust Suzie into their world, but Currey knew that the sooner they did that, the better it would be for Suzie unless they replaced her with a Fae.
"... so that is what happened, Detective Leon. I understand that my mistress grew concerned and came just on time to be able to get the younger one out. When she got here, this child was already long dead and floating. We will forever be grateful to the child who tried to save ours and lost her life instead."
The narrative was believable: Ingrid had fallen in, and Sara had tried to get her out. This was because Sara was known always to help out, and she was Ingrid’s new friend. However, Sara could not swim and had unfortunately drowned. It was stated that Shelby was the first on the scene and was too traumatized from the fact that she nearly lost her stepdaughter.
"She just lost her stepfather and nearly lost her stepdaughter.... Shelby is really having it that tough in this life.... Hmmmmm....." someone from the side said as the conversation continued.
As the story filtered through Suzie’s head, she noticed that there were many loopholes, but all she saw was the seriousness with which the detective wrote everything down and the pitying and exaggerated reactions from all around. Suzie was flabbergasted. ’How could they accept this as facts? It did not make sense one bit! It was as if they were in some sort of a trance! Is this some sort of coercion?’ Suzie’s thoughts continued to ran wild!
Detective Leon nodded, as did Madam Ruby.
On the side and away from them,
"I lost my glasses. I could see better in the water, but everything is a blur now." Ingrid’s voice was desolate and smaller than usual, as if she had lost something big.
Shelby stopped and turned to look at Ian.
"Don’t worry, Ingrid; Daddy will get you another pair of glasses. It’s not a big deal at all, right Ian?"
Ian patted Ingrid’s hair in response. He kept an eye out for everything going on in there while ensuring that Elfin was not stressed.
’I need to find out who is after my Elfin!’ It was no coincidence that this had happened twice in a short span of time. Someone wanted Shelby gone, and she had to figure out who that person was!
It did not take long for this to be ruled as an accident. No CCTV footage was found, so they had to take Currey’s words for it. The system had malfunctioned, and all data recorded for the day had seemingly been lost. Besides, there was no doubt about his honesty, and what did the Thornstons and even Ingrid aim to gain from drowning a child? Nothing!
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