22. Leticia’s Fate

The events that were happening were confusing everyone. The tales of the devils seemed unbelievable, but the return of Orionos changed everything. When Chris told us how easy it was to escape prison, we realized Orionos was a great mage for sure. He manipulated the prison locks while he was far away in the lab with Splendor.

Kort was busy trying to bandage Officer K's head, which got hurt when they hit him by the butt of the pistol. As for Mariana, she couldn't believe the news of the return of her father, so she silently sat on the couch and allowed worry to rule her. We were waiting for my dad to come into the house. He was last seen by Kort and Officer K when he sent them to prison for Chris. We wanted him to explain everything to us before we met Orionos.

Kort had made it clear that my dad had all the answers to our questions, and he wanted every one of us to be present. Officer K told us that Orionos believed him, Kort, and my dad to be dead, although Kelvana and Mr. Kenneth saw they were alive. When we were still trying to brainstorm the way forward while we waited, my father, Kort's phone, rang. Splendor was calling. She didn't answer the call because we knew Orionos was in the lab with Splendor. After that, a message came to my phone. Splendor wanted Jeff and I in the lab. The message made us forget about waiting for my dad. Jeff, Mariana, Chris, Triana, and I rushed to the lab, thinking something bad was happening to Leticia.

The moment we entered the lab, Mariana ran to her mother. Splendor was standing by the door, leaning on the door frame with his arms folded. Leticia's mother held Mariana and squeezed her to her body. I was looking around, expecting to see the powerful man, but he wasn't in the room.

"Splendor, you called for us. What is the problem?" I asked, going forward to see Leticia on her bed. "Is she alright?"

Before Splendor could respond, Mariana cried, holding Leticia's hand and asked for forgiveness. She never thought things were going to get serious as they were. Chris went to calm Mariana down and made her understand it wasn't her fault. Leticia could no longer move a part of her body. She wasn't even able to open her eyes. Let alone spesking.

When Chris was still holding Mariana, calming her, Orionos entered the room. All our eyes went on him. For sure, he looked huge. He expected Mariana to run to him, but she didn't even move an inch. She remained in Chris' arms.

"Young man, who are you that my daughter clings to you and forget to run at me, her father?" Orionos asked.

"Chris Daniel is my name. I am sorry, that's not how it is," Chris responded, letting Mariana free from his arms.

Instead of Mariana greeting her father, she remained mute and behaved as if he were not around. Orionos luaghed at the situation after saying Mariana's behavior wasn't new to him. She used to do that since she was a kid. Thereafter, he looked at Jeff from head to toes as if he were looking for something.

"I smell a cigarette on you, do you smoke, son?" he asked.

Jeff agreed to be a smoker. Thereafter, he moved backward, away from Orionos. However, Orionos told him to feel free and even asked for a cigarette from him. Jeff always stayed with a cigarette, so he gave one to Orionos. He lit it in the room. Splendor tried to tell him to go outside, but he told him otherwise. Leticia's mother remained quiet.

After that, he came in front of me. I felt my body losing power and his posture weighing me down. He let his hand forward and introduced himself by name to me. I told him mine and gave him my hand for a handshake. When our hands met, I felt an electric shock, which made me retreat backward. He also felt the same shock because he even dropped his cigarette. That feeling was new to me. I got confused, thinking Orionos used his magic on me. Everyone in the room looked at me, not understanding what was happening.

"Are you Vega Santino's son?" he asked, looking impatiently waiting for my response.

"Yes, Vega is my father," I agreed.

His face became pale, and he nodded his head. Thereafter, he said, "My blood clot at your touch."

"Oliver, I called you and your friends here. Things are not good for Leticia," Splendor said, acting as if Orionos was not in the room.

At that moment, everyone listened to Splendor. He showed us how bad it was. Leticia could not move any part of her body. She couldn't even feel our physical touches. Her breathing was difficult. We saw traces of dying veins on the skin over her stomach. The veins looked dullish grey. Splendor admitted he was clueless about what was happening in Leticia's body. He mentioned he suspected the anomaly, which he discovered when he was doing blood tests. It was obvious the fetuses in her womb were the cause. I thought he was going to remember about wanting to run signature tests for Chris and me so that he was going to determine who impregnated her. However, I believed it never crossed his mind.

Leticia's mother didn't wait for any suggestions from anyone. She ordered Splendor to go straight with the abortion. She didn't care about the Skyling's constitutional rules. Orionos thundered, going against his wife. He claimed he wanted to see his grandchildren even if it meant losing Leticia. That sparkled a quarrel between parents. Orionos supported himself by saying it was too late to save Leticia but not late to save the fetuses in her womb. Splendor stated that the fetuses were too immature to live if Leticia didn't make it. When everyone was against him, he pushed me aside and exited the lab. We watched him getting into a thick bush behind the lab, and he disappeared. Leticia's mother told us not to trust Orionos. She asked us to pray and protect her daughter.