Chapter 1 Covered in Blood
Silence enveloped a car that was traveling on a smooth and wide road. But don't mistake it for awkwardness. Both corners of the lips of each person in the car were pulled upwards to form a smile. While enjoying the song, the two of them decided to keep their mouths shut because someone was asleep.
Her forehead frowned. She slowly moved uncomfortably on her brother's thigh. Her panting breath ended with her eyelids suddenly opening. Spontaneously she sat up with shock printed on her face.
"What's wrong, Illis? Did you have a bad dream?"
Hearing the voice of someone she knew made her turn her head. Instantly, the chaotic feeling in her heart disappeared in an instant.
A little girl with her hair in two pigtails was shaking her head.
"No, but it looks like yeah." From the look on her face, she was thinking for a moment. "I had forgotten. I don't know, the dream suddenly became blurry when I woke up. And I don't remember it now."
A woman with a firm jaw and beautiful face could only look back briefly, then she returned her focus to the street. Her youngest child who always livened up the atmosphere had woken up from her short nap.
"Go back to sleep, Illis. You can dream of mommy and daddy to erase the traces of your nightmare," she said while chuckling softly.
Instead of obeying, the girl sulked. She held his chest with her lips pursed. "No, no, no. I won't sleep anymore. Umm, mommy, is it still a long way to go? Illis misses Daddy."
Yura, who was looking at her youngest child through the windshield, made a sweet smile.
"We'll be there soon, dear."
The older brother of the girl, moved his hand to gently stroke the hair of his younger sister who was leaning on his shoulder.
"Be patient, Illis. We'll be at Daddy's new branch factory soon," explained the boy who had just turned twelve.
Callista, who was a sensitive person by nature, nodded her head. She embraced her brother's arm in a spoiled manner.
"Callista loves brother," the child said suddenly. The smile on her lips was wide.
Out of unbearable infatuation, the older brother Alvino, who was the eldest child of the billionaire couple between the Vradito and Alvero families, stretched out his hand to rummage through the top of Callista's hair.
"Brother loves Illis too."
Callista who received this treatment immediately became surly. She quickly corrected the messy position of her hair.
"Ew, brother! Auntie Neki's neatly styled hair is a mess because of you!" Callista squealed.
Yura couldn't help but smile at the little fight between her two children. Although of course the winner had already been determined because the brother always gave in, the scene still looked very happy for her. A harmonious little family, she had dreamed of that since childhood.
A vibration was felt, distracting Yura. She glanced at her cell phone which was ringing on the empty seat next to her. Her left hand was busy fumbling to get her cell phone, while her eyes remained staring straight ahead. This quiet, winding road seemed dangerous even though it was very wide.
Not wanting to trouble himself too much, Yura immediately connected the phone call with the car's dashboard screen. She justified the location of the aerophone on her ear. Her smile immediately spread beautifully as soon as she heard the voice of the occupant of her heart.
"Yeah, what's up, honey?"
Yura looked at the dashboard screen that showed the distance and direction of travel.
"I'll be there with the kids in a bit."
"Yes," she replied with a sweet smile.
Her cheeks blushed with embarrassment because her husband always threw in a little flirtation every time they connected, without exception.
With the same smile, Yura straightened her gaze which had looked down to hide her embarrassment.
Badump!
Her eyes were fully rounded. Her breath caught. Her heart seemed to be forced to stop beating. Her jet-black pupils couldn't take their eyes off the truck that was speeding towards her.
The truck didn't seem to be driving properly as it bounced back and forth.
The screeching sound of the brakes was deafening. With cold sweat soaking her whole body, Yura tried to step on the brake pedal as hard as she could and change the direction of her car. But the truck did not reduce its speed and instead accelerated towards them.
"Mommy!" cried Callista who had tears in her eyes. Her body in her brother's arms trembled violently. Her right hand gripped Alvino's clothes tightly. Her eyes were closed as her body twisted and turned with the movement of the car.
"No, they're still after my family," Yura thought through gritted teeth. Her jaw hardened. The grip of her palms made them turn white.
"Honey! Honey, are you okay? Honey! Please answer me!"
There was a snapping sound from the phone call that was still connected. But of course, it was ignored by Yura, her hands and feet were busy managing the movement of the car.
The sound of screeching and fast engine speed was the last thing Yura heard. Her eyes were wide open with her hands firmly gripping the steering wheel.
One,
Two,
Three.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
The latest Lamborghini car that only exists in the world instantly became a shapeless tent. It rolled around and tasted the taste of the road until it became self-destructive. A puff of smoke accompanied the lightning-fast incident.
Alvino, who was known for his quick response, immediately kicked the door next to Callista with all his might. He, who loved his younger sister more than himself, immediately took the right action. He pushed the child's shaking body out of the car.
Alvino and Yura's bodies flew before the car fell completely into the ravine.
"I love you very much, Illis," Alvino murmured with unshed tears.
Meanwhile, little Callista who was thrown away from Yura's car, rolled around and stopped right in the middle of the road covered in blood. The truck that lost its balance suddenly rolled to the side.
The loud crash of the truck was followed by a moan of pain from tiny lips. The head of the truck partially crushed Callista's legs. Callista, who was at the edge of her consciousness, could only cry a little. Her vision was blurry, and her sense of smell was filled with a rancid scent that she could easily guess, the scent of a thick liquid called blood.
"Brother!" shouted a girl who immediately sat up from her sleep. Sweat flooded her temples. Her breathing was irregular.
Her eyes darted around. It turned out that she was in her room. She was not there, in a place filled with painful memories.
She stared at her trembling palm for a moment. The palm moved to her hair and gripped it firmly. If those bad memories didn't stop haunting her sleep until death came, she would go crazy sooner or later!
That dream, that dream again! Ah, no. It was more of a painful memory that kept coming to her sleep tirelessly.
The black-haired girl jumped in surprise at the brutal knock on the door. Her heartbeat was now racing.
She furrowed her brow deeply. Who was knocking on her bedroom door this early in the morning?
"W-Who?"
"Miss, is Miss Callista alright?" asked a woman at the door of the girl's room. There was a worried tone in the woman's voice.
Not getting an answer, she knocked impatiently on the door again. "Miss Callista? Miss?"
Callista sighed. One of her hands reached out to stroke her marathon chest.
"Illis is fine, auntie," Callista replied with a slight yell as her bed and the door to the room were quite far apart.
The woman outside breathed a sigh of relief, the negative assumptions in her mind instantly dispelled.
"Wake up immediately, miss. Today is your first day at your new school. Get ready, Miss Callista. I have prepared her breakfast downstairs."
"Yes!" replied Callista briefly.
She turned her face to the side. Staring at the glass of mineral water on the nightstand. Not wanting her heart to continue beating rapidly, Callista downed the mineral water.
Shaking off the soft blanket, she now had to get up from her comfort zone. Her hands moved to grab the crutches, the cane that helped her to walk. She hurriedly carried herself to the bathroom, even though she had to force her legs to move quickly. Today was her first day, she couldn't be late.
"Maybe that incident will never escape my subconscious, because it's the last memory with mommy and brother that I have." Callista thought as she closed the bathroom door.
The elevator doors opened wide, revealing a beautiful girl who was fully dressed in her uniform. With leisurely movements, her hands turned the wheels of the wheelchair she was now in.
A sigh was heard. It's annoying to use a manual wheelchair like this. What could be done? Her favorite wheelchair that could be moved by remote was being repaired.
"Good morning Miss Callista!" greeted a woman dressed as a maid. A sweet smile graced her lips.
Callista lowered her gaze. "Come on, auntie, how many times have I told you to stop wearing that outfit," Callista was annoyed. She folded her arms across her chest as the maid aunt took over her wheelchair.
There were probably dozens if not hundreds of times she had reminded the butler who was also her nanny as a child. She was the one closest to her here, the one who understood her the most. Of course, she didn't want her nanny aunt to get the same treatment as the other maids.
Auntie Neki only flashed a smile in response to her master's anger. She stopped pushing and quickly turned Callista's wheelchair to face the dining table.
Auntie Neki deftly poured mineral water.
After downing some of the mineral water offered by Auntie Neki, Callista turned her head, her gaze fixed on the five-headed woman who was bowing her head.
Callista turned to stare reluctantly at some of the menus that had been served in front of her. Every time she remembered the accident that killed her mommy and her brother, her stomach felt bad.
"I'll just have jam bread and milk for breakfast today."
Auntie Neki nodded her head politely. Very skillfully, Auntie Neki went straight into the world of disputes. Callista who saw it, secretly chuckled softly. Auntie Neki always tried to give her the best, even if it was something as trivial as spreading jam on bread.
"Thanks, Auntie," Callista said with a friendly smile. Her hand reached out to immediately touch the peanut butter bread on the plate. She took a hefty bite.
Her eyebrows knitted together, and one of her hands gently patted her tight chest.
"Chough! Chough!"
"Slow down, miss," panicked Auntie Neki as she handed Callista a glass of vanilla milk.
Callista, who could not stand the choking sensation that was tormenting her, immediately downed the vanilla milk that Auntie Neki offered her.
Callista could not lower the curve of her smile even a little when Auntie Neki helped wipe the corners of her smudged lips with a tissue. With the same smile, Callista was about to devour the bread in her hand, but someone's movement stopped her.
Auntie Neki hesitantly placed a letter in front of Callista. Callista, who saw this, immediately put her bread on a plate.
She looked carefully at an envelope that looked familiar, but there was no name on the outside of the envelope.
"Le-letter?"