The months passed in quick succession. As Valerya walked towards a decrepit-looking building on the side of a deserted road on level two, she remembered Lilliban's face. Like she always did. She never forgot the last moments she was allowed to see her sister, the moment Lilliban was dragged out of the tribunal. With a burst of strength Valerya never knew her sister possessed, Lilliban broke free for a few seconds, long enough to run to her still-shocked sister and envelope her in a bear hug. "I love you," Lilliban kept repeating as the hug was broken by soldiers, and she was forcefully taken from the room.
Ever since then, Valerya had been a shadow of herself. She was under no obligation to quit her job since Davys did not keep his part of the bargain, but she took a break, which was meant to last a year. The truth was, she was not mentally ready to resume, but at the same time, she needed the money for all she was going to do. She had not lost hope of freeing her sister.
A depressed Valerya looked at what the bumpkins who lived in it, thought was a home. She had to admit, that finding Lyonel's family was hard. Much harder than it should have been. She wanted to know why he, as well as the others, felt the need to lie. Lyonel and the other convicts were long dead, and it seemed like their families vanished from the face of the earth. All efforts to find the eight families proved abortive. It was obvious there was a major conspiracy going on, and she had resolved to find out why.
She had spent a tremendous amount of time and money searching for them, and her heart raced in her chest as she walked to the front of the building. She was tempted to bring out her gun and kill every last Maris she could find, but she controlled her instincts. She needed answers. And she was going to get them.
She knocked on the door, and an old woman opened it immediately. She recognized her. Her obsession with the family the past few months led to her knowing each member like the back of her hand.
"Are you Bethany Maris?" she asked.
"Yes, why?" the old woman replied warily.
Valerya brought out her silenced gun and pointed it right at the woman's eye socket. She could see the shock on her face, which quickly gave rise to fear. To the woman, Valerya must have looked like an unhinged woman in her late twenties, dressed in all black, with her baseball cap underneath her hoodie. Bloodshot eyes. Steady hands. Valerya guessed she was unhinged.
"Get in," she ordered.
Without wasting time, the woman entered the house, and Valerya followed her in.
"Everyone gather around," Valerya yelled.
The members of the Maris family came out, all shocked to see a beautiful woman pointing a gun at their grandmother. "Is this all of you?" Valerya asked.
"Yes," a man Valerya recognized as Lyonel's elder brother replied. Valerya scanned their faces. The father, mother, his three brothers… "Where is Evelyn?" she asked. They were shocked she knew about Evelyn, she, a home intruder.
"Well, she's…," the young man wanted to lie, but Valerya shot in the air. "if she doesn't come out in five seconds, I will kill you, spokesperson," Valerya said simply. There was rustling from inside the house, where a young girl appeared from the door. Valerya ordered them to their knees, and they complied.
She mentally counted all her offences against the empire.
Stalking
Home invasion
Pointing a weapon at unarmed civilians
Probably murder, if the night didn't go as she planned.
Even with all that, she didn't feel any guilt, nor did she feel disloyal. She felt nothing. And if killing would make her see her sister again she would choose to annihilate everyone in the empire.
She sat on an old smelly couch, and looked at the members of the Maris family, all on their knees.
"I am Valerya D'ajnes. Some months ago, Lyonel of this family lied against my sister. I haven't seen her ever since, and she's slated to spend the rest of her life in prison. I am going to ask you why he did it, and I expect an honest answer. So, why did he go to such lengths to ruin an innocent girl's life?" Valerya asked.
"We don't know anything," Evelyn replied, and Valerya shot at her, not caring where she hit.
"Evelyn!" her family screamed out, as they attempted to rush to her.
"No one moves! Don't go to her. If she dies, that's your problem, not mine. I would ask the same question, and if I don't get a satisfactory answer, I'll put a bullet through her brain this time. Why did Lyonel ruin my sister's life?" she asked calmly. She was tired. Oh, so tired.
It was the old woman who spoke up. "the last time we saw him when he was in the holding cell before he was executed, he said he was going to accuse a girl named Lilliban of a crime she didn't commit. He said he was contacted by a stranger who carried the president's seal, so it was done with the approval of the president. The man said if he didn't do it, he would kill us all. If he did, he would ensure we were well hidden and would live quiet lives. As long as we never breathe a word of it to anyone.
"A few days after his execution, we saw a large sum of money in our mail and the address to this house in level two. We have been living here ever since."
Valerya closed her eyes, her suspicions finally confirmed. She faced them all and said, "I will contact the other families, I'm sure their stories are similar to yours. Immediately I do that, I would contact you, and file an appeal for my sister, no matter how impossible it seems. When I do, I would need you to say exactly what you just did. I am telling you, from the bottom of my heart as a sister, if you fail to show up or you contradict me with lies when it matters, whatever Volyrt punishment you fear would be a great mercy compared to what I would do to you. Do you understand me?" she asked.
They all nodded, terrified.
"Good," Valerya replied as she settled into her chair to rest. She felt sleepy. She was oh so tired.