>>Seraphina

I took Eris and we made our way to the VIP floor. Azef received minor burns as he had to cross the fire twice when going in to save my little sister and he was getting treated in a private room.

Apparently he has a special doctor here who always looks after him. I guess rich people have personal doctors too.

I pressed the elevator to the VIP floor and then looked down at Eris as the door closed.

"Are you tired?" I had her hand in mine, "Do you want me to pick you up?" She looked at me and shook her head. But I could tell that she was tired, "It's alright, I can pick you up."

She turned her head away and shook her head again.

Hmmm,

She's always trying to be more independent. I wonder if it's because she doesn't trust me enough... Or maybe she doesn't want to be a burden...

The elevator opened and we made our way towards Azef's room. I had to ask a nurse where he was and she guided me. I knocked on his door but didn't receive an answer. So I slightly opened the door to peek inside.

"Excuse me," My eyes immediately landed on Azef who was sitting on the couch of the sleek designed room. He seemed to be looking at something with all of his focus but when he noticed movement, his eyes turned to me, "Ah!" I felt conscious, "I knocked," I pointed at the door.

His facial expressions softened, "Come," He gestured and we both walked up to him. As we made our way in and the wall blocking my view subsided, I noticed he was looking at the TV.

The news was on.

"Somi Soma says she's not going to stop looking for her son, Murim Soma" The news reporter from NLN was on, "Although it has been a few months since the disappearance of her one and only son and the murder of her brother, she has refused to stay still."

NLN

Recently, this channel has been doing pretty bad. I heard some internal conflicts happened. They've been taking a loss for a while.

The owner is pretty devastated as well and the secretary who was fired can't seem to find a job. Her face was everywhere, so all the companies refused to hire her to keep their reputation intact.

I glanced at Azef and noticed he had a grim expression on.

"Is something wrong?" I asked but he didn't answer. He did turn his attention to us.

"What did the doctor say?" He looked at Eris and she looked down in shame.

"The doctor said she'll heal just fine, we just need to make sure she takes her medicine and keeps putting the ointment on her burns, then change her bandages."

"Hmm," He nodded, "And the cause of the fire?" He looked at me and Eris shrunk even more at his words. I had a hunch that she was feeling more conscious because she didn't want him knowing about it. But I can't hide it from him. It was his apartment.

"She, uh," Eris hid behind me, "Turned the microwave on with an aluminum wrap in it and the whole thing caught on fire."

"Uh, huh," Azef wasn't fazed by it much but his eyes did wander around. I couldn't tell if he was mad or not. But how could he not be mad? Because of us, a whole apartment of his burned down. I looked down in shame. I should have been more careful. I know I'm stressed but I should have at least made sure to feed Eris.

She's a kid, no matter how much she tries, she is bound to make mistakes like these. We got lucky this time and she was rescued but what about next time? If Azef didn't give me off early, I would have found out about the fire too late.

I raised my head to look at him.

If he wasn't there to go in and save her, I pulled Eris closer to me, she might not have made it out. My heart beat a little strange as I kept my eyes on him. He had received a few bandages over his arms. He was already dressed so I don't know if he was injured somewhere else but I'm so glad he's safe as well.

Really,

I am

"Don't you think the kid should go to school?" Azef stood up from the couch and pulled his shirt sleeve down, covering his bandages.

"Yes?" I had no idea where those words came from.

"She's cooped up in that apartment all day, that can't be good for her." He stared at Eris as he buttoned his sleeves, "To begin with, it's not the child's fault that she microwaved an aluminiun foil."

!!!

He wasn't blaming her but at the same time, I knew it was I who was at fault.

"Yes," I looked down in shame, "It wouldn't have happened if I was there for me." I shook my head, "It wouldn't have happened if I heated up the food for her before I went out." I felt so guilty and ashamed of myself.

"True," He buttoned up his other sleeve, "If you can't take care of a kid, its better to give her away to someone who can." His words stung but they were right.

I bit my lower lip in despair, "Yes..."

"Let's send her to a kindergarten for now," I looked up at him, "That would also help you escape the police," He looked at me, "I'm sure you already got a warning with what happened."

"Yes," I was a little confused, "I was warned but what's this about sending her to school?"

"Do you want another incident happening?"

"Well no," I shook my head, "But aren't you mad about the apartment?" I asked softly, "We, it burned down..."

He folded his arms, "Nothing can be done about that." He didn't seem mad, "Hey, kiddo," Azef gestured for Eris to come over, "Didn't you feel something was off?"

Eris took her time to come out from behind me. She was so ashamed of herself, she didn't want to face Azef.

"Come here," Azef crouched down and she slowly walked over. I didn't move from my place and just watched. She went and stood in front of him with her face down, "Didn't you feel something was off?" He asked again.

She took her time to think about it, then slowly nodded while still looking on the ground.

Azef used his index finger, placed it under her chin and made her look up, "Listen to me very carefully," Eris looked into his eyes, "Whenever you feel something is wrong, no matter what it is, RUN,"

Eris's eyes went wide for a moment, as if some sort of realization had hit her, then she nodded. She wasn't speaking much. I guess she's still traumatized but she still answered him.

"Good," He stood up and looked at the TV again, then frowned.

I glanced at the TV as well and noticed the headline about Somi Soma.

Is there something going on between them? Somi Soma is from a pretty powerful family, isn't she? The Somas's are known for their wealth and power. Plus why, it's so weird how two people from the Soma family ended in tragedy.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him again, "You keep looking at Somi Soma's news and your expressions turn sour."

"No," He crossed his arms, "Not as long as Somi Soma stays put."

What?

"She's just looking for her son though." I glanced at the screen, "Why would she stay put?"

"Because her son is dead." He clicked his tongue and kept watching with an unamused expression while I watched him with a shocked expression.

...

What?

How does he know he's dead?

I tilted my head while thinking then paused. My heart skipped a beat and my eyes went wide.

He would know if he was the one who killed him!! I had just started to speculate when and my heart rate and begun to speed up when he turned to look at me.

"Ah, right," He began to walk, "Since the apartment burned down," He crossed me, "You both will be living with me."

My eyes went wide and I turned around to look at him

"Excuse me! What!?"

***

>>Somi Soma

"Here," The private investigator of the Soma Family sat at the edge of the road, "There's a pretty old blood stain," He took the sample of it and placed it in a clear plastic bag.

"Who did it?" I asked as I gritted my teeth. We were on a road situated in the middle of the open space, shortly at a distance a thick forest started.

"I'll need to dig in deeper to see who it was." He stood up, "But the people were definitely from one team. One killed Silas, and another took Murim."

I bit my lower lip, "Hurry up then," I clenched my fists, "I want names,"

He smiled back at me, "And you will get the names," He glanced around the open space, "Very soon." He let out a soft chuckle, "I already have a suspect."