The Valdez family (1)

A soft chortle escapes Alexander's lips immediately Grace left and Lucius gave him a killer stare.

"What is so funny?" Lucius asked, slightly annoyed.

"Oh nothing." Alexander replied, still chuckling.

"Then why are you chuckling like a fool?" Lucius glared at him.

"Your were really mean to her you know," Alexander said, smirking.

Lucius turns to face the door and leans back in his chair. "You would have told her to leave before I got here." He smoke puffed out from Lucius mouth as he spoke.

"We don't meddle in each others business. Have you forgotten our ground rule?" Alexander said as he stood up and walked to Lucius desk, he picked up the whisky bottle and pours himself another glass before going back to his seat.

"How is the girl doing." Alexander asked after taking his seat. Lucius turned his head to Alexander' direction.

"We don't meddle in each others business. Have you forgotten our ground rule, Alex." Lucius gave him the same reply he had give him before.

Alexander scoffed and sips his drink.

"I am not meddling." Alexander says. "I am simply looking out for the family, Lucius."

"And how is that?" Lucius asked.

"She from the Morrison family, Lucius. The Morrison are the biggest and most dangerous hunters family in the world. I told you that, didn't I?" Alexander asked with a serious face.

"You did, Alex." Lucius said and dropped the almost finished cigarette bug in an ash tray on his desk. "And you also told me that you don't think her relatives knows she exits."

Alexander sighed. "I know I said so, but it's still better to be safe than sorry."

"Right." Lucius nods and turns to face the files on his desk. He picks up one of files. "I hope you didn't get these information from a aroused woman this time?" Lucius asked with a smug smirk.

Alexander glances in Lucius direction, without reply him.

"You said you found nothing on her biological parents, right?" Lucius asked, his eyes scanning through the content in the file.

Alexander nods slightly. "There's no records about them except that they dead in the fire in their house. And the house wasn't even registered to them, it was registered to Margaret Hale who was found dead in her car two days after the fire accident, she committed suicide. Everything is in that file." Alexander said as he emptied the drink in his glass and poured himself another glass again.

Lucius reads through the information on the file with a focused attention. He had asked Alexander to do a proper background check on Leah three days ago. Because he was interested in knowing her origin. But as he read through her file, he discovers that a lot of things seems to be amiss in the information on her original family background.

"Her biological family background is a little strange. And it says here that she had a change of name after her biological parent's death." Lucius asked.

"I think her new parents must have changed her name to Leah, after the adoption." Alexander said.

The room remains silent as the two men were both engrossed in their own activity. Alexander stared at Lucius for a long time without a word.

"Do you have something to tell me, Alex?" Lucius asked without looking up from the papers in his hand.

"Did you tell her the main reason why you brought her here?" Alexander asked Lucius with a serious face.

"No." Lucius replied. "I told her that she was marked by a black witch. She wouldn't have been so calm if I had told her the truth." Lucius said, still reading through the files.

"What if she finds out that you lied to her."

Lucius drops the file on his desk and turns to face Alexander. "She won't find out unless someone tells her."

"If you say so." Alexander said and stands up. He walked to Lucius' desk and stretches his hand towards the whisky bottle again but Lucius snatches the bottle before he could reach it.

"Hey," Alexander glares at him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm stopping you from getting more drunk than you already are."

Alexander sighed and returned back to his seat.

"Did something happen?" Lucius asked but Alexander shakes his head.

"I'm fine. I've just been a little restless these days and drinking seems to really help with my nerve."

"Is it because of Samara?" Lucius asked.

Alexander leans back on the couch and shuts his eyes. "Probably."

Lucius glances at Alexander with a hint of concern in his eyes before pouring a drink for himself, using the same glass Alexander had used.

...

The hot water ran down the shower to Leah's body, washing away the soap and fuzziness from her body. Leah slowly massaged her fingers through her soaked hair, washing away the remnants of the shampoo from her scalp.

She turned off the shower and tied her body with a towel. She also rapped another towel on her hair, before stepping out from her bathroom. She saw the same girl from before arranging some clothes in the wardrobe, which she assumed to be hers.

She walked to the dresser and sat down. Leah is astonished when she finds all her cosmetics products just sitting on the dresser. She is surprised at how Lucius managed to know all her cosmetics products because it couldn't be a coincident.

Leah wore a flay gown that stopped just below her knee, and parked her hair in a pony tail. She was still applying her lips gloss when she heard a knock on the door. The girl who was dressing her bed immediately went to answer the door. She returned shortly after speaking to the person at the door.

"Dinner is ready, Miss." The girl informed Leah.

"Okay, thanks," Leah smiled at her as she dropped the lip gloss and stood up.

"What's your name?" Leah asked the girl.

"I'm Lolly, Miss." The girl replied.

"I'm Leah. Just call me by my name." Lolly smiles and nods.

"I'm ready. Lead the way, Lolly," Leah said.

The both of them discussed like friends as made their way to the dining room. Leah got to know Lolly better and she discovers that Lolly was filling in for her sick mother in the mean time and would be resuming properly the next day. Lolly told her all most everything about the Valdez family.

Leah was shocked when she heard from Lolly that the man she had met in the hallway before; William, was Lucius younger brother. Lolly further told her about Alexander and Anastasia the two twins and also Andrea.

"They are not all related by blood even though they bare the same surname. Andrea was from the Willcox family but she became a part of the Valdez family many year ago." Leah nods her head as she listens to Lolly explanation.

"The family are kind and pleasant people, especially the women, I'm sure you will enjoy their company." Lolly said with a small giggle before her face suddenly becomes serious. "You just need to be mindful around the guests."

"What do you mean?" Lucius looked at her in confusion.

"Most of the guests are Vampires and you're a human. So I don't think they would be very happy with your presence this evening. So try as much as you can to avoid them." Lolly says as they got to the dining door

"I hope you enjoy your meal, Leah." Lolly says before walking away, towards another direction.

Leah stared at the dining door in front of her nervously. She would have really preferred eating in her room if she had known that she would be dining with more than one Vampire.

She wasn't particularly fond of Vampires because they terrify her. She slowly grabbed the door handle as she encourages herself inwardly. Mustering enough courage, she pushed the dining open, ready to take anything the evening would bring, but she desperately hoped that it would go smoothly in her favour.