Episode 11 - The Truth
1338 Words
At the campus café.
Leona sat alone in the corner, reviewing her lecture notes. Two bodyguards stood nearby, dressed sharply, communicating silently through discreet earpieces. They didn’t speak. They didn’t move. But their presence was impossible to ignore.
At a table across the room, a group of students whispered among themselves.
“The Virelle family’s just… normal, right?” one guy muttered, his tone laced with sarcasm.
“If we’re talking elite status, the Verins are on a whole different level,” another chimed in. “They’ve got empires. This one? Suddenly needs bodyguards?”
A girl stirred her drink, eyes fixed on Leona.
“Feels like she’s just trying to get attention. Disappears for four months, then comes back acting like royalty.”
“If she’s really from a powerful family, why hasn’t her name ever come up anywhere?”
“I checked. Virelle isn’t even listed among the top-tier families. Not in any registry.”
They laughed quietly. But their eyes never left Leona.
In the faculty corridor.
Leona walked calmly, her steps measured. But she could feel it—every glance, every whisper trailing behind her.
Two students passed by, one leaning in just enough to be heard.
“Who is she really? If she’s some high-born heir, why hasn’t she attended a single formal event?”
“Probably just a paranoid rich kid with a dramatic family.”
Leona didn’t flinch. But her eyes sharpened. The weight of their words didn’t go unnoticed.
Inside the art studio.
Naya was sketching a new character for her script. Eris was arranging pieces for an upcoming showcase. Leona entered quietly, this time without her guards. But the tension lingered.
Naya approached gently. “People are talking.”
Leona offered a faint smile. “Let them.”
Eris sighed. “Some are comparing you to my family.”
Leona looked at her, gaze steady. “Your family is known. Mine… is protected.”
Naya said nothing. She understood—Leona wasn’t talking about wealth. She was talking about legacy. One that couldn’t be Googled or named aloud.
Back in Mira’s room.
She still hadn’t broken through.
Every attempt to access Leona’s full records was blocked. Security codes shifted constantly. Firewalls multiplied. And now, the system was retaliating—locking unrelated files, restricting access to neutral data.
“You’re protected by something more than encryption,” Mira muttered.
She tried another route. The screen flickered, then went dark. A warning appeared:
Access denied. Further attempts will be monitored.
Mira leaned back, gripping the edge of her desk.
“Who are you trying to protect, Leona? Or… who’s protecting you?”
That night, at the Velmonthe residence.
Leona returned home in silence. She didn’t greet anyone. She didn’t glance at her brothers chatting in the living room. She didn’t respond to her name being called from the kitchen.
She went straight to her room and closed the door gently.
Minutes later, her mother knocked and entered.
“Leona… what’s wrong, sweetheart?”
Leona sat at the edge of her bed, eyes fixed on the floor.
“Everyone at school mocked me, Mom.”
Her mother froze.
“Because Dad made the bodyguards follow me every day. I’m ashamed.”
Her mother stepped closer, sitting beside her.
“Mocked you? Why would they mock you? How dare they mock my daughter—who’s done nothing wrong…”
Her voice sharpened. Her expression shifted.
“Let me teach them a lesson. Let them learn who they’re dealing with.”
Leona looked up, eyes glassy.
“No need, Mom.”
Her mother fell silent. But her eyes still burned with restrained fury.
The next morning, at campus.
It started like any other day. Students arrived, opened their lockers, prepared for class.
Then everything changed.
Inside every locker, across every hallway wall, scattered across the sports field—white sheets of paper appeared.
On each one, a single symbol.
The Velmonthe crest.
No names. No messages. Just the emblem.
Students froze. Some tore the paper down immediately. Others stood motionless, faces pale.
“Why is this symbol here?”
“Who would dare bring this back?”
Shock rippled through the campus. And fear followed.
Because history had once warned:
“If this crest spreads… or if someone receives it… death will follow.”
Several students began experiencing panic attacks—short breaths, trembling hands, some collapsing in the hallways. Desperate, they called their parents.
Parents, alarmed, flooded the campus hotline. But no one answered.
Mr. Alex, the campus director, was too overwhelmed to respond. He was pacing, sweating, trying to contain a situation that had already spiraled out of control.
At the campus gates.
A group of students tried to flee.
They ran toward the exit, hoping to escape whatever was happening.
But they were stopped.
A line of bodyguards in black suits stood firm, blocking the way. On their chests—Velmonthe insignias. In their hands—weapons.
They didn’t speak.
They didn’t move.
But their presence was enough.
The students turned back, terrified, running back into the campus.
In the faculty corridor.
Leona stood frozen, watching the chaos unfold. Screams echoed. Guards moved in formation. And her family’s crest was now a symbol of fear.
She felt exposed.
She felt hunted.
Kael appeared, breathless, eyes locked on her. Without hesitation, he stepped in front of her, shielding her with his body.
“Kael, don’t!” Leona pushed him. “I can protect myself!”
Kael didn’t move.
“I won’t let anyone touch the person I love!” he shouted. “I’d die to protect her!”
Leona’s breath caught.
Her eyes widened.
“What are you saying, Kael…”
Kael gently cupped her face, voice trembling but firm.
“I love you, Leona. When you disappeared… I asked my family to investigate. I was scared you’d never come back to this campus.”
“I don’t care if you come from a poor family. I love you.”
Leona stared at him, speechless.
For the first time… she felt seen. Not as a Velmonthe. Not as a symbol.
But as herself.
From a distance, Naya and Eris watched quietly.
They smiled.
Inside the campus auditorium.
Students gathered in clusters. Some sat on the floor. Others clung to their friends. Parents began arriving, rushing in, embracing their children tightly.
Kael’s siblings and mother found him too. They surrounded him, checking he was safe.
No one was allowed to leave that day.
Hours later.
The tension began to settle.
Security loosened.
Whispers faded.
Then, from the back of the auditorium, a group began walking toward the front stage.
Their steps were calm.
But their presence was heavy.
Leona’s brothers.
And in the center—her mother and father.
The auditorium fell silent.
All eyes turned to the front as the Velmonthe family entered—Leona’s brothers leading with quiet authority, followed by her mother and father, their presence commanding the room without a single word.
Leona froze.
She hadn’t expected this.
Her breath hitched. Her heart pounded.
“Why are they here… now?”
Before she could move, Mr. Alex came sprinting from the side of the hall. His face was pale, his steps frantic.
He rushed toward Leona’s father.
And dropped to his knees.
He bowed low, forehead pressed to the floor.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I didn’t know… I didn’t mean for things to go this far… please forgive me…”
He kept repeating himself, voice cracking, body trembling.
Gasps echoed across the room.
Several parents, still clutching their children, began to panic. Some stood. Others backed away. A few pointed toward the Velmonthe family, their faces pale with fear.
“That’s them…”
“The Velmonthe family…”
“They’re real…”
The air grew heavier.
Leona stood frozen, her body stiff.
She wasn’t ready.
She wasn’t ready to face them
To be continued...
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