With the bag on her shoulder and her sleepy siblings in each of her hands, Carol quickly ran away. This was as much as she could do. As she figured out that these men would even go so far as setting the orphanage on fire, Carol had to act.
She had delayed the fake signature task for too long until the managers got impatient. Two hours prior, Carol was woken up by a call which left her horrified.
If Carol didn't immediately do the document, if she failed her task, they'd burn down the orphanage.
Thus Carol had to act. Since Carol didn't have many belongings, it was easy to pack. Her siblings also could be easily woken up but of course, this was only a backup plan. Carol hoped, sincerely prayed it wouldn't come to that.
She wanted the task to finish seamlessly but instead of focusing on that, Carol found the oil traces around and inside the house and even the leaking gas.
Even one match could blow this whole thing up. So what Carol did first was to stop the gas leak and try to cover up as much of the oil as possible, so it wouldn't light up.
Carol tried her best to do everything in her might to prevent the worst outcome so that no one would die. Once they smelt the fire, they could easily escape and hopefully, someone would discover this was not an accident as the managers hoped to cover it up as one.
But Carol still had the hope that she could quickly find a document with Yana's signature and then fake it but then that arrogant woman just had to wake up and stop her at the worst time possible, preaching her useless justice that could save no one!
What Carol did, saved people, not Yana! Maybe, no, most definitely Cana would be praised for evacuating everyone but Carol was the one who prevented the explosion and death of everyone.
Yet no one would notice her deeds and it might be better this way because Carol herself knew that she was to be blamed and accumulated too many sins as well.
"It's ok, just a bit more," Carol pulled her yawning siblings with her as she watched the small sight of the orphanage burn down.
Carol knew that the managers also wanted her dead but she wouldn't let them find out she was still alive. No one and nothing could harm her family, Carol made sure of it. One last look and Carol and her siblings disappeared into the night. This was the last time they were seen.
***
Yana made a sharp turn and knocked on Seli's and Melinda's rooms, "Wake up! Wake up!"
Then Yana entered the children's rooms to carry them out. Groggily, Seli and Melinda stepped out onto the hallway. They saw Yana being a busybody and yawned, "What's the smell?"
"It's burning! We need to evacuate everyone! Quick! No time to get your stuff! Hurry!" while Yana pressed out these words she put the kids in Melinda's arms and then turned to Seli, "Call!" before she dashed away again to wake up the other children.
Her mind was flooded with an abundance of thoughts. To think that they would really resort to these methods was unbelievable, what if Yana wasn't awake? But then a terrifying thought aroused Yana's senses. Wait.
Wouldn't it be better for Yana not to be awake?
If Carol successfully handed them the document, then they wouldn't burn this whole place down right? But this also meant that Yana had to allow them to build a money-laundering facility underneath this place while turning a blind eye, not knowing about it.
SWISH
Smoke started to make its way inside. Since the building was really old, it easily fell apart and couldn't withstand the fire.
Out of her eye corners, Yana saw that Seli and Melinda luckily acted quickly once they caught on.
It wasn't long before they all safely made it out and watched the bright spectacle of their once home burning down.
"Everyone alright?" Melinda checked everyone to make sure no one was missing while Seli coaxed children.
Only Yana stood in a daze in the dark looking around but finding no one. No sign of Carol nor the managers. Apart from them, far and wide there was no one else in the darkness.
"Wait, Carol, Lily and Nick are missing!" Melinda panicked and turned to the burning building before Yana stopped her, "It's ok. They left earlier."
"They did?" Melinda perplexedly looked at Yana.
"I'll explain later," Yana wasn't in the mood to tell them about it. She had to think about how to deal with the police who'd question them.
And most definitely the press would love to get a piece of it. The most logical thing to do here was to tell them the truth but with no evidence, there was no way the police would believe it. Because of a small project, they would burn down this small place?
More than that, the police have always been reluctant to deal with anything that had to do with the major companies, after all, authorities could easily be shut down with money and power as the companies want this to remain a hidden case. Nonexistent in their books.
Yana got a headache. She had to think about how to deal with this and the most pain in the ass thing was reporting to Roy. Roy would-
Yana's eyes widened.
"Shit," her low whisper was drowned out by the sizzling fire. The evidence that was in her room, it all burnt into crisps now.
Even though she sent a backup to Marie, it wasn't everything. Another problem popped up. Yana truly messed up this time.
"It's ok, we have to cuddle together to keep warm. The firefighters will be soon here, don't cry, don't cry," Seli coaxed the children.
For a while, this burning spectacle lit up the dark night before the firefighters came and took care of it. Then the endless questions and long nights awaited Yana but the problem was where would they stay?
There was no place for the children to sleep.
"We will sort out a way," a police officer handed Yana a cup of coffee as she sat in the police station.
Yana thought for a while before she made up her mind. She still had an incredibly bad feeling about this and because of that, she needed to create herself a leeway.
"Thanks," Yana tiredly smiled at the officer, "Before we start, can I call someone?"
"Call someone?"
"Yes, is it possible? I'd like them to provide some support. It's… it's hard on me."