"I'm sorry to inform you, but your husband is dead."
October stumbled to the ground but was caught by Detective John after hearing this over and over in her head. Scarlett was shocked as she stood in the room, unable to move her legs. Like water falling from a fountain, tears were streaming down her face.
Belly, on the other hand, was attempting to keep her cool for the sake of her family. Mia? She had no idea why her mother was on the ground when she descended the stairs.
"What is going on here?" She asked. Mia was only aware of the time that Scarlett was returned to her home by the police last night. Her mother had told her that her father went on an errand and would be back the next day but seeing her mother on the floor, Mia was expecting an answer.
Her eyes then fell on Scarlett as she approached her. "Scarlett?" She touched Scarlett, startling her from her thoughts. "Why are you all crying?" Mia asked.
Scarlett scowled as she turned away from her sister's eyes. She shouldn't be crying right now. When her family is around, she doesn't cry. She isn't like that at all. She kept telling herself that if she kept crying, they would think she was weak. She dried her tears and appeared to be on the move again as she walked slowly toward the bag on the floor, then stopped.
She knelt down, trembling hands reaching for the zip, when one of the men stopped her. "I wouldn't advise you to do that."
Scarlett gave him a raised gaze. "He is my daddy. I'd like to see his face." she said quietly. The man shook his head and that alone made Scarlett angrier. She got to her feet and tried to push the man away but he was stronger. He barely made any movement at all. "He is my daddy!" This time, when Scarlet yelled, Mia collapsed to the ground, trembling. She couldn't believe what she heard, but she was consoled by Belly, who held her tightly as she cried.
"Please take her out of here." Detective John gave a command to one of his men, but Scarlett slapped the mask-wearing man who attempted to touch her. Being 18 doesn't make her a small child; it makes her violent, and seeing her favourite person in the world lying dead on the floor made her feel like a beast!
Scarlett turned to October. "I need to know how Daddy died," she scowled as she spoke. October did not want her child to hate her even more, and she was unable to place the blame for what had occurred on Scarlett. Since Scarlett is completely unaware of things, it was acceptable for her to feel this way about the person she loved the most in the entire world. Her father.
While glancing at Detective John, October sniffed. "I think she needs to be here. After all, it is her father." She paused before continuing. "What happened to him when you found him in the woods?"
"There was a mark on his face and body, and..." he cleared his throat. "When we found him, his heart had also been taken."
After hearing Detective John's comments, Scarlett began to gag and walked away from her father's body. She walked over to the table and leant against the chair to get some air.
"Was it a bear?" Turning around, Scarlett gave him a glance.
"What bear?" Detective John asked, and October became curious as she met Belly's eyes.
"Yesterday, on our way to the NBA games, I saw a bear in front of Daddy's car. It didn't look harmful, so I didn't think it would hurt us, so I told Daddy not to hit it, and he hit the tree instead."
"What? What does this bear look like?" October asked, wanting to know. "How big is it?"
"I don't know. I can't remember, but it is really big. Huge. That is all I can say."
"And the colour? What colour was it?"
"I don't know, Mother!" She averted her gaze once more and gritted her teeth firmly.
Detective John shook his head. "I don't think this is a bear's work. Something is strange here."
"Of course, it is strange!" Scarlett yelled. "My daddy vanished all of a sudden and was brought back home with his heart removed and claw marks around his body and you think that isn't strange?" She scoffed. "I need an autopsy for my daddy to find out what happened!"
Scarlett's statement shocked October. "An…A– autopsy?" October stuttered.
"Yes, Mother." Scarlett swivelled to meet her gaze. "If the result is known, we will understand the true course of dad's death."
"But we can't do that."
"Why not?"
October swallowed. Hard. She whirled around to face Belly. "Tell her, Belly."
"Tell me what?" Scarlett became curious.
"Hmm, Scarlett. Are you sure you want to go with this?" Belly asked.
"What is going on here?" Detective John asked.
October approached him. "Can we talk in private, please? What I'm about to say shouldn't be revealed to the kids."
Scarlett scoffed. "No matter what you guys have to say, I won't stop until the autopsy report on my daddy is given to me." Scarlett walked away.
When Belly noticed Scarlett climbing the stairs, she finally spoke up. "All right, detective, we'll agree to the autopsy." Belly's comments caused Scarlett to halt in place and turn, and October also turned to look at Belly in shock.
"What are you doing?" Belly was dragged into a corner as October approached her. "What are you doing?" she whispered.
"Until we provide the results to Scarlett, she won't stop. You should be the last person to be surprised by her tenacity."
"And the right thing to do was to give your consent? You of all people should know what we are dealing with here, Isabella. Your father was attacked by a werewolf and if Scarlett said it was huge, we all know who the werewolf who attacked your father was!"
"Calm down, mother." Belly noticed that everyone was staring at them as she peered over October's shoulder. "If you continue acting in this manner, they will all have suspicions. I am fully aware that the alpha did this after the detective said dad's heart wasn't there when they found him, but we also know that the alpha is seeking revenge for what Dad and the other hunters did to his parents."
October sighed. She could recall everything, but she never anticipated how quickly the alpha would find Edward after two years! "Belly, what will we do about the result and the detective? What if they found out about these big secrets? If this is revealed, the council won't be pleased with us."
Belly laughed mockingly and shook her head. "No, Mother. They're not going to be pleased with you. They won't even come for me, Mother. I am not a member of your werewolf-killing gang. I'm only 22 years old and a student." She grinned. "But do not worry, nobody will find out about anything or what we do. We just have to get the autopsy result first and change it before Scarlett or the detective finds out."
"And how do we go about doing that?" October asked.
Belly smirked. "I think I have a man for the job."