Under the Veil of Night

Laura's Mansion

"I'm home," Kanae said upon stepping into the living room.

The light was still on, so she thought that her sister was still awake. Upon walking to the couch in the middle of the room, she saw her sister sleeping there with mountains of paper on the table.

"Laura, what are you doing when I'm away?"

"Mmh," Laura stirred when Kanae tried to wake the young girl. It was still afternoon, but the young girl already slept so peacefully.

Kanae smiled wryly. She was pretty sure that Laura had been working very hard lately to make this girl this tired. Picking the girl up from the couch carefully, she made her way to the bedroom. The maid servants were stunned to see Kanae carried Laura like nothing, but they didn't dare to say anything.

Upon arriving in the girl's bedroom, she opened the door carefully. Seeing the mess in the room, she wondered if she came to the wrong room. Laura was pretty fond of cleanliness, while the one who often messed up the bedroom was her.

Putting her sister on the bed, she made sure that the blanket covered Laura's body. Her hand caressed the girl's head a bit, which made Laura moved her body due to the sudden interruption. Kanae spare a few seconds to watch her little sister.

"I'll surely protect you, Laura," Kanae whispered softly. "I won't leave you alone."

Laura stirred on the bed as if she heard and understood what Kanae said.

Chuckling lightly, Kanae closed the door slightly and headed to her own room. There were several papers scattered around on her table. If Laura came here, she would know that these were all the important documents for the mansion and the others. Having them in their hand would guarantee someone the full ownership of the mansion and company.

Kanae took her laptop, which she only bought not long ago. Using it to type, she made a new document and printed them out before making a copy of the documents on her table. Taking the copy plus the document she printed, Kanae put them into one map.

'I hope I won't need to resort to this.'

Kanae put it away before heading to the living room. Taking the remote, she turned the television on, and she was greeted with an astonishing piece of news.

"…Breaking news, the Doha Family, one of the four biggest families in this city has just received an attack in their main residence. The family head…."

…

Doha Family Residence

Albert, the Doha Family Head, was staring at the piece of paper on his table with a frown. He knew that the government would surely ask for him to extend his hand and helped. However, he didn't think that they would be this forceful and demanded complete submission.

The terms they stated were simply impossible for him. It was too much.

"Sir, is there anything wrong?"

"You should go home early," Albert remarked to his secretary. "There's nothing else you have to do today."

"I understand, Sir."

Albert leaned back on his chair with resigned feelings. He knew that if he didn't answer their invitation for days, they would surely come at him. Facing against them, would he have any chance?

After several minutes, he heard the alarm for the house rang. Sounds of fight came from not far from him.

'They're pretty quick.'

Albert took his phone and dialed someone. It took less than three seconds for the phone to be picked up.

"Brother, why are you calling me today?"

"Taro, where are you right now?"

"Right now?" Taro looked around him, unsure about his whereabouts. "I'm not exactly sure, but I'm not far from my own residence."

"How did you get out of your place again?"

"Brother, do you forget that I'm an expert in dressing up as a woman?"

Albert smiled wryly. Not only dressing up as a woman, Taro was able to imitate their voice perfectly, giving him a headache as the guards couldn't differentiate this man with the genuine women. As the result, Taro could roam incognito on the street.

"Anyway, Taro, I need your help."

"What is it, Brother?"

"Please take care of James."

"What?"

"I won't be able to meet with you again."

"What are you…" Taro wanted to ask more, but the call was cut off. Knowing his brother, he knew that it would be impossible for his brother to suddenly cut of a call in the middle like this. It could only mean that there was something dangerous that happen.

In the house, Albert was panting heavily. In front of him, several men were standing solemnly.

"Where's your son, James?"

Albert looked back at them with a faint smile. "Why don't you guess?"

The man was annoyed at the answer. He kicked Albert as hard as possible, sending the man into a flurry of coughs.

"He won't answer," the second man spoke up. "It won't be that hard to find that brat too. There's no way a 10 years old kid can escape far."

"You're right."

Albert's pupil contracted. However, he no longer has any strength left in his body as they dealt a powerful blow to him. In the next moment, he saw nothing but darkness.

"Search for the house and then leak out news that there's a gang that attack this place."

"Yes, Sir."

The man looked at the dead Albert with a scorn. Trying to fight them back was simply idiot. They were just asking for an early death.

…

"… The Doha Family Head, Albert Doha, is reported died. The condition of the house is completely wrecked and there are some witnesses saying that they see some scary looking people with tattoos coming inside. This hadn't been confirmed yet, but many people speculated that a local gang makes their move against the Doha Family and killed their head in the process…."

Kanae was listening with a frown. She knew far better than anyone that the defense of a house for the four big families was anything but simple. There was no way a local gang could make their way inside just like that unless they were a big gang or have a very powerful person leading.

'Could it be…'

There was only one possibility that she could think of right now. They have started to make their move.

'After Tamari Clan, it's Doha Family,' Kanae frowned. She didn't understand why they were moving so outrageously and cut off the relationship so directly. Even if she could guess that they were doing this because they were afraid of the power behind the powerful parties, was there any need to move so drastically?

In addition, they were pushing the blame to other people.

This sudden incident would surely change the face of the city very much. At the same time, she knew that the worse might be happening. They were going to attack all these influential families one by one.

Kanae looked towards her sister's room as she thought about their movement so far. From the bottom of her heart, she wished that they would not target the Nali Family too. If something happened to her sister, she knew that she would never be able to forgive them.

She would send them all to the very depths of hell!