On the 24th of September, West, the leader of The House Of Izhar stumbled upon a letter placed in the centre of the dining table. Being semi-illiterate, he calls upon his trustful companion, Sorian to read it out to him. To his horror, he decided to summon the rest of his members.
'The House Of Izhar' the letter read. 'We told you to come, West Izhar. Why did you have to end our last visit so abruptly? A couple of buddies and I are going to spend the 15th afternoon of this month catching up and you're invited. We'll be there at 3 pm sharp at [X,X,X]. The usual spot. Also, your beloved sister had me tell you that she misses a lot of you and that she would wish to see you all one last time before she flies. Let's end our dispute properly, once and for all. Lots of Love, Alicia.'
"This is bad."
"You kidding?! This is horrible!" Birdie added qualmly.
West paced around back and forth impatiently. "Comb each and every corner of this entire boat!" He ordered. "Sorian, I want all the Connallys and Jackal to be seated in this room as the boats are being searched."
We split up ourselves into pairs of two. Avery and Birdie, Mat and Harry and finally, Rocket and I.
"Who could've written this letter?" Rocket bit his nails as we surveyed the area.
"I don't know. Come on," I beckoned, "Help me search the sides. Maybe the messenger might've climbed abroad overnight." We checked for wet prints.
"We got to hurry!" Rock raised his voice against the wind. "The storm is approaching; it might wash up all the marks!"
We quickened our pace. Rock boosted me up to check higher platforms. We checked for dents or scratches on the boat's handlebars which might indicate a gadget being used to climb over. However, we could not uncover a single trace. They were good. The rain came hailing down with no mercy. Rock and I returned inside before we both were completely soaked.
It turned out, that we were the last pair to return and we came back just in time to witness the eldest Izhar cross-examining the Connally's and Jackal one by one, strand by strand.
West chose his words carefully. Making sure not to leak more than he needs to. "Let me ask this again, has anyone seen a suspicious figure delivering this letter?" Nobody answered.
"Let me read that letter," Alex extended his hand outward. West reluctantly gave it to him. His children, wife and Jackal leaned towards him to read the letter. Alex's eyes widened, probably understanding the severity of his actions.
"That's it?" Brooke remarked. "You've had us sit here for an hour and a half because you're mad at an invitation?"
"It's more than that, Brooke," his father said.
"The big question is, how did that letter get here when we're in the middle of the ocean?" Sorian pointed out.
"I say West just goes."
We all cocked our heads towards the voice. Judy has never spoken a single word until now. Come to think of it, she barely spoke to any of us at all.
"This lady here," she points to Alicia's name. "She seems like she wants to resolve whatever this is."
Alex and the eldest Izhar looked at each other and for the first time... they shared the same concern in their eyes. Afraid of what's going to happen next.
YOU ARE READING
The House of Izhar
ActionFather gone, mother in a coma, Morgan Izhar, a thirteen-year-old girl was a mistake. Raised by her seemingly simple aunts and uncles who own a small bar downtown. Except they're not so simple. When the eldest sends her and her uncle away to a school...
