The sounds of voices speaking in a hushed manner roused Leona from a rather peculiar slumber. How did she find herself inside when she last remembered having been outside not long after leaving the safety of the school bus?

Leona stood in the pouring rain, confusion written on her face. Why were the police at her home? Did her mom or dad get into some type of trouble? Maybe it was one of the neighbors-

"Are you Leona De la Croix?"

She was pulled back to reality by a gruff, orotund voice to her left. Tearing her eyes away from the police lights, she saw that the voice in question was a man in his early twenties, holding an umbrella to keep himself from getting soaked.

"Yes, that is me," Leona croaked. "Who are you?"

"I am Detective Morgan, and I apologize to be the one to bear bad news-"

"Bad news? What happened?"

The detective sighed, knowing that this was going to break the poor girl's heart.

"At eleven thirty-seven this morning, there was a report of a break-in at your home. When the authorities arrived, there was no evidence of anything having been taken from the home, but there were signs of a struggle-”

“You’re lying!” she’d snap at him as tears began to form in her eyes. “This must be some kind of joke. My parents wouldn’t let something like this happen.”

“Miss, I assure you that this a serious matter.”

Reality suddenly took hold. Someone had broken into her home while she was getting her high school education, and it seems that her parents had decided to stop by at the wrong time. What were they doing that required them to come home early?

“Leona?”

The sixteen-year-old blinked, her thoughts having been interrupted for the third time that day. She searched for the source of the strange voice and found its owner not too long after. Sitting in one of the armchairs nearby was a slim woman who was almost a splitting image of her mother. The only thing that shattered the illusion was a streak of white hair.

“Who are you?” Leona asked without hesitation. “Are you a doppelgänger of my mother?”

The woman in question chuckled quietly.

“No dear,” she replied. “I’m Vivian, your mother’s twin.”

Leona sat up quickly, trying to make herself look slightly more presentable.

“I never knew my mother had a sister, much less a twin.”

“Natasha didn’t think that it was necessary for you to know anything about her past, which isn’t a surprise, if I were to be honest,” Vivian explained. “Neither of us really had a chance at real freedom until we became adults.”

Leona only stared at the woman, getting more and more confused at the second.

“We can talk about that at a later time, if you like. You probably want to know why I’m here and not Detective Morgan.”

“Yes, if I had to be frank.”

Vivian looked over her shoulder at something Leona was unable to catch sight of and sighed before facing her niece once more.

“Your mother wanted me to take guardianship of you, as she had a feeling that your father was hiding something from the both of you. Something that could have put you in danger.”