Chapter 67 : The Old Photograph

Rakiza sat on the floor with her legs crossed. She had a box of white chalk by her side, one piece of which she was holding. Rakiza and Veronica's names were written in chalk on the floor. She wanted to connect other names in their names, so she wrote Joseph Zanier, her grandfather's name.
"What exactly is this?" Rakiza murmured. “What was the name of my father's?" She frowned. This was the first time she had turned her attention to her family. Then she realized there were only a few of them in a family. She couldn't recall the names of any other relatives.
Chin was sitting on the chair, her hands occupied with something on the table. She was chopping up leaves with a pestle and mortar. She occasionally looked at Rakiza. Lupe had an errand to run and was gone for an hour.
"Do you have trouble remembering the names of your relatives?" Chin was worried.
"I couldn't think of a name." Rakiza said solemnly and frustratedly, "I now realize that I have no relatives other than my mother and grandfather."
"What? That's not possible! "Exclaimed Chin. "All right, let me ask. What is the name of your mother?"
Rakiza replied, "Veronica Zanier."
"What is your father's name?"
"I don't know," Rakiza said, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Oh, my. You don't know who your father was? " Chin frowned.
Rakiza recalled: "My mother told me that my father left us when I was a toddler. And she never mentioned my father's name. She was hurt, and she wanted to bury him with his name forever. I asked her one day about my father's family name, but she just said *Forget about your father; he didn't exist.* And now I'm wondering who my father was. How ironic. I assumed he was unimportant, as my mother had told me."
Chin lowered the mortar and pestle to the floor. "All right, forget about your father's side. Take your mother's relatives. Who is your mother's father? "
Rakiza pointed to the name written on the floor. "Zanier, Joseph."
"What was the name of your grandmother?" Chin inquired, eager to learn.
"I'm not sure," Rakiza mumbled.
"What?" exclaimed Chin. "You don't know what your grandmother's name is?"
Rakiza was dissatisfied. She slammed the chalk down and stood up. She paced back and forth on the floor, restless.
"This is ridiculous," muttered Rakiza, "why didn't mother have a name with our relatives? Why was she withholding all of their names from me? Why was she avoiding our family members? I haven't had any relatives visit me on my birthday since I was a child. What happened to them? Who exactly are they? And how come there are only three of us? "
Chin tried to console her by saying, "Wait, Rakiza. Take it easy. You must recall other men or women in your life, some friends. Your grandfather's or your mother's friend. Can you recall a consistent person in your life? "
"My mother doesn't have close friends," Rakiza said to Chin. "She had a trust problem. Perhaps because of my father."
"Why don't you ask your mother?" Chin suggested. "She's the only one who could fill in the blanks, Rakiza."
Rakiza sighed painfully, "She's not capable of saying sensible things, Chin. She was now in my adversary's hands and was becoming a vampire. She is the reason I need to know how to cure vampires with my blood or whatever I have. I'd like to help my mother. And getting to the truth requires digging into the past. "
"You're correct." Chin said, "And now that we've arrived at your home, maybe we should start by looking through your mother's closet. Look for something that has a connection to your ancestors."
"Follow me," Rakiza said as she led Chin to the second floor and into her mother's room.
The room was pitch black. It was freezing and eerie. Rakiza switched on the light, and both she and Chin searched the room. Rakiza opened the cupboard, while Chin excitedly opened all the drawers. They piled all of the papers onto the bed for Rakiza to go over. It took them about 30 minutes before Rakiza noticed an old photograph of a building. "Exactly what is this?"
"That building was too familiar," Chin said after catching a glimpse of it.
"I don't recall anything about this building." Rakiza mumbled, "But because it was kept in my mother's belongings, it seemed important to her."
Chin took Rakiza's picture and stared intently at it. "This is something I'm very familiar with, Rakiza."
"Please, Chin, try to remember it." Rakiza asked.
"I'm trying," Chin said, holding her head. "Please give me more time because I couldn't figure it out. But I knew I'd been in that building; I just don't remember when or why. "
Rakiza was driven to discover the truth. She hadn't asked her mother about her father's name or background in a long time. But Veronica refused to reveal it, as if she was hiding something. However, the reason for her father's identity must be revealed today. She needed to know her ancestors. She must be aware of her blood and why vampires are desperate to extract all of her blood from her body. Tessa Augustus must have a compelling reason to do so.
And she needs to know sooner rather than later to avoid further harm. And she was intrigued by what Tessa Augustus had done to her blood and Nikolas.
***
The dark room abruptly opened, and a woman's silhouette stood at the door. Tessa Augustus was checking on her son.
Nikolas was sleeping in his bed, very weak. He was on a hunger strike. Cups of blood were spoiled and smelled rotten.
Tessa directed her companion guard to clean the room before she entered. "What have you done to yourself, Nikolas? Are you willing to die for that girl? " She sat on the chair beside her son's bed.
Nikolas was on his side and turned his back on his mother, and he didn't even acknowledge her first appearance in his cell room. He knew he had to break his mother's tough heart before she would give in to him. But, because of the bloodstone and Rakiza, Tessa Augustus may be unbreakable to her son.
"And now you don't even want to see my face," Tessa murmured. "What you've done is treasonous, my son. Helping the enemy escape is punishable by death, Nikolas. And in order for you to avoid death, you must assist me in recovering the cure. Rakiza must be recaptured because the last drop of her blood contains the cure."
Nikolas remained silent.
"So you adore Rakiza more than you adore me, your mother?"
"I love you both. I just don't want her killed because of our day and night ambition to conquer the world," Nikolas said.
"So, you'll die for treason," Tessa raged as she exited the room, and the room went dark again.
Nikolas' eyes were turning dark. His body needed new blood to regain strength, but he had no intention of telling his mother what he knew about Rakiza.
***
When Lupe arrived, Rakiza was alone in the living room, staring silently at the picture of the old building they discovered in her mother's bedroom.
"I'm sorry I was late," Lupe apologized as he carried fast food to the living room table. "You have to eat."
Rakiza moved to the side of the table and showed Lupe the picture of the building. "Do you know anything about this building, Lupe?"
Lupe took the picture from Rakiza's grasp and stared at it for a few moments. "I recognize this structure. I've been there twice. "
Rakiza was shocked by what Lupe told her. "Are you familiar with this building?"
Luped nodded.
Rakiza exclaimed, "Oh my, you're truly an angel to me, Lupe." Rakiza pleaded, "tell me what this building is and where we can find it. This is a good thing. This is going to be great. Lupe, where can we find this structure? "
"Can you tell me where you got that picture?" Lupe inquired.
"It's in my mother's room." Rakiza added, "It's in her drawer."
"This isn't far from here, Rakiza," Lupe began to reveal. "This is an old orphanage structure."
Rakiza was shaken when she learned about the building. She froze, afraid to delve deeper into why her mother had kept such a picture. *Veronica's drawer contained an orphanage structure. Why?*
Lupe could sense what Rakiza was feeling and pitied her because she was about to go through a difficult period in her life.
"How did you find out about this building?" Rakiza inquired.
"I was driving Sir Nikolas Augustus at that time to that place," Lupe recalled, adding. "At the time, I was a little younger."
"And what's his reason for going to that building?" Rakiza inquired.
Lupe looked at her for a few moments before responding. "I'm not sure, but I have an idea."
"What are you implying?"
"Sir Nokilas was looking for someone who worked at the orphanage." Lupe narrated, "His mother sent him there to inquire about something."
"Please, Lupe, take me to that orphanage," pleaded Rakiza. "Now!"