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Nisha grinned as Arabelle grew annoyed by her antics, a grin that was quickly slapped off of her face when she insisted that she call Ezra. The way Arabelle said it made Nisha feel like she was being called out for having a bogus story, which was worrisome when it was a bogus story. As fast as it went away the smile was back, like it had just orbited her head at rapid speeds, as Nisha thought of a brilliant plan to keep up the lie while avoiding suspicion. The plan was to tell the truth. Part of it, anyway. Nisha pulled her phone out of her pocket and shook it back and forth.

[color=lightgreen]“Sorry, batteries dead. Would have no signal either way.”[/color] So there had been a silver lining for her forgetting how cellphones and power outlets worked abroad after all. It was wonderful how these things worked out. However, she was certain that Arabelle would bolt right past her if she didn’t try to help, and she didn’t want to burn anyone associated with the Vanburens yet. [color=lightgreen]“But I can still get in touch with him. Follow me!”[/color]

Without waiting for Arabelle to follow, Nisha barged through the door of the bathroom and stormed the front desk of the cafe. Before Cherry could even protest Nisha hopped over the counter, grabbed the phone, and hit the redial. 

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By the time Ezra had recovered from being lifted by a tidal wave, phased through Alexander, slammed into Georgie, and washed back towards the dining room he had almost missed seeing the entity outside. All he heard was the sound of distant laughter, a crackle of thunder, Georgie shouting at Oscar, and a nightmarish creation blipping out of existence from the corner of his eyes. He let out a low and ragged breath as he approached the broken windows, cold air biting him as it pierce through his damp clothing, and looked outside. His eyes watered as they were stung by a light breeze, all that remained of the sudden storm. There was nothing else. Terrifying. 

As the family and one of the experts filtered back into the dining room and it became clear the nutjobs had fled, Ezra took time to take care of his damp clothes by casting Masterpiece on them. The moment the spell was finished the article of clothing was completely dry, although it did nothing to mend the tears in the fabric or help with the bumps and bruises on his own body. Still, he no longer had to worry about getting a cold from the draft in the dining room. He didn’t bother assisting the others in drying their clothes. They were adults, they could see to it that they didn’t get pneumonia. Moments before everyone was accounted for Ezra excused himself, passing by Tuyen as he disappeared down the secret passage.

He made it back just as Justin and Tuyen began their official investigation. Ezra slicked back his wet hair, coughed, and found his favorite spot on the wall. Thank god it was still standing; he would’ve had a panic attack otherwise.  Ezra smiled slightly as Justin asked if the Vanburens had any enemies, a smile that faded as Sabrina suggested it was the Harrisburgs and looked at him. He noted her nervousness. Did she think he’d jump on her for suggesting that the Harrisburgs would love to see the Vanburens ruined just because they were his mother’s family? He knew for a fact they would love for something like this to happen precisely because they were his mother’s family. Only if it was them, they would’ve hired more competent goons—and more likely, they would’ve tried to publicly humiliate them and financially ruin them instead of something as boorish as murder them with giant dogs. 

Trisha suggested that maybe it was one of the Vanburens themselves who had cursed all of them. Ezra folded his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at his half-sister, perhaps in admiration for her bravery to go right out there and say it. Who benefited the most from all of the abroad Vanburens turning to statues but another Vanburen? The less siblings for them the more money they got from inheritance. Only if that was the plan it had then catastrophically failed, for as far as Ezra knew all of his siblings had avoided their ill fate. Thus, the need to escalate by hiring a bunch of whack jobs to rough everyone up under the guise of retrieving their stolen property...or perhaps by actually stealing their property to make them come attack the family. 

[color=darkgray]“I think it’s safe to say Mr. Liao that if any of us had an idea of where the curse originated from then you would not be here,”[/color] said Ezra, managing to sound more matter-of-fact than harsh. [color=darkgray]“The only thing I can say for certain is that before the curse our house wasn’t such a hotbed for weird activity. Besides that attack today, we were robbed a few weeks ago. I don’t know if they were related, or if it would have anything to do with our curse, but to me those outsiders seem like the only thread we can pull on. We track them down, maybe we get some answers. Fortunately, I have a surefire way to find out who is in this [i]cult[/i] of yours. See—”[/color]

A pained expression crossed Ezra’s face as his phone went off. He had definitely silenced it. The damn thing was haunted. He pulled out the phone, ready to turn it off, but balked when he saw the caller—it was the cafe. He had completely forgotten about his alleged sibling that had arrived in town. He held up his index finger to put Justin on pause and answered his phone, [color=darkgray]“I’m sorry, things are running long.  Could you tell her—who? Are you serious? Get an ambulance; I’ll cover it. I’ll be there in a minute to pick up the girl. Bye.”[/color]

Ezra hung up the phone and looked up at his family, [color=darkgray]“Arabelle’s injured. I’m going to make sure she’s okay. Don’t destroy the house while I’m gone and call me if anything pressing comes up. I shouldn’t be long.”[/color]

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On the other end of the line, Nisha had said: [color=lightgreen]“Ezra, it’s me. Your maid is here at the cafe and she’s injured. It looks bad. Call an ambulance? Of course. Yes, I’ll tell her.”[/color] Ezra hung up, but she continued talking,. [color=lightgreen]“Of course, brother. Well, the coffee was fantastic but the service...no nevermind, I’ll tell you about it when you get here.”[/color] She faked a laugh, caught Cherry’s eyes, and quickly glanced away, [color=lightgreen]“Oh I know, you were totally right about her. Yes, that’d probably be the best call for the store. Of course. I love you too. Can’t wait to see you again. Goodbye.”[/color]

Nisha pretended to hang up the already ended phone call and chucked the phone at Cherry, who looked as if she had started to deflate. Instantly, she perked up as Nisha barked, [color=lightgreen]“Are you stupid, woman? Ezra said to call an ambulance.”[/color] She clapped her hands together. [color=lightgreen]“Chop chop.”[/color]

Cherry jumped to it as Nisha walked around the countertop, deftly snagging two cookies as she heard the woman’s voice behind her speaking to the operator. She scarfed one down as she moved to rejoin Arabelle. In the distance, she swore she could already hear a siren. Nisha pushed open the door to the bathroom, gave the woman a wink, and held out the cookie as a peace offering as she said, [color=lightgreen]“I have taken care of everything. An ambulance is coming with your name on it and my brother is on his way. So…”[/color]Arabelle clearly wasn’t in a talking mood, but Nisha couldn’t help herself. [color=lightgreen] “How’d you fuck up your shoulder?”[/color]