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WD - Chapter 199: Shadyside Realty
🕑 Added 2025-01-21 16:11:57 +0000 UTCLuke arrived at Shadyside Realty at 5:34 PM. It was a two-story building with a normal, well-maintained appearance. The entrance was a set of double glass doors, and as he pushed them open, the faint sound of a bell could be heard.
'There’s air conditioning,' Luke thought, noticing the change in temperature. The atmosphere inside was cool and comfortable.
He walked up to a counter where a man was staring at his computer, watching a video from a viral YouTuber. His job wasn’t particularly demanding—attending to potential clients who wanted to rent or buy a property and directing them to the real estate agents. The rest was administrative work, making his job quite monotonous.
Luke stood there, observing the man, who was wearing headphones and giving 100% of his attention to his monitor. When the man noticed a shadow looming over him, he turned his head, and what he saw made his mouth form a small “O.”
'Here we go again...' Luke thought, starting to feel annoyed.
The employee flinched slightly, yanking off his headphones and nearly spilling his coffee on the keyboard.
“H-hi… What do you need?” the guy asked, unable to take his eyes off the blonde girl standing in front of him.
“I’m looking for Mrs. Whitmore,” Luke replied.
He was about to offer an excuse—it would seem odd for a teenager to want to speak to a real estate agent—but the employee clumsily got up from his chair and said, “F-follow me, I’ll take you to her!”
'That was easy...' Luke thought. At least his appearance was useful for making others act servilely without him having to talk much or resort to using his mental powers.
They walked until they stopped in front of a sleek black door with a spotless silver nameplate that read Elizabeth Whitmore. The employee knocked softly twice, and after a few seconds, a voice from the other side said, “Come in.”
“Mrs. Elizabeth, this girl is here to see you,” the employee said. The middle-aged woman, who exuded a professional air, looked up from the papers she was reviewing and locked eyes with Luke.
Her eyebrows rose slightly, a subtle expression of surprise at the flawless features of the young girl who had entered her office.
Luke was surprised by Elizabeth's composure and professionalism. Most people were left gaping the first time they saw him.
“Oh, you must be one of Lucy’s daughters… Tuesday, right?” Elizabeth asked in a calm tone.
“Yes… How did you know?” Tuesday asked, stepping into the office with a raised eyebrow.
On their first day in Shadyside, Natasha had stopped the car in front of the real estate office to meet Elizabeth and pick up the keys to the house they had rented. However, Luke and Wednesday had stayed in the car, so they had never met Elizabeth.
Elizabeth offered a small smile and said, “My son, Elias, is in the same grade as you and became friends with your sister.”
“Elias?” Luke repeated, trying to recall if Wednesday had ever mentioned a boy by that name. As he thought, he sat down in the chair across from Elizabeth without asking or waiting to be invited.
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, though her expression remained friendly. “Yes, Elias. I doubt he caught much of your attention; he’s pretty reserved, always buried in his books or working on some project. A brainy one,” she said with a touch of maternal pride.
“Mm, I see,” Luke replied in a neutral tone.
“So, what brings you here? Is it about the house? Is there something wrong?” Elizabeth asked.
Luke glanced toward the employee, who was still standing by the door, staring at him.
“Stuart, you can go now,” Elizabeth said, following Luke’s gaze.
Stuart flinched slightly, snapping back to reality. “Oh, y-yes, sorry,” he stammered before quickly leaving and closing the door behind him.
“Well?” Elizabeth asked, turning her attention back to Tuesday. But this time, she noticed a different look in the girl’s eyes—a cold, icy gaze. Before she could fully process it, her vision blurred, and she lost consciousness.
Luke used his telekinesis to gently lower Elizabeth’s head onto the desk, ensuring there was no commotion.
'Time to work,' thought Luke as he prepared to navigate through memories. He estimated he had about ten to fifteen minutes—any longer, and it would seem suspicious for him to stay so long in a real estate agent's office.
Ten minutes later.
'Nothing... What a waste of time,' thought Luke, crossing his arms.
All he found were trivial memories: Elizabeth talking to clients, showing houses, signing contracts, cooking for her son, Elias. The ordinary life of a typical normie.
There was nothing shady about the acquisition or rental of properties by the real estate agency—at least not when it came to Elizabeth. She wasn't an outcast either.
To be sure, Luke decided to use an ability he hadn’t tapped into in a while: his Eye of Truth.
In seconds, a third eye naturally appeared on his forehead—a gray eye.
"A normie..." Luke murmured, shaking his head in disappointment.
Quickly, Luke modified a few of Elizabeth's memories so that when she woke up, she wouldn’t suspect anything and would believe she’d been conscious the entire time.
The last conscious memory she would have was of Luke’s calm gaze, as though nothing unusual had occurred. From there, he reconstructed the conversation as if it had continued uninterrupted.
He implanted a memory of Tuesday acting like the spoiled, arrogant girl she was, disdainfully complaining about the house her mother had rented, calling it "too plain" and beneath her standards.
'That should do it... Now, wake up,' thought Luke.
Elizabeth began blinking slowly, feeling a slight dizziness as if she’d been lost in thought for too long. Lifting her head, she found Tuesday wearing an impatient expression.
“Well, I think that’ll be all,” said Luke in a curt tone, looking at Elizabeth with a mix of disdain and boredom.
Elizabeth straightened in her seat, shaking off the lingering strange feeling in her mind. Her face resumed its professional, though slightly tense, expression.
“Yes… if we find a house that meets your needs, I’ll call your mother. If she agrees…” she said, her tone somewhat awkward.
“Perfect,” Luke replied, heading for the door. He opened it and exited the office.
As he walked through the building toward the exit, Luke came across a boy he recognized instantly.
'Elias,' he thought, identifying the boy who had appeared in so many of Elizabeth's memories.
He gave Eliasa one-second glance and lost interest. Just another normie—and a shy bookworm at that.
Elias watched Tuesday as she left the office, his eyes fixed on her figure until she disappeared entirely from view.
He didn’t like Tuesday, even though he’d never spoken to her directly.
According to Jenna—a recent friend, or so Elias liked to think—the stories she told about Tuesday weren’t exactly flattering. According to Jenna, Tuesday was the worst of the sisters: arrogant, haughty, and always manipulating everyone around her.
She used her popularity at school to get out of any trouble, relying entirely on her charm and unstoppable attitude. Elias wasn’t sure if he believed everything Jenna said, but seeing Tuesday in person only made those stories seem more believable.
He frowned, annoyed by the girl’s presence. He couldn’t understand how someone could be so brazen and still get away with it. 'Oh, right, because of her looks, tsch,' he thought, stepping into his mother’s office.
He also couldn’t understand how Jenna could be related to someone like Tuesday. Jenna was the complete opposite if you got to know her: intelligent, kind, and hardworking. How could two sisters be so vastly different in personality?
“What was Tuesday doing here?” Elias asked, his irritation evident.
“Not even a hello for your mother?” Elizabeth murmured, glancing at her son.
“Hi, Mom… So, what was that girl doing here?” he repeated.
“She just came to complain that the house her mother rented is a dump compared to their previous home in Los Angeles,” Elizabeth replied, shaking her head.
“I had to endure her complaints and condescending looks for ten minutes. She barely let me get a word in. A spoiled and haughty girl, it seems,” she added.
“Yeah, I know. I don’t understand how Jenna can be her sister,” Elias scoffed with disdain. “I don’t like her. She’s not a good influence on Jenna,” he added.
“That’s family business, and it’s none of our concern,” Elizabeth said as she picked up some papers she had been working on earlier.
Still, her mind briefly drifted back to a moment—a single look from Tuesday before the spoiled complaints about the house began.
A cold, piercing look, entirely different from the arrogant and bratty attitude she displayed during their conversation.
That serene and icy gaze reminded her vaguely of someone else—someone with the eyes of a person who had stained their hands with blood. Someone dangerous.
A chill ran down Elizabeth’s spine, but she quickly dismissed it and shook her head slightly.
“Impossible… she’s just a spoiled brat,” she thought, discarding the absurd idea.
