41. John 316
Chapter forty-one
John 3:16
Moni
My pulse roared in my ears.
Leo gazed at me and smiled.
It wasn’t a smile that brought warmth or reassurance.
It was a slow, creeping thing, like something slithering out from beneath a rock.
His lips curled upward, but it didn’t reach his eyes—those remained cold, calculating, void of any human emotion.
The smile was all sharp edges.
Broken glass glinting in the shadows, cutting through my fragile moment of calm.
“Ah, Lei.” Leo kept that creepy ass smile on his face. “You’ve come just in time… I’ve been waiting for you.”
A chill run down my spine and my fingers twitched at my sides.
That smile—God, that smile.
It wasn’t human.
It was the kind of smile a predator gives right before sinking its teeth into soft, helpless flesh.
And I realized with horror that Leo was enjoying this. He was reveling in the terror coming off us.
Lei spoke, “How did you get back into the East after you left? The gates are closed.”
“Oh yes. The gates are in fact closed.” Leo bobbed his head. “The problem is. . .my car left. . .but I didn’t.”
Shivering, I made sure to keep the fear out of my voice. “TT, Banks wanted to say goodbye to you before he left. Can you go down there and give him a big hug?”
“Not just yet.” Leo gently placed his hand on her shoulder to keep her there. “We have to show you the map.”
“There’s so much that we learned.” TT touched it, barely able to keep the excitement out of her voice. “You see these things right here?”
TT's little fingers danced over the puzzle, tracing the delicate woodwork as she turned to me with that proud, innocent smile. “See, Moni?"
“Y-yeah.”
“At first when I solved this an hour ago, I was stumped. I thought it was just weird words and numbers at first. But Uncle Leo helped me. He showed me that they were Bible verses.”
My heart clenched as I looked down at faint inscriptions that wound across the wooden pieces.
TT pointed to the center of the puzzle. “This one says John 3:16. That’s in the Bible.”
I glanced at the writing and there it was, etched into the blade. The familiar verse, hidden in plain sight. "Yeah. . .it is.”
I put my view back on Leo and his hand on her shoulder.
Leo smiled, that cold, calculating smile. “And what does John 3:16 say, TT?”
Without hesitation, she recited, “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ”
"Fascinating.” Leo shook his head. “She only heard that verse once. Her ability to recall things with such ease is frightening.”
Song bobbed his head and ate another piece of cobbler.
“This is more than intelligence.” Leo moved his hand and that was when I spotted the tiny blade peeking out from under the hand on TT’s shoulder.
Ooo Goddd. . .why do you have that blade so close to her?
Lei clearly saw it too because he went stiff next to me.
Leo widened that terrifying smile. “She read that verse once and now speaks it with perfect clarity. It is a gift from God. It is good that I got to spend time with her this evening.”
My skin crawled.
TT blinked, her smile faltering slightly as if unsure of how to react to the praise.
Trying to lighten the mood, TT continued, pointing at another part of the puzzle. “The verse is a clue.”
I swallowed. “What sort of clue?”
“The verse could symbolize that finding the treasure requires a form of sacrifice or. . .deep faith.” TT scratched her head. “But. . .I think it’s some sort of sacrifice like. . .you might have to cut yourself and drip blood for something to open or. . .maybe someone has to die.”
A dark chuckle left Leo. “Now that would be interesting indeed. I almost want to stay a little bit longer to help out, but I will have to see how this plays out from heaven.”
Then, he put his view on Lei. “Or hell. . .as my son said.”
And now I understood why that smile had not reached his eyes.
Leo truly hadn’t appreciated what Lei had said on the phone about his mother hating him and Leo dying in hell.
Was his messing up the fun of the cookout his way of revenge?
So obsessed with the treasure mystery, TT continued, “Either way, this is a map of Crownsville which is at the bottom of Dream Lake. And the treasure is located on one of the missing daggers. We need six more to finish it.”
“But with those verses, you may find the treasure without the missing daggers,” Leo added. “Never underestimate your brain.”
I forced myself to smile for her sake, nodding along.
But inside, I was spiraling. “Well. . .this is so dope, TT. You did it and I’m so proud. Go get Chloe and Jo so we can show them too.”
TT gave me a sad smile. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because Leo has a plan.”
My eyes widened in fear as a cold sweat broke out across my forehead.
Before I could respond, Lei stepped forward. Every inch of him vibrated with barely contained fury. His eyes burned into Leo as if he were ready to tear him apart right then and there.
Leo held up his other hand. “Stay where you are, son.”
Lei growled. “What are you planning to do?”
Leo tilted his head, still smiling that twisted, horrifying way. “Oh, son. The plan. . .well, it’s already begun.”
“That sounds like something a villain would say. Be better, father.”
“Every story needs a villain. They serve a purpose.” Leo shrugged. “Without someone to challenge the hero. . .without someone to push him to his limits. . .where’s the growth? Where’s the struggle ?”
Lei sneered. “Let TT go downstairs.”
“The hero doesn’t become a hero unless there’s a villain forcing them to rise, to change, to fight for what they believe in.” Leo winked. “You can’t just always electric slide your way to a happy ending.”
Those words shattered me.
Leo continued, “Villains force the heroes to confront their fears, their weaknesses, and ultimately themselves.”
TT didn’t look at me.
Instead, she watched Lei.
What is going through your mind, sis?
“This isn’t some fictional story, Father.” Lei sighed. “This is real life. Don’t be the monster.”
“I serve a purpose and my plan tonight serves one too.” Leo put his view on me and that creepy smile left his face. In its place was a warm, yet sad one. “Moni. . .do you want to see Lei become the man he’s meant to be?”
“He’s already that man.”
“Not just yet, Moni.” Leo shook his head. “You want to see him take his rightful place as Mountain Master, truly claim his throne? This means he needs someone to stand in his way. Someone to show him what’s at stake.”
“Leo. . .” I chose my words carefully. “He already knows what’s at stake.”
“He’s dancing instead of training.”
“That helps him know the beauty of life and fight for it tomorrow.”
Leo considered that. “Hmmm. That is a good point.”
I gave him a sad smile. “I say that you leave the East in peace and let us—”
“That would be nice, but now Lei won’t let me leave unless. . .”
I tensed.
Lei got in front of me. “Unless what? You have a hostage?”
Leo pointed at him. “I told you to stay where you are. Please go back.”
“Why, father? Are you scared for me to get too close?”
“No, but my blade is. . .” With that, Leo revealed more of the blade laying on my sister’s little shoulder.
I raised my hand. “L-leo, please don’t hurt her.”
TT put her view on me. “I don’t think he will hurt me, Moni. I think he’s just using me as a way to control you both.”
“Very smart.” Leo nodded. “She’s right. And do I have proper control of you two?”
My voice went low. “Y-yes.”
Song finished the last piece of cobbler and then had the nerve to start licking the fucking plate.
Hey, man. Get your fucking brother!
I wanted to slap his ass.
Leo spoke, “Son, go over to the bookshelf and pick up the iPad.”
“Why?”
“I want you to see something.”
“See what?”
“Information is important.” Leo held up the opened bible to us and pointed to the highlighted verse. “There’s a verse you should be aware of: Galatians 6:7.”
Lei didn’t go over to the iPad.
Instead, he glared, “Father, let TT and Moni go and—”
“TT, what does Galatians 6:7 say?”
She blinked. “‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’”
Leo’s eyes glinted with dark amusement. “That is on the map too. What an interesting clue for the Crownsville Bandit to put on there. I bet she is talking about secrets. Things that bad men did that will now come up again.”
TT looked down at the map as if already piecing together something new from Leo’s words.
Meanwhile, Leo continued, “Son, go look at the iPad. I wouldn’t want you making any mistakes in this room. A mistake in here could result in that having a bad rippling effect outside of this house.”
I trembled. “What?”
I didn’t like where this was going. There was something in Leo’s voice—something that felt like a threat wrapped in a Bible verse.
Reluctantly, Lei moved toward the bookshelf, yet his gaze never left Leo.
Seconds later, he reached for the iPad and the second the screen lit up, I saw his entire body tense.
Lei whispered, “No, Father. No.”
What?
Slowly, I stepped closer, peering at the screen over Lei’s shoulder.
Oh my God.
My blood turned to ice.
The screen showed Dima sitting on the carousel in the garden, bound by ropes to a bench. His usually calm face was contorted with emotion.
Next to him sat Rose, equally bound by rope to that bench. Her expression was tense and sad, but she surely was trying to hold herself together.
And that carousel rotated slowly, the bright and cheerful horses bobbing up and down, while tons of blue robed monks surrounded it with guns and many of the weapons’ points were aimed at Rose’s head.
However that wasn’t the horrifying part.
What chilled me to the bone and fucking ruined me. . .was the sight of the dead white cat lying limp in Dima’s lap.
Enraged, I shook my head. “Leo, w-why do that to the cat?”
“It was self-defense. Dima didn’t appreciate them pointing the gun at Rose and took out four of my men so fast all I could do was shoot the little cat in its head.”
I turned to him.
Leo shrugged. “Something had to get his attention. It was either the cat or the female reporter. Which would you have preferred?”
I looked back at the iPad.
Now, tears streamed down Dima’s face as he gently stroked the dead cat’s fur.
Lei gripped that iPad hard. “What the fuck do you want, Father?”
“Do not curse in front of the child.”
We both turned back at Leo and glared.
Was he fucking serious?
Lei raised his voice. “What? Do? You? Want?!!”