Leah gave the young Ashley a chance to hear and see what was happening, but she did not show her the vulgarity she witnessed because her mind was still young.
The child just sighed after witnessing her mother, Sharlene.
Did Dad hurt Mom? Ashley asked her sadly.
She only turned to it, and she did not answer the child's question.
Leah heard every sigh of hers. She was the only one who could hear Ashley's voice. She also learned that Sharlene gradually uncovered the entire sequence of events in her life and why her grandmother got involved.
She watched the cage of three; they were silently staring into the void, and she looked at them with lifeless eyes. She is wondering what she will do next.
They just played a while ago.
Hold my hand, Ashley. Leah is talking to Ashley's mind.
The child just nodded and followed her.
She took the child back to the past.
There was a child begging, carrying a rusty container that clinked; she was sitting by the side of the road. The little girl was holding a container that clinked.
"Young one, what's your name?" asked a woman who approached the ragged child.
"S --- Sharlene's my name." This was her response to a woman's question.
"How old are you?" asked a man.
It is still struggling to form the symbol in its hand for the number four.
The two exchanged glances; she guessed that the two were a married couple.
"Come with us." The woman said while stretching its palm.
The young girl, Sharlene, got scared.
"Don't worry, we won't hurt you." The man said to the young Sharlene.
They won the child's trust and brought her to the house; it was just a simple house, and a two-year-old child greeted them there.
"Mom, who is she?" The child asked the two who were confused, looking for Sharlene.
"She will be your older sister." The mother said. It's obvious that she's pregnant.
"Are you crazy, Linda? Where did you pick up that child?" Felicia, who still possessed a robust physique, inquired about her child.
"Mom, I just felt sorry for the child. And besides, she's kind; you could even take her with you so she can help you, right?" Linda asked the old woman, who was seething with anger.
Felicia didn't respond anymore.
"It's just an extra expense, Linda. I forced myself to support you, even after you had children." Her voice was filled with intense frustration.
Linda didn't answer anymore. The child, Sharlene, was roughly pulled and looked at closely.
"I'll borrow this child for a week; thereafter, you'll be the one to feed it again." Felicia forcefully pulled the arm of young Sharlene.
The couple who took Sharlene in just nodded.
"Be good there, okay? There, you can eat three times a day." Sharlene's known mother could only say that to her.
Because Sharlene was still naive back then, she just nodded. The child went with Felicia, but the child did not know what the outcome might be.
When little Sharlene makes a mistake, Felicia sometimes hits her, causing her to suffer unnecessary pain. Felicia locks little Sharlene in the trunk, at which point she cries because of fear.
But Linda knows what's happening, yet she is still covering up Felicia's mistake. Sharlene is starting to feel scared because Felicia is the only one she can rely on. They receive money in exchange for Sharlene's services.
Until Sharlene turned six, Linda's partner separated from her, and baby Tashia was born.
Linda entrusted Sharlene to her grandmother, Vivianne, and Tashia is on their mother's side, but life was not easy for her.
"Sister Sharlene." Vivianne, the child called out.
"Vivianne, what are you doing here? How are you and Mom doing?" Sharlene asked her sister Vivianne.
"Is Grandma here?" Vivianne asked.
Sharlene just nodded. Vivianne became her mother's refuge, asking Felicia for alms. Felicia would give to Vivianne, but her mother was always at the gambling den, where she met another man.
When Sharlene turned eight and Vivianne turned six, their mother abandoned them without warning.
Sharlene is Vivianne's refuge. Vivianne thought that Sharlene's life had become blissful with Felicia, without knowing that Sharlene was still being repeatedly mistreated by their grandmother.
Sharlene is enduring that because if she endures it, it will save her adopted sisters from hunger.
There, Felicia also started accepting clients; she helps influential people with spiritual matters. The elder has the innate ability to travel and discover the truth; there, the living conditions gradually improved.
Sharlene was in high school when she met Sheila at the private school, and Vivianne's feelings for Sharlene were gradually fading due to the jealousy she felt.
Sheila became close friends with Sharlene, and back then, she met her sister Angely and Fredrick in the city, one of Felicia's clients.
Leah saw herself— how she begged and pleaded with Felicia.
"What do I get in return for helping you, Leah?" Felicia remembered asking Leah.
"Justice, I want them all to be imprisoned!" That's all she said. "They killed me, they put me in a coffin, and they buried me alive. All the evidence is there; I will help you file a case against them." With tears streaming down her cheeks, the innocent Leah could only utter these words.
Felicia just sighed.
"Before we proceed, what offer will you make me? The people you mentioned are well-known to the public. What guarantees can you give me in return for my service?" Felicia said that back then.
"I will give you everything; I will give you my wealth." Leah only said that because she was at her peak and wanted justice at that moment.
Leah saw Felicia's smile back then.
"Take me to where you were killed," Felicia said to Leah.
Leah hopes that everything will come to an end and she can rest after achieving the justice she seeks; she helps Felicia with what she can do to assist her needs.
At the beginning, their conversation went well, until they submitted the lawsuit to the court. There, she spoke to Felicia.
Since Sharlene is Sheila's close friend, she immediately found Felicia, and they talked to her in detail.
"Justice is what Leah Martinez is shouting." Leah heard them talking back then.
"What did Leah give you?" Angely asked Felicia.
"Practical needs in a person's life." She also said. "Leah gave me her wealth." She even laughed and snorted at Angely.
"If so, we will double the wealth Leah gave you before. But help us clear Manuel's name." Angely is making a deal with Felicia at that time.
"How can I be certain I'll get that?" Felicia questioned Angely's loyalty.
Angely showed some papers and evidence. Felicia even smiled back then.
She spoke to Leah for the last time.
"Felicia, I gave you all my wealth. If that wasn't the case, please return it, as there are many others I can assist." Leah pleaded to have Felicia return the wealth that she gave.
"Leah, you have no evidence that that's what we were talking about; it's all over, Leah." Felicia stated after that Felicia left Leah.
Left alone, Leah wept quietly and felt a surge of anger in her heart.
Are you still frustrated with Grandma? That was the only question that Ashley asked her.
It's difficult to forgive, especially since your grandma broke my trust. That's all Leah used to say back then, when she remembered her past.