Then, someone knocked on the front door. Immediately, the ladies put their index fingers in their noses. It was a little mini-game on their part around the table. Whenever a phone rang, or someone was at the door, whoever put their index fingers in their nose last must answer it.

However, the little mini-game was a ruse on Chelsea’s part. She was too proper to ever do such a thing, especially around the kitchen table. She didn’t even bother with putting her index finger in her nose. She rose out of her chair and answers the door.

Chelsea was a bit taken aback by the visitor. “Mrs. Dixon, how are you?”

“I’ve been better,” Samantha looking disheveled. As she should be. It was all very long night. One of her buildings is in ruins, and her university has been in complete chaos. Foremost, she didn’t blame the Aethereal Queen or her subordinates. They weren’t the ones who caused all this.

“You seem tired. Would you like to come in and have some breakfast?” Chelsea offered.

“No, I couldn’t. I have to meet up with the board of directors in a few hours--”

“Unacceptable. You look like you need to take a few moments for yourself. Come on, get in,” Chelsea insisted while gently tugging on Samantha’s arm as she went into the house.

“I just want to drop off something. This should help you--”

“You can tell us all about it at the table,” Chelsea escorted Samantha to the table. It was a bit surreal for Samantha watching all of them having breakfast and having a good time. There was indeed an extra seat as Samantha took one besides Selena.

“Mrs. Dixon, I am terribly sorry about your auditorium,” Lycka consoles.

“Try telling that to the board. The committee is going to eat me alive,” Samantha dreaded.

“It wasn’t your fault, ma’am. It was completely out of your control. There was nothing you could have done, things usually happen,” Cherie confirmed.

“Fuck the Syndicate! I bet they take turns shining--” Blair belching between her words, “shining the Grandmaster's knob!”

“You and me both…” Samantha begrudgingly agreed.

This caught Blair’s attention as she unintentionally stared a hole through Samantha. Blair was still out of it and didn’t know what was going on nor didn’t know the person who agreed with her. Yet she was curious about the middle-aged woman with the long face. “You look like shit, man! What the hell happened to you?”

It made Samantha a little uncomfortable, “t-thank you for having me over for breakfast. But I really need to get back and--”

“Trust me, you’re not going to lose your job anytime soon,” the Aethereal Queen reassures.

“What makes you so sure?” Samantha intrigued.

“I never told my good friend Oscar that I was a miracle worker, but one thing is for certain: You will get through this,” the Aethereal Queen winked.

Samantha knew she was against heavy odds on keeping the university together after the attacks. She couldn’t sleep at all last night. She spent most of the evening crying, and she would cry again at the table. She just couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Lycka sees this as she goes over to Samantha and gives her a great big hug. “It will be okay. If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“I don’t know why I took this job in the first place,” Samantha sobbed.

“Because you care about giving many kids, the haven they deserve to pursue their dreams,” Selena answered. “A real leader doesn’t concede after the first big mistake. A true leader learns from it and becomes better. Some things are just out of your control and are up to you as a leader to make the best of it.”

Samantha wiped her tears away as she started to come down from her depression. “This was so overwhelming for me.”

“As it should be, but doesn’t mean you should give up,” Serena reassures. “Legacies are not made up of brick and mortar, Mrs. Dixon. You will rebuild and leave another legacy behind. Just make sure that your next legacy remains intact, and the last one will never be forgotten.”

Samantha started to feel better as she took a deep breath. “Okay, I just have to believe.”

“There’s a difference between saying it and doing it. Just make sure you do,” Serena said with conviction.

“Well, I just want to leave you this. It’s the security camera footage that I obtained from our surveillance room in our research facility. You can’t be too careful, you don’t want any thievery. It gives us a bad name,” Samantha said as she pulled out a jump drive and handed it to Chelsea.

Chelsea then hands it to Cherie. “We will look at it.”

“I saw the footage myself, it was too weird… You’ll see for yourself…” Samantha warned as she rises up from the table. “I really must be going--”

“But you just got here, and you haven’t eaten anything,” Chelsea reminded him.

“No, I really have to go…, ” Samantha insisted. Chelsea held her as Samantha was visibly shaken.

“Mrs. Dixon, when a friend said about being a difference between saying it and doing it. There is a lot of truth to those words. But at the end of the day, we all want you to take care of yourself. You won’t be good for anyone if you break apart like this. Can you promise me that?”

“I will.” Samantha nodded as she addressed the six. “Thank you all, and God bless you.” Samantha slowly walks away from the table and sees her way out of the house.

“That girl is broken…” Blair stated the obvious as she took a huge gulp of her coffee.

“You can’t really blame her being that way after last night,” Chelsea rejoined everyone at the table.

“After breakfast, I’ll look at the footage on the jump drive. Maybe then, will get something out of the drones as well,” Cherie planned.

Suddenly, Selena’s smartphone rings. She looked at the caller ID, and she had to answer it immediately, “Logan speaking… Dr. Harker, yes, I remember you… So, I heard… Okay, after I have my breakfast… Okay… Thank you, Dr. Harker.” Afterward, she hung up.

“You mean that fat bitch who got in our faces yesterday?” Blair remembered.

“She wants to meet me at her office around 1 o’clock,” Selena announced. “That gives me enough time to come up with a strategy.”

“What strategy?” The Aethereal Queen being curious.

“She is a biology professor at this university so she may know a thing or two about ‘wolves’ in general,” Selena explained.

“Good plan,” the Aethereal Queen praised, munching on an apple slice.