Marvel's Princess - Chapter 76

“More deaths? Are you saying this house is a haunted house?” Charlie asked cautiously.

The house was indeed cheap, but he wasn’t about to risk their lives for it. Moreover, his instincts as a police officer told him there might be a deeper, possibly criminal, reason behind the house’s history.

Dr. Harmon quickly interjected, “I wouldn’t say it’s haunted. We don’t know much about the previous owners. You are the police; don’t you trust your own investigations? There haven’t been any death reports, just a few missing persons cases on record. We’re selling the property for personal reasons. I’m a psychologist, and my wife recently had a miscarriage. Both of us have been under a lot of stress, but it’s unrelated to the house. Oh, my daughter is home as well. You can ask her how she feels about living here.”

Despite the offer, Charlie and the others never met the daughter. She stayed behind closed doors, claiming she had a headache and didn’t want to see anyone. They didn’t push it further. After all, they were there to view the house, not interrogate its residents.

“Goodbye, Doctor.”

“Goodbye, Detective.”

After a polite exchange, the group headed out. Natasha suddenly pointed towards a corner of the property. “There’s a woman watching us.”

Turning to look, they saw an elderly woman peeking at them from her own yard. She looked quite old, with high cheekbones and heavy eye bags but dressed stylishly. Her hair was carefully styled, and her face showed signs of heavy skincare use. She wore a floral dress, a fashionable handbag over her arm, and brown high heels.

The group wasn’t easily intimidated after having fought through a horde of giant spiders. They walked over casually, with Charlie greeting her in a friendly manner, “Ma’am, is there something you need?”

“If you move into that house, you’ll die. You’ll all die! Here’s a piece of advice, stay away from it!” The old woman’s voice was full of menace as if their presence violated some unspoken rule.

Her tone was provoking, prompting Charlie and Samantha to show their badges and the guns at their waists simultaneously. “LAPD! What do you mean by that? Can you explain? What do you know about this house?”

“I don’t know anything! I was just joking, trying to scare you!” The old woman showed a brief flash of panic. She hadn’t heard the earlier conversation between Dr. Harmon and Charlie and was shocked to realize they were police officers.

Without another word, she hurried back into her house, slamming the door behind her and refusing to open it again.

Charlie and Samantha exchanged glances but decided not to force their way in. They were new to the area and wanted to avoid any rash actions.

“Let’s go, we can look at the other houses,” Charlie suggested.

By evening, Charlie and Samantha returned to their rented apartment to “rest.”

There was a bit of a spark between the two like dry tinder catching fire. They couldn’t relax properly in Tucson, where everyone was grieving over their losses. Engaging in intimate activities felt wrong amidst such sorrow. But no one knew them in Los Angeles, and they felt no such constraints.

Meanwhile, Bella and Natasha had to give them space, resorting to wandering around outside.

Passing by a dark grove, Natasha suddenly got the idea to spar with Bella.

“Go all out? Can your little frame handle my full strength?”

“Really? Okay, here I come. If you can’t take it, you can call it off anytime.”

“Ouch! Loosen your grip! You’re choking me!”

While Natasha remained mostly silent, Bella kept yelping.

Testing her recent training, Natasha went all out. She pressed her left hand against Bella’s neck, then used her body weight to swing her right leg over Bella’s shoulder, wrapping her legs around Bella’s neck while using her hands to punch her.

Bella, having never encountered such a move, was caught off guard. Unable to think of a counter, she resorted to brute force, grabbing Natasha by the neck and slamming her into a tree.

Natasha nearly vomited from the impact, while Bella struggled to breathe from the tight grip around her waist.

“Can’t breathe!”

“Again!”

“Is this karate? Where did you learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?”

“You have a good eye!”

“Ouch! Not my waist again!”

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was effective, especially for smaller, agile fighters against stronger opponents. Bella fit the “strong opponent” category perfectly, getting thoroughly outmaneuvered by Natasha’s techniques and ending up sore and exhausted. However, still perfecting her moves, Natasha wasn’t left unscathed either.

They staggered back to the apartment, supporting each other.

Over the next few days, the family continued house hunting by day and either sparring or enjoying their time together by night.

Natasha’s combat skills improved at an alarming rate, and Bella, serving as her sparring partner, picked up a few moves herself. They were both enjoying their physical and intellectual growth.

After much consideration, Charlie and Samantha still favored the haunted house. It was large, well-structured, and had recently been renovated by the Harmon couple.

Buying it meant they could move in immediately. The house was in good shape, but most importantly, it was cheap! A fully furnished, spacious house for only $260,000 was practically a steal.

They could buy the house with their combined savings and still have enough left for a honeymoon after the wedding.

The fact that people had died there didn’t bother them much. It was an old house, after all.

“Let’s check the old records at the station tomorrow and see what we can find about those missing persons.”

“Agreed. We should also ask some colleagues to look it over with us.”

Their strategy was cautious. One would review records at the station, while the other would gather colleagues for another house viewing.

After two days of thorough investigation and reviewing records, they found the previous owner had committed suicide. Further back, there had been a fire, but the records showed nothing out of the ordinary.

In the end, the house seemed to check out.

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