"Are you okay, Leni?"
Ms. Carmichael's young son noticed that Leni was looking sad, having just thought of her father, Lynn Sr., confined to his sickbed, possibly permanently, and his lifespan now unpredictable. Leni had actually taken the kid on a tour of her old house that was being led by a tour guide, as in a way, she was babysitting him. The house itself was unable to sell, likely because nobody seemed to want to move in for whatever reason, so it became mostly empty with only furniture and a few other things that were once in possession of the Loud parents.
"I... I'm fine," said Leni, wiping her eyes. The truth was, she still thought that any day, her father might die in his sleep one night and no matter how peacefully it would be for him, even the mere thought was unbearable, a thought that often woke her up in the middle of the night.
"Alright, let's move on and go upstairs, shall we?" said the tour guide. "We'll be seeing the rooms of the infamous Loud sisters themselves, in the days before they all went their separate ways. It's important to note that each room actually has props instead of the very real things, as the original possessions were taken." The rooms themselves were barred off, but anyone on the tour was allowed to at least look inside. And as expected, Leni heard some people's astonished reactions to the absurdities.
"Why is there a baby crib in a science lab?!"
"Was there really a rattlesnake in this house once?!"
"Jeepers creepers! A coffin! Glad this one's a prop."
"Is pink the new black?"
"The boy lived in a closet?"
Oh yes, the comments took Leni back, but as of nowadays, the family just wasn't together. She knew what she did for Lincoln was the right thing to do and she was aware that things would change, maybe forever, but some things happened beyond what she could have imagined. A maximum sentence had been placed on her parents due to child cruelty and Lynn Sr. couldn't even serve his time because he was purposefully sent to the wrong prison. Leni didn't know the whole story, not knowing who in their right mind would screw that up, but because of that one cop who took things a little too personally, justice could not be served properly for one of the parents. She hated to think of Judge Rex Wonklin furious over the ordeal, his occasional bouts of anger in that courtroom being more than enough for her to watch. Then, Ms. Carmichael's young son gave a gentle tug to Leni's shirt.
"I think we could have done without that tour guide," he said. "I don't think he's being very nice." Leni agreed, so the two took one last quick look in each of the rooms, including Lincoln's. The mascot costume of the Royal Woods Squirrels had long been removed from the house and of course had to be dry-cleaned. Instead, there was a photo of the costume hanging on the wall of Lincoln's former room, likely a testament to the ultimate cause of what led everything into a downward spiral for the Loud family. Lincoln... Leni thought to herself, but she smiled, knowing her little brother was now in good hands.
"Lincoln?" said Lyra. "What's the matter?" Lincoln wiped his eyes and sniffled.
"I... I just thought of... my real mom..." he said. "I know we didn't part on bad terms or anything, but... What would she say? What would she think? And... how would she feel?" Lyra held her new son in her embrace.
"I'm not saying to forget about it," said Lyra. "But I am saying you don't have to worry about it. You were in that... that... awful situation... and you needed to get out. And Leni helped. She did the right thing. The both of you didn't know how much longer you were going to be in it... under the guise of punishment."
"I still think I should have kept my mouth shut," said Lincoln, choking a bit on his words. Knowing Rita's sentence, even if she did get out of prison early, as her parental rights had been terminated by a court of law, it would be very difficult for her to be able to take him back, if at all. Lyra gently shushed him and stroked his back.
"It's gonna be alright," she cooed. "Rita knows everything. I promised her I would look after you. And I will... with all of my heart."
Leni and Ms. Carmichael's son then left the house before everyone else, wanting to get away from the awful tour guide. And there was Ms. Carmichael's vehicle waiting for them.
"Thanks for looking after my son on your day off," said the manager of Reininger's.
"I like him a lot," said Leni. "He's a sweetie! And even he's nicer than that tour guide."
"Tour guide?" said Ms. Carmichael. "I didn't think anything happened to that house since people stopped living in it. I think someone was going to buy it, though."
"Huh?" Leni was confused. "Does that mean someone's trying to stop the house from being sold? Who would do that?" Ms. Carmichael's little boy then pointed to the house bunker. A red scooter with a basket attached seemed to be leaning up against it. Leni looked at it, but she just shrugged and the three went on their way. What they didn't know was that the tour guide watched the car pull away and leave from an upstairs window. Once the tour was over, the tour guide was the last person to leave. Another day of causing mischief, he thought. You think it would be easy, but who would really want to buy... the Cursed Place? He then ditched his disguise, revealing the person underneath, got on her red scooter and drove off.