CHAPTER 8
Marissa was Lupita's elder sister.
At first glance, the two of them looked nothing alike.
Marissa had incredibly long black hair that flowed down her back like silk. Her eyes were calm—so calm they reminded me of the moon resting on still water, quiet and distant, like nothing in the world could disturb her peace.
Lupita, on the other hand, carried herself very differently.
She was tall, slightly curvy, but her body was toned and powerful, the kind of strength that came from years of discipline. Every movement she made looked controlled, like her muscles were always ready for combat.
Their appearances were so contradictory that no one would believe they were sisters.
But they were.
And their story was heavier than most people could imagine.
Both of them had grown up in foster care.
Their real parents had died in a ghastly accident, leaving the girls alone in the world. Soon after, a foster family took them in.
But the home that was supposed to save them turned into another nightmare.
Life there was unbearable.
Eventually, they ran away.
Lupita was fourteen.
Marissa was sixteen.
They had nothing but each other.
Lupita had always been the stronger one physically. Even as a teenager, she was obsessed with martial arts. It wasn't just a hobby—it was something deeper. Fighting gave her purpose. It gave her discipline.
Marissa noticed that passion immediately.
So she worked.
Hard.
She found a job at a small shop and saved every cent she could earn. The money she made was barely enough to survive, but she sacrificed anyway.
Every dollar she earned went toward sending Lupita to a martial arts school.
That was where Lupita got the tattoos I admired so much.
The dragon that twisted along her body.
The Bible verse etched into her skin.
Those tattoos weren't just decorations.
They were symbols of her journey.
At the martial arts school she lived in the hostel, training day and night, pushing her body beyond its limits. Bruised fists, aching muscles, broken bones—none of it stopped her.
Over time, Lupita became something extraordinary.
She grew into one of the finest and strongest Black martial artists anyone had ever seen.
While Lupita was sharpening her body, Marissa was sharpening something else.
Her mind.
Marissa was a complete nerd.
She had an incredibly high intelligence quotient and always wore large glasses that seemed too big for her delicate face.
But behind those lenses was a brain that worked faster than most computers.
She became obsessed with technology.
Computers fascinated her.
Soon she wasn't just using them—she was mastering them.
She learned how to hack into systems most people thought were impossible to break.
Computers.
Phones.
Security systems.
Even bank accounts.
If it had a digital lock, Marissa could open it.
She was a genius.
When Lupita finally completed her martial arts training, she returned home to her sister.
By that time, Marissa had already changed their lives.
Using her hacking skills, she had managed to rent a house for them, quietly manipulating digital systems until everything appeared legitimate.
Together, the sisters worked and slowly built a life.
Eventually, they bought a house of their own.
For the first time since their parents died, things felt stable.
But something else began to trouble them.
They started spending time around children in orphanages.
And what they saw there broke their hearts.
The children were suffering.
Neglected.
Hungry.
Forgotten by the world.
Marissa couldn't stand it.
One night, while sitting at home with Lupita, she came up with a plan.
A heist.
Using her computer, Marissa hacked into a bank system.
Her fingers moved across the keyboard like lightning.
Within minutes she had transferred seven million dollars into her personal account.
The money didn't stay there long.
She quickly withdrew it and used several other accounts to distribute the money to seven different orphanages across Africa.
Seven million dollars.
Seven orphanages.
Seven chances for children to have a better life.
But Marissa made one mistake.
One small but devastating mistake.
In the rush of everything, she had used her own personal details when logging into the bank system.
That single oversight gave investigators a trail.
And they followed it.
Straight to her.
When the authorities arrived, they didn't just arrest Marissa.
They arrested Lupita too.