Chapter 7 – The Flaw in the Plan

Blood poured out of Thea's head and Margaret's chest. Margaret had shot Thea dead and Adela-.

Adela had shot her own mother. Adela fell back. She crawled backwards in horror. She just committed a second murder. First in the first task then in the last. She breathed heavily. Her heart felt like it would tear through her chest. Just then several voices of hurried climbing stairs came.

It was her brothers. Magnus, Andrew and Edmund. They were alive. There was no way they would believe her.

"Don't worry," Magus said, approaching Adela as she crawled further backward. "We saw everything."

"You- You did?" Adela whimpered.

Andrew examined the bodies of the three dead women. Edmund threw a jacket at Adela. She needed it. She was shivering uncontrollably.

"You have seen too much," Magnus whispered, patting her to calm down. "It's all okay now."

"Why don't you blame me for it?" Adela whined.

"She is a bad woman, Ad. You did what's right."

"I thought you always were a jerk," Adela sniffled.

"Well Margaret forced us all to," Andrew said, standing up. "All dead," gesturing to Thea and Margaret.

Edmund slowly walked to Eurus. Tears rolled down his face. Edmund and Eurus had always been together since childhood. Eurus always convinced Adela to take in Edmund into everything they played.

"What had she done?" he sobbed on her lap.

Andrew turned towards the doorway and looked at the floor. Magnus sighed and helped Adela up. Magnus ringed the bell and six men came in. Magnus jerked his head and the men began to clean up the mess at once. They managed to move Edmund's head from Eurus's lap and took her away.

The four of them went down to the main hall. It was empty except them.

"So much has happened," Adela whispered.

"Something does not seem right," Magnus said. "After years of planning, Margaret wouldn't have died for nothing. She wouldn't have just given herself in like that. There must be more to it."

Adela felt everything blur around her. The voices of her brothers muffled and the last she saw was a dim outline of the fireplace and darkness.

She woke up to find herself on the clinic bed. Nurses roamed in all directions around her. It was the Montego family's personal hospital.

"She has woken up," she heard a man say.

She could figure out Magnus, Andrew and Edmund walking in. They bent over and glanced at her. Edmund's eyes were swollen from crying. Eurus, she assumed. Andrew looked ten years older because of the circumstances. Magnus looked worried.

"You're awake," Magnus said.

Adela tried sitting up but her body gave in. She nodded and gestured towards the chairs. Andrew and Edmund sat there and Magnus pulled his chair closer to her bed.

"I wouldn't let anyone harm you anymore," he said.

"I don't need your protection," Adela groaned.

"You do. You're all alone. No one can harm you anymore. Not on my watch."

Adela was not used to Magnus being so nice to her.

"What's the catch?"

Magnus grinned. "No catch," he said.

"You've changed," Adela noticed.

"No, Margaret died," he replied.

Adela could feel hatred boil inside her. Her heart beat faster.

"I wanted to make her sorry. I wanted to let her suffer. I wanted to murder the hope of life from her heart," Adela said, remembering what Thea had told her.

Magnus looked at the machine near Adela. It started beeping. Her heart rate was increasing faster and faster.

"Call the doctor," Magnus ordered. "Quickly."

Andrew rushed out and a team of doctors came in.

"What have you done to her," the doctor shouted. Before Magnus could say another word, the doctor pointed at the door and ordered, "out."

After a while, Adela woke up and felt much better. She sat up on her bed. Magnus was working on his laptop. Andrew was nowhere to be seen while Edmund was sleeping on the chair. Magnus looked up and his cold blue eyes work covered with his rough brown messy hair. He closed his laptop and started peeling an apple. Edmund did not seem asleep. He woke up and stared at Anna. He had warm brown eyes and jet-black hair just like Edward. Edmund reminded Adela of her dad all the time.

Andrew came in with a handful of books. Riddle books. He placed them on Adela's side table and his light brown eyes met Adela's similar ones. He was just like Adela, but the opposite gender. He picked up a random one and handed it to Adela.

"The doctor said you're still in a shock. You'll have to stay here for a week or so," he said.

"And... you brought me these to pass my time," Adela proposed.

"Correct," Andrew beamed, pleased with himself.

Three days later, Magnus walked in with breakfast and looked at the pile of books, looking untouched.

"Don't like them?" he asked, handing the tray to Adela.

"I completed them all last night," Adela said.

"You need medicine for your brain too now?" Magnus scoffed.

"Don't believe me?" Adela said.

"Of course not."

Adela picked up the pile and placed it in front of Magnus.

"Help yourself," she insisted, stuffing a P&J sandwich in her mouth.

Magnus opened a book and flipped through the pages. He looked up and picked up another one. And another one. And yet another. Book after book, he flipped through the pages, and every question had answers written on them.

"Drew?" Magnus called out.

"Hmm?" Andrew replied.

"Are you sure, these were new?"

"Yes? I picked them myself," he replied.

"Well," Magnus cleared his throat. He bent forward and whispered, "How did you do this?" he asked desperately.

Adela grinned. "Intrigue, brother."

Magnus raised his eyebrows. He nodded and strode to the chair and started working on his laptop after giving Adela another of 'his' look.

A few days later, Adela was discharged from the hospital. She came home and breathed the fragrance of fresh flowers. As she entered her room, sunlight tore through the high windows and fell on her face. Suddenly, she had images of Eurus lying dead on the floor near a window. She looked at the place where blood poured from Thea and Margaret. She opened the secret compartment in her study table and pulled out her father's picture. She ran a finger through his face. I've avenged you, she thought. She then stood up and took a last view of the room. She could not stay here anymore. Four murders happened in this place. All of the people once dearest to her. Margaret's last plan had a flaw. Adela was the flaw. She failed to get the money for which she did the most ridiculous things for.

Adela shifted to her new wing. Eurus's wing. She felt much better there. Out of a several hundred wings, she felt safest there. It was not necessarily her type but it still gave her happy memories of her time with Eurus. The wing was brightly lit and every inch was cleaned. She set up a canvas and splashed paint all over it, causing chaos and paint stained the nearby sofa, the carpet and the easel. Adela felt bad for doing that. Eurus hated mess. She very obviously hated painting this way too. She instantly called someone to clean up the mess and laid down on her new bed. It was way softer than hers. She felt it warm up unnaturally. She looked around and found out it was a self-heating mattress that worked by pressure sensor. She turned it off. Winter was over, and so was her happy days.

VOTE!

(Chapter 8 --->)