Chapter 8 – The Beginning

Ten Years Later

Adela was laying on her bed. She stared at the sleeping pills on her nightstand. She had been taking them for ten years in a row, since the day she saw her worst nightmare. She picked them up and took out three. The dosage of any lesser was almost nothing and did not work for her anymore. She placed them on the nightstand and decided to go out for a stroll.

She passed by her prior wing and as if driven by her intrusive thoughts, she started walking in it. Terror and dread filled her insides with every step. She took a deep breath and entered the room. It was just the way she had left it. Paint splashed on the walls and the carpet. The room was still as airy and beautiful like the way it always had been. Her eyes stopped at the spot her sister's murder took place and then almost immediately, looked away. She sighed and just as she was about to leave, she noticed something that was not there when she had left the place.

It was an envelope. She frowned at it and flipped it over. On the paper, in blood red ink, it read, 'to Adela Montego, from Margaret Montego'. Adela threw the letter and backed away. She tried screaming but no voice came out. She breathed heavily and looked around. There was no one there. She slowly walked towards the letter and picked it up again. She opened it and pulled out a photo of Adela's face marked with a cross and as she flipped it over, fear ran through her capillaries. There was a message. 'Girl, you have blood on your hands.'

Adela limped her way to her room. She placed the photo on her study table and took her sleeping pills. She laid on her bed and memories aligned with thoughts turned over her head. Slowly, she could feel the pills working. She felt dizzy, sleepy and almost as if obliged to sleep.

The next morning, she woke up with a headache. The pain was at first like a distant rumble of thunder. It slowly grew and Adela could feel her head spinning and turning over. She looked at herself in the mirror. Staring back, there was a girl of age 28 looking with the same light brown eyes and straight chestnut hair. Her eyes were bloodshot. She strode to her closet, which was the size of a hall. She slipped into a designer leather skirt and put on an oversized sage green blouse. This was what Eurus usually wore. She picked an emerald watch to match the outfit. Even her clothing style had changed the way Eurus did. The usual knock on the door came.

"Come in," Adela muttered.

Ann came in with a bunch of files.

"You need to attend a charity game coming weekend," she said.

"Alright. The signature ones?" Adela asked looking at the files.

"Just these," heaving them on the table.

"Oh my," Adela sighed.

Five minutes later, she made her way to the main hall. All three of her brothers were standing near the door.

"Finally! You took forever," Andrew said.

"The files took forever," Adela scoffed.

They got into a lamo SUV.

"Today is Eurus's death anniversary," Magnus sighed, "I understand, but it is important that we need to stop on our way."

"What's more important than that," Edmund whispered, his eyes red.

"We need to stop near the park around the corner as usual," Magus said hesitantly.

"Your communication network," Adela rolled her eyes.

"The message is very important. Can not be delayed."

Edmund looked away angrily and breathed heavily. Edmund grieved of Eurus every year as if his wounds were still fresh from the day. Adela could not blame him. She missed Eurus the same way.

The car came to a halt on the place Magnus had said. He got off the car and Adela could see through the open door, an elderly man waiting. Magnus looked around to make sure no one was watching and whispered in the man's ears. The man's eyes widened and he nodded. Magnus's tall figure entered the car again and the door closed automatically at once. The car started moving and did not stop until they reached their desired location. The Montego family's personal graveyard. Generations of people were buried here. Adela was the first to get out of the car. She stood beside the gravestone of Eurus and squatted down. The grave was sparkling as if it had been deep-cleaned every day. A leaf fell on her grave and Adela picked it up. She threw it aside and smiled at the grave, because if she did not, she would cry. Edmund sobbed silently and Magnus placed the bouquet of lavender flowers on her grave. Lavenders were Eurus's favorite flowers.

They came back to the Manor and sat down around the fireplace. Just then, her lawyer came in.

"A mail for you," she said.

Adela frowned at the envelope and tore it open. It was the photograph again. She gasped and panted.

"The photo. I saw it last night in my previous wing, now again-" she said, horrified.

Magnus took the photo from her trembling hands and examined it. Just as his mouth opened to speak, five drones flew and landed in front of each of them.

"Do not move," Magnus said, standing up along with everyone. "This is the project MG."

"What?" Andrew breathed, standing dead still.

"We have three minutes before it blasts off. It has motion detectors. MG is short for Montego Galvanizing. If we move, we have approximately three seconds until it blasts. Do not panic," looking at Adela, who was pale with fright.

"What do we do now," Edmund whispered.

Adela could almost see the gears in Magnus's head turning.

"Jump out of the window. All of you. At the count of three. Remember you only have three seconds. We can do it in three seconds."

Adela took a deep breath. They could do it if Magnus said they could. His calculations were never wrong.

"Three," Magnus whispered in the dead silence.

"Wait," Adela squealed. "What about the people?"

"Good question," Andrew hissed.

"No idea," Magnus replied in the dead silence.

A beeping sound came from Ann's phone. She was slowly typing a number.

"What are you doing?" Adela asked.

"Doing what I'm supposed to do," she smiled. "Run when I say so."

It took Adela sometime to think what she meant.

"You are getting out of it with us," Adela said.

"I can't," Ann shot back.

The other end of the phone was picked up.

"Evacuate the house. Every. Single. Person. Leave. But do not cross the main hall, you have two minutes."

Adela could hear the footsteps and screaming already, but none came closer, rather parted further.

Ann's phone trembled. The only grip she had was from her index finger and thumb.

"Run," she whispered.

Magnus took Adela's arm and she could hear the phone falling and glass breaking. She jumped through the window and out of the house. Adela looked backwards and could see Ann smiling, standing where she stood. The last thing she saw was an explosion and darkness.

"How's Ann?" Adela panted sitting up as she woke up.

"Calm down," Andrew whispered.

Magnus hung his head low which was scratched and tarred.

Yet another person died saving her. Adela, now overwhelmed threw her blankets aside and punched Andrew in the face.

"What was that for?" Magnus frowned.

"Let her. She has been through too much," Andrew shook his head, touching his wound.

Adela breathed heavily. She stepped on Magnus's feet and strode out of the room. She walked past the hospital rooms and could hear the footsteps of her brothers tailing behind her.

As she reached the entrance, the door slid open and she walked outside. It was a sunny day. Paparazzi rushed to take pictures but seven men kept them out of her way. A car waited a few steps ahead. She climbed her way in and Magnus and Andrew followed.

"Where's Edmund?" Adela asked, looking around.

"He hasn't woken up yet," Magnus replied.

The car started moving.

"How many of those bombs were there?" Adela interrogated.

"Just those five were found till now," Andrew sighed.

Yet another flaw, Adela thought. Margaret failed to kill her again.

The car stopped in front of the Manor. She dismounted from the car and the scene ahead was unbelievable.

"What-" Adela whispered, aghast.

The Manor had a gigantic hole in the middle. The main hall, Adela assumed. The place where the bomb had been blasted. She walked past the rubble and the debris. People were already re-constructing the place. There were splashes of blood on the walls ahead. Ann's blood.

Adela walked to her wing. She opened her mobile phone and saw her as the headline of every news. She closed the phone and started painting. Nothing proved to be a distraction.

"Ethan Blackwood, your new lawyer," a man said, coming in her room without permission.

"Adela Edward Montego, as you may already know, you will be doing your job efficiently and know the fact that many people have died around me, including my previous lawyer. If you still chose to continue, you are more than welcome, unless you don't barge in without knocking," Adela said in one breath.

The man blinked. "Sure," he said, his olive-green eyes covered by his straw-colored hair.

A few days later, everything was back to normal. Adela walked past the main hall which was decorated even more beautifully than it had been. As she opened the door to her room, she gasped at the sight.

"Happy Birthday, Ad!" Magnus said, coming closer with a cake.

"Happy Birthday!" Andrew chanted.

Edmund was blowing a mini trumpet.

"Oh, come on. I'm too old for this," Adela said, laughing.

"Only twenty-eight. Not much, but way older than me," Edmund said.

Magnus gave him 'the look' and he fell silent at once.

"Alright, we'll be off now," Magnus announced and they filed out of the room one by one.

As she ate the cake, she glimpsed at the coffee table. It had a piece of paper on it. She picked it up and sighed.

"Girl, you got blood on your hands to pay for."

THE END

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