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THE FUNERAL WAS OVER, and the Ricci family invited the rest of the guests to head to their mansion for dinner. Teo asked me to come with him, but I made it clear that I came here as Claudio's butler, so it is important that I stay by his side, especially when he eats.

     "Then I'll see you there?" Teo says, and I nod my head in response.

     "Work hard, okay?" he adds, but before I can even respond to his words of encouragement, someone suddenly grabs me by the waist, startling me.

     "M-Master Claudio!" I shout in complete shock as Claudio pulls me even closer to him.

     Teo is surprised to see him as well, but then he smiles and greets his old friend. "Thank you for coming to my mother's funeral Claudio. And I haven't really thanked you properly yet, but thank you for taking good care of me at the hospital as well."

     "Don't even mention it," Claudio says, gripping my waist even tighter.

     Teo glances at Claudio's hand and looks back at him with a serious expression. I thought Teo was going to start something, so I tried to push Claudio's hand away from me, but his hold was just too strong.

     "By the way, dear friend..." Teo glances at me, but then he puts his hand on Claudio's shoulder and tells him, "If you still have the appetite, I would like you to join our family for dinner if it's alright with you. I believe my father would also like to speak with you."

     "Is that so?"

     Claudio and Teo were smiling at each other, but I could tell that they were saying unspeakable things that I wouldn't even dare try to understand.

    Why was Claudio even doing such a thing? Is he purposely trying to tip Mateo off?

     "My apologies, master Claudio, but I would gladly appreciate it if you let go of me," I finally say, but it only strengthens Claudio's grip on my waist.

     Teo looked like he was about to say something, but then Claudio leaned close to me to the point where I thought he was going to forcefully press his lips on me again. I got ready to throw a punch, but just when his lips were a few inches away from mine, Claudio suddenly paused and whispered, "Pacific escaped."

    As soon as I heard what Claudio had to say, my entire body stiffened, and my eyes widened in complete shock.

     Pacific escaped.

     A patient who has seen all the horrors that happen in the manor has escaped the hell house.

     The mere thought of it left my mind completely blank. I couldn't move, and I couldn't even say a thing. None of the patients have seen any of our faces yet since we wear masks around them--except for Wednesday, but what if he runs to town and tells everyone what has been going on in the manor? What then?

    "Bishop?" Teo calls out, reaching out to me, but Claudio pushes his hand away before finally letting go.

     "I am greatly sorry, Mateo. I appreciate the invitation, but my butler and I have to go because of urgent matters. Please send my condolences to your father," Claudio explains to him.

    Teo glances at me again and looks back at Claudio. "What urgent matters?"

    "I believe they are matters that...you shouldn't concern yourself with, officer Ricci," Claudio replies with a tone that hints that he shouldn't stick his nose too much.

     "Let's go." Claudio grabbed my hand and dragged me away from where we were standing. I turn my head and look back at Teo before giving him a fake smile and a quick wave. Teo didn't look okay, but he smiled too and nods his head, quietly watching over me until Claudio and I could no longer be seen.

     We eventually arrived at a corner where the car was parked. I immediately opened the back door for him, and as soon as the master got inside, I closed the door and sat at the front beside Lino.

     I glanced back at Claudio through the rearview mirror, waiting for him to say something about the situation. I could tell that Lino was anxious too, but when the two of us turned and looked at our master, Claudio surprisingly had his eyes closed, almost like he was trying to remain calm.

     Lino and I looked at each other, and then Lino gulped and finally drove off.

     The drive back to the manor was agonizingly quiet. I couldn't even think straight, but I knew I was terrified. I was terrified of what Pacific might do, but at the same time, I was terrified of what Claudio would do. I could still clearly remember the time Claudio would hurt me whenever he got displeased by something.

     What on earth is he going to do to me this time?

     "Master, we're here," Lino announces, making me blink and realize that we were now back at the manor.

     It was dark out, but two nurses in gas masks arrived with oil lamps. I immediately ran out of the car to open the door for Claudio. Claudio stepped out of the car and removed his necktie while the other employees greeted him.

     "What time did he escape?" Claudio calmly asks.

     One of the nurses answered him, and I wasn't really able to understand it well, so I wasn't entirely certain of the situation yet.

     Lino steps out of the car right after and stands in front of Claudio. But as soon as Lino faced him, Claudio suddenly slapped him with the back of his hand, making me cover my mouth in shock.

     "You useless imbecile!" Claudio starts shouting, slapping Lino for the second time. "Give me a good reason why I shouldn't add another scar on your sickening face!"

     "Master, please forgive me!" Lino quickly says, bowing his head and ignoring his aching cheek, which is now completely red. "I was tending the garden when the nurses informed me of what happened," he then explains, which only angered Claudio.

     "But I already dispatched a few of the indirect employees, and I—" Lino wasn't able to finish his sentence because Claudio slapped him again, but this time, the hit was so strong that Lino almost stumbled back.

     Lino kept his composure and stood firm regardless, but I could no longer watch in silence, so I look back at Claudio and tried to reason with him. "Master, Lino is not at fault here. He was only—"

    "You fucking shut up," Claudio quickly says, pointing his finger at me in a taunting way. "I'll handle you later. Don't pretend like I don't know what you and Mateo did at the chapel."

     What? How on earth did he know?

     "Master Claudio," another voice calls out. I turn around and see Adeline and father Laurence approaching us.

     "We couldn't find him," Laurence tells Claudio before I can even stop him from saying it. And like I feared, the report only angered Claudio even more.

     "All of you are useless!" Claudio shouts, his eyes dark and menacing that it made the hair on my skin stand. This was the first time I'd seen Claudio lose his composure like this. For a quick moment, I could feel a sense of urgency in him, almost like he was in a hurry. Is it because the town's anniversary is coming up? Is that it?

    "If Pacific finds his way to town, what now? All my life's work will be for nothing. Now I have a missing patient and four incompetent employees! How will I be able to finish the last plague!" Claudio shouts even louder until veins start popping out of his neck.

     "Master, we will make sure to find him. He is already weak, so it is most likely that he has not gone far," Laurence tries to explain, making Claudio walk toward him.

    Laurence swallowed the lump in his throat as Claudio suddenly wrapped his hand around his neck, surprising all of us. "If you do not find him tonight, I will cut you all open and feed you to the rats!"

     "M-Master...l-let go..." Laurence struggles to say. Claudio only tightens his grip on his neck, but just before Laurence can even lose consciousness, Claudio pushes him away and finally walks back to the manor, the two nurses immediately following behind him.

     Laurence drops to the floor and catches his breath, Adeline running to his side so she can help him.

     "Are you alright?" I then ask Lino, and Lino touches his cheek, pretending to act tough even though I know damn well that he's hurt.

     "We have to look for that fucking patient," Laurence then says as Adie helps him stand back up. "If we don't find him before the sun rises, we might as well jump off the cliff because I am not letting that mad doctor cut me open."

     Wait...jump off the cliff?

     "The ocean!" I shouted, making the three of them look at me.

     "Lady told me that out of all the rooms, Pacific's window is the only one that's covered. The reason is that it triggers him when he sees any body of water, especially the ocean," I explain, and the three of them started looking like they realized something too.

     "One of the nurses told me that Pacific was able to punch the wood that was covering the window, and then he just started shouting. He was so erratic that they couldn't hold him down," Lino tells us.

     "Then that confirms it. He's definitely heading to the ocean."

     "But if he's traumatized by any kind of water, then shouldn't he be running away from the ocean and not running toward it?" Laurence then asks back, which would actually make sense too.

     "That could be, but I just have this gut feeling," I insisted.

     "Alright, if you're so sure about this, then head to the cliffs. He might be wandering off there. The rest of us will look around the woods," Lino suggested, and the three of us nodded our heads in understanding.

     Before we parted ways, little Adie suddenly grabbed my hand and stopped me. I look back at her, and then she hands me a flashlight. I thanked her for it, and the four of us finally ran off.

     Out of everything that could happen, Pacific just had to run off now when everything was a complete mess. And there's Teo that I have to worry about. I was supposed to fucking cut ties with him, so I won't have a hard time leaving this town, but now I have a reason to stay, and that reason is ruining everything for me.

     Well, I'll have to worry about it when the situation demands it, but for now, I have to look for that patient because if we don't, Claudio's gonna kill us before I could even worry about my future with this town.

     "Pacific!" I call out as I run past the woods, the waves getting louder as I approach.

     I tightly held onto the flashlight as my feet continued to move. But as I continued running, I couldn't help but remember a familiar scene. It felt like I was once in a similar situation.

     "Mathilda! Run!" I suddenly heard a voice shouting in my head, making me lose focus in an instant, and causing me to trip and fall to the ground.

     "Mathilda!" The voice continues to shout, making me close my eyes and cover my ears while squatting on the muddy floor.

     The wind blows on me, sending chills down my spine. I waited for a while until the voice stopped. When it finally became quiet, I slowly opened my eyes again and removed my hands from my ears, panting heavily as I tried to catch my breath.

    "Bishop...I'm Bishop," I say as I stare at my hands, making sure I didn't accidentally switch and that this isn't all an illusion.

     I try to calm myself down, but then I notice the footprints on the ground, and that makes me snap back to my senses. I grabbed the flashlight and continued running as if nothing had happened a couple of seconds ago. I would stumble a little, but it wasn't enough to make me stop.

     "Pacific!" I continue to shout until I reach the cliff. But after running around for a couple more minutes, I stopped when I saw a familiar figure. Lo and behold, Pacific was standing right in front of me, making me sigh in relief. 

    I got closer to him so I could grab his arm, but then I realized that he was standing just inches away from the cliff's edge. If he takes just one more step, he might fall off.

    "Pacific," I call out, slowly moving towards him so I wouldn't scare him. Pacific was still, but he turned his head to me. He was confused for a second, but then a wide smile appeared on his face, an unsettling smile.

    "Oh, it's you. The loyal butler," he says, the strong wind making him sway back and forth.

     I swallow the lump in my throat and smiled at him as well. "What on earth are you doing there? Come here. We can talk back at the manor."

     "N-No...I have to join Maria. I have to tell her that I...that I forgive her," Pacific explains to me, making me furrow my brows in confusion.

     Who's Maria? Is it the wife he killed and threw in the ocean? If I remember correctly, Claudio explained that he saw his wife having an affair, so he killed her as well as their son. But why the son too? Why on earth would he kill their son when he obviously had nothing to do with it?

    "Pacific, we can do that some other time, okay? For now, we have to return to the ma—"

     "No!" he suddenly shouts, making me flinch. "Maria is waiting for me. I must forgive her because if I don't, Jacob will be very upset."

     "Jacob?"

     "Jacob was the one who saw Maria with another man. He blamed himself for it, so I removed his eyes so he wouldn't have a reason to be sad. But he wouldn't stop bleeding. He wouldn't stop bleeding..." Pacific explains as tears start streaming down his face.

     You sick bastard. Why the fuck are you the one crying? If I weren't afraid of Claudio, I would have pushed you off the cliff myself.

     "Alright, alright, I understand what you mean. But everyone in the manor is worried about you, Pacific. We have to go back. The doctor will not like it if you stay here," I tell him, stretching my arms out so he can grab it.

    Pacific looks at my hand and wipes his own tears, but after that, he starts laughing, almost like he heard the funniest thing in the world.

     "Doctor Giovanni," he says in between his waves of laughter. "The mad doctor...the evil doctor...the plague doctor."

     "Pacific please. Just grab my hand, and we'll go back. I promise you; I'll make sure they don't hurt you when you return. I'll fucking make sure of it," I start begging this time, but Pacific only continues to laugh.

     " Do you know what the doctor told us before we were brought to the hell house?" Pacific suddenly asks me. I didn't want to know anything else that would come out of this man's mouth, but I found myself waiting for him to continue.

     The wind blew again, and I could still hear the waves crashing on the rocks below us. Pacific kept his mouth shut while his eyes were still locked on mine, but after that agonizing silence, he grinned and tells me, "I promise. I will cure you all."

     My eyes widened in disbelief as soon as I heard him say those words. I couldn't move from where I was standing, and everything I had ever known suddenly started flashing before me.

     So these patients...all of them went here in hopes of getting cured by him but were subjected to experiments instead. I couldn't help but feel sick inside. But what was even worse was that master Claudio...Dr. Giovanni... has promised me the same thing.

    "I will cure you! How dare he say such a thing in our faces!" Pacific shouts before laughing again. "He never was going to cure us. So if I were you, butler, I would run away now while I still can."

     "D-Don't say such a thing. We're different. I am not a patient like you," I try to defend, and that statement made Pacific finally stop laughing.

     He looks at me seriously and tells me, "Lady was wrong."

     "What are you talking about?"

     "The person working for the doctor...it is not the soldier, but somebody else," Pacific then reveals, and my jaw instantly drops.

     "Among the cook and the maid, who do you think holds the same evil and grudge as his master? Who do you think will turn their backs on you and gladly watch you rot?" Pacific then asks, and before I can even say a single word, Pacific opens his arms wide and leans back before finally being one with the ocean.

to be continued...