Allison nods her head. "Remember, I will only give you one month to sort things at your end. After the month is over, I expect that you will be ready to accompany my brother on his solitude. After he dies, we are now even and doesn't owe anything to each other. Are we clear with that, Caroline?"
"Yes. I'll honor the end of our bargain. I'm going home now," she bid goodbye to her.
Allison accompanied Caroline to her car that was parked in front of the house.
Caroline entered the car.
"Drive safely..." Allison told her.
Caroline nods her head. "Thank you," she said again.
"I will call you and check on you from time to time to remind you of our deal just in case you will forget about it. Remember, I have all the important evidence... the two dead bodies, and the witnesses Owen and me. You understand, Caroline?" Allison smiled.
Caroline nods her head, her face showed a gloomy expression. "Bye Allison," she said sadly.
"Hey, don't look so sad. If I survived my ordeal, you can as well. Just make sure you will honor our deal and everything will be alright," Allison reminded the younger woman.
Caroline nods her head and started the engine. She slowly drives the car out of the gate and out of the mansion.
Allison stood still until she can no longer see the rear of Caroline's car.
She took a deep breath.
In just 24 hours so many things happened.
She and Caroline killed two women today!
And that was mind-blowing! She was still reeling by the sudden happening last night.
It was never planned in the first place, things just happened accordingly. She never wanted to kill again, she just wanted to aim for Veralyn's right hand holding the knife, unfortunately, her hands trembled and she hit her minion's head instead of killing Veralyn on the spot.
Although she felt sad for her minion she can't wallow on her grief for a long time, she doesn't want to lose her sanity again, she doesn't want to stay in the mental hospital ever again!
She would rather die than stay in that wretched place ever again.
She entered the house and went back to the stairs, she saw Owen sitting on the sofa silently.
"Follow me to the mini bar," she commanded him.
"Yes, Madam!" Owen stood up and climb the stairs.
Allison and Owen entered the minibar and sat on the sofa facing each other.
"Is everything okay after the undertaker helps you in disposing of the bodies?" Allison asked him.
Owen nods his head. "Yes. Undertaker is meticulous in planning and he knows what to do, so everything was well taken care of. Since Veralyn has no relatives, no one will try to find out where she is..."
"Undertaker is pricey, but he is discreet and very good with his work so I'm willing to pay the hefty price to employ his services," Allison said.
Then Owen turned silent for a moment, then he coughed a little.
"What is it, Owen? Do you want to ask me something—?" Allison eyed him warily.
"I just want to ask you this... Madam. Why did you shoot, Veralyn? Why?" he asked.
Allison glared at Owen. "How dare you ask me that sensitive question, Owen? Do you think I have the intention to kill her? I ordered her to stop advancing to Caroline but she's stubborn and didn't listen to my command. I aimed for her right hand holding the knife but unfortunately both my hands trembled and shot her head instead. I have no plan to kill Veralyn and you know it! It was just an accidental shooting that goes wrong. If only Veralyn listened to me and drop the knife she would still be alive until now," she sighed heavily. "Sometimes, stubbornness kills!" she said angrily.
"I'm sorry, Madam for doubting you. I believe that you have no intention to kill Veralyn and I agree, it was just an accidental shooting. Veralyn has only herself to blame. I guess, she won't be so sad passing away because she and Brenda would be together forever in the next life," Owen proclaimed.
Allison grinned. "That is a nice statement, Owen! Veralyn and Brenda chose to die last night, it's all their fault! They asked for death and it was given, there is nothing we can do about them anymore. They belong to the afterlife. We should stop talking about them, we can't allow dead people to create havoc in our lives. We should continue to live our life the way it should be," she declared confidently.
"You're right, Madam!" Owen agreed.
Allison poured wine on the two glasses and they made a toast.
...
Eastwood Subdivision.
Caroline already arrived at her house. She was thankful that her house was not ransacked and nothing was lost or stolen upstairs.
Brenda and that woman have no desire to stole items from the house they simply wanted to abduct her.
She went to the bathroom and took a long shower, she needs a lot of thinking.
She was grateful that she still has today to think everything and conditioned herself to stay calm as if nothing happens in the last 24 hours. Her mother and her siblings will return tomorrow afternoon, she still has enough time to compose herself and carry on with her life.
She closed her eyes and meditate loudly.
"I'm not a killer, I just do it for self-defense. I'm not a killer, I just do it for self-defense. I'm not a killer, I just do it for self-defense. I'm not a killer, I just do it for self-defense. I'm not a killer, I just do it for self-defense..."
She repeated the mantra a thousand times until she grows tired and her voice got hoarse.
Then she kept repeating the mantra silently while enjoying the luxurious water washing the sins in her body.
If she can convince herself that she's not a killer, she might be able to continue living normally. She just needs to train herself to think that way.
If Allison the murderer can behave normally and live a good life then why can't she?
It's like she killed that lunatic woman because she wanted to.
She just killed Brenda out of self-defense and nothing else.
Now that she remembered...
Brenda has all the intention to kill her. It just happens that she was much quicker than her and she was able to take hold of the knife and stabbed her on the heart.
She stabbed Brenda in the heart without thinking much about the consequences.
If she would surrender to the police, what would Mike think of her? What would Mike's mother think of her? Would Susan allow her only son to take a murderer as a wife? She would only bring shame to her family, her life would be ruined and she would forever be branded as a murderer by the people who will know about the murder.
There will be nationwide news, of course, everyone will know her as the murderer.
No matter if she will scream to the end of the world that she is innocent, still no one can erase the truth that she killed a person. She sends someone to heaven last night and it's the most awful feeling in the world.
Fresh tears fell from her eyes, she was in agony.
No matter what she does she can never undo what happened for the last 24 hours.
Why does her life suddenly turn upside down?
Why is this happening to her?
Why does God punish her again?
She already paid her due to her sister through the late Joseph and she had changed her ways, why is the punishment kept coming?
How can she face the future with her head raised high? She's no longer an innocent person, she's a murderer!
Her hands were forever tainted.
'Shut up! Only Allison, Owen and you, knew what happened last night. As long you honor the deal you had with Allison then you can continue your life in a normal way,' said her inner voice.
She was only given one month by Allison.
One month to plan everything, then suffer for a few months in Greg's side, and then back to her old life.
If she will act erratically, her family will always understand and accept her back.
How about Mike? How she gonna explain everything to Mike that she's going away for more or less six to seven months?
Would he even understand her?
Or maybe...she would just let Mike go from her life?
She would beak up with Mike and after Greg dies and Mike would still accept her back then she would be happy to continue with her relationship with him.
Sounds so easy...but very hard to do.
She sobbed again.
Oh God, she's going crazy!
Her future looks dark...
After getting tired bathing in the bathroom. She went to her bed and lie down, she pressed her face on the soft bed.
What if she will just commit suicide, kill herself, and be gone from this world, so that she doesn't have to worry and think about anything.
Maybe, this world will become a better place if she would just kill herself.
Maybe, her life is good enough as payment for her sin.
She shut her eyes, all of a sudden, she's getting suicidal.
It just normal because she just undergoes a tragic and brutal night that the majority of other people will never experience in their lifetime.
Fresh tears, starts falling from her eyes.
She starts sobbing again, her body was wracked with her grief, guilt, and desperation.
It's okay to cry hard today because tomorrow, her family will come back to the house and she didn't want them to notice any weird changes to her behavior.
Today she will cry a river.
Because tomorrow she will be okay.
Or else, she will go crazy.