The Sisters: The Curse of Gabriel's Gardens

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Maledictus was a nickname of an occult group leader in New York. His cult was known for frequent drug abuse and sexual orgies, but that was not the reason why Kyle contacted him. Reliable sources confirmed that Maledictus was experienced with mystical arts and he wasn't a mere charlatan.

The trunk of Kyle's car was full of shopping bags; most of them contained gifts for Marlene, but there was a handbag secured with a lock whose content differed. There was only one book, ancient and damaged.

The book which costed its new owner one million dollars.

Kyle spent the last days trying to understand the content of the book with the help of Maledictus and his cult which was motivated by the huge amount of money transferred to their bank account. Kyle was now feeling ready to unleash the power sealed within the book.

"Marlene, my little one," Kyle said with a power-hungry sparks in his eyes. "Soon, we'll be able to make our wishes come true. Gabriel's Gardens will be ours! I'll be the king and you'll be my queen. There'll be nothing and no one who can stop us.

"I have still mixed feelings about it," Marlene whispered. "There are countless things that can go wrong..."

"Nothing will go wrong!" Kyle barked. "I have the book and the knowledge. There's nothing that can interfere with my plan. Not even Warren sisters."

Marlene smiled devilishly. "That bitch Alexis and her whore sister are rotting in prison now!"

Kyle shook his head. "They aren't. They somehow managed to sneak out... it's unbelievable how persistent they are. I guess I went too easy on them. It's time to stop handling them with kid gloves."

"What are you planning to do?"

"I was too kind-hearted. I wanted to stop them, but I didn't want them to lose their lives. Well, it's time to remove this boundary and start playing rough."

"Yes," Marlene smirked. "Kill them, my love."

>><<

Serenity Square, the next morning

Seven days after Matthias Blake's failed suicide, Alexis still wasn't feeling well. For some reason, the case left her in a state of strange melancholy. She experienced that for the first time; she usually shook the case off as soon as possible and started living normally. But this time, she still dreamed about a shadow of a hanged man, Matthias with his head in a noose, distorted voice of Guy Searer.

Dante felt that something is wrong. "Bork," he said and licked Alexis' hand hanging from an armchair. The girl smiled, put the doggy on her lap and began to gently stroke him. "You're a good boy," she said.

"You need a distraction," Diane said after entering the room. "We've been intact for way too long."

"No, I'm fine," Alexis smiled at her. "Matthias keeps writing me e-mails. He's getting better and soon, he'll be able to perform again! I still have the VIP tickets he gave us. I'm so excited for the show."

"You're lucky," Diane said. She sat on a couch and turned on the TV to watch another episode of Angel's Tears. Alexis sighed and grabbed a book, but gave up shortly after realizing that she couldn't focus on reading at all. She put down the book, continued stroking Dante and watched the soap opera with her sister.

"I can't believe I'm actually watching this," she muttered.

"C'mon, sis, it's not that bad," Diane smirked.

The story was shallow and predictable even for Alexis, who knew the plot only superficially, but at least the acting was good and believable. Alexis examined Marianna, the main character. The directors managed to capture the fragile, subtle beauty of a girl who doesn't have money for make-up, cosmetics or plastic surgeries. Marianna had wavy black hair, blue eyes and freckles. Alexis realized that she reminded her of Anna too much.