The neighbours could hear the loud screams from that house but no one wanted to get involved as they knew the couple had intense fights and could harm anyone physically..No one were concerned for the couple but they all were concerned for the little girl who was sitting near the window,hugging her knees and listening to her parents fight.It was nothing new for her but hearing fights isn’t normal even after years for a little 6 year old girl
The door slams in front of the little girl’s face closing her view from witnessing her parents fight..the vase on the side table was thrown harshly on the marble printed tiles.The vase breaks into a hundred pieces just like someone’s heart.
“Do you even have a valid reason to tell me why you are leaving me and our daughter alone!!”(the woman shouts in rage)
“How can you ask me that Claire!!You know that you're mentally and about our daughter,I'll take her away with me as soon as possible, so that she doesn't turn out like you but for now I need to get away from you!"(The man shouts back, pulling his big luggage bag on his back as the woman falls down on her knees, holding the man’s legs to beg him)
“No,Robert!Please.”(The woman starts crying and then starts laughing loudly,scratching her hands as if she was stopping her hands to commit a crime)
Seeing this Robert pulls his leg harshly and takes his luggage leaving the house,slamming the main door harshly.The little girl opens the hall’s door with fear and walks towards her mom who was laughing,staring at a particular spot on the kitchen counter.
“Mom,Please Stop crying.I will be a good girl.I will do my homework on time and sleep on time.” (She says while sitting down and caressing her mom’s cheek and snuggling in her neck)
(The lady breaks her bubble of thoughts and hugs her daughter back)
“Don’t worry, baby,Mom won’t cry now.It’s someone else’s time to cry now.”(Claire smirks as if making she was making up some amazing scenarios in her mind)
“What do you mean?”(The little girl asks, turning to her mom)
“You don’t need to know that! Go and sleep!”(Claire yells as her expression changes to an angry one)
“Go to your room, Karissa!”(Claire yells again, making the little girl flinch)
The little girl gets up sadly and walks to her room,dragging her caramel - brown teddy bear,Ted…She started talking to herself or maybe her Ted.
“Why does mommy get angry when I do anything?”(She asks, pulling her teddy with her)
She walks to her bed,she turns to the photo frame and sighs looking at it intensely.She lays on the bed ,turns on the left and sleeps on her bed hugging her teddy bear.
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Claire stares at her reflection in the kitchen knife one last time before keeping it back with a deep breathe.As she turns, she sees Karissa walking out of her room,rubbing her eyes with a scrunched nose.
“Where are you going, Mommy?”(Karissa asks,pulling the chair and climbing on it to sit)
“Do you miss dad?”(Claire asks,turning around,smiling creepily)
“Will you scold me if I say yes ?”(Karissa says hesitantly,after pausing for a while and biting her little lips)
“So you do miss him.”(Claire says,tilting her head,making the little girl nod)
“Do you want him to come back?”(Claire asks, making the little girl nod again)
“But I don’t “(Claire says as she turns and takes her purse and starts walking away)
“Mom,please tell me where you're going or at least take me with you.I don’t want to stay alone at home like yesterday.”(Karissa runs to her mother and holds her hand)
“Candy is coming to babysit you and-“(Claire bends to her daughter’s height)
”Mommy will be back soon”(She smirks,bopping on her daughter’s little nose)
“Okay,my baby?”(Claire ruffles her daughter’s hair as Karissa nods)
“Kari!I’m here!”(A 20 yr old woman enters the house as she keeps the dangling keys in her red purse and shouts in a distance as she walks near them)
“I will be back soon, Candice.Bye Kari.”(Claire turns as she kisses her little daughter and turns to leave)
“Of course I will!”(Candice says rolling her eyes as she waves to her elder sister who just left the house for her work)
“Candy,It’s been 1 year since dad left. Will he come back?Will mom,dad,uncle Sawyie,you and me be a happy family again?”(Karissa asks as she looks up at her with questioning eyes)
“I don’t know that but I know is that now Candy and Karie will have lots of fun”(Candice says taking Karissa in her long arms making Karina giggle happily while nodding)
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Claire rings the doorbell of a brown door as a beautiful yet ugly woman opens the door.She opens the door and stands still with her hands folded.
“I was passing by thought why don’t say hi to you,Emily.So,Hi it’s been a long time since we last met”(Claire says as she raises her left eyebrow and puts her body to the door frame)
“Yeah,sure.It’s been a long time since-“(Before Emily could continue,Claire speaks, making her words stop)
“Can I come in?”( Claire asks with a straight face ,staring at her ex-best friend)
“Yeah sure so I can show you my beautiful house.”(Emily smiles proudly as she makes way for Claire to come inside)
“Still needs a little interior to look as beautiful as my house.You keep forgetting Emily,nothing beats the original”(Claire says as she takes a step inside the big house as the bright light came in contact with her brown sunglasses)
Emily’s blood boils as she grits her teeth and opens her mouth to speak some harsh words, but before she could, Claire speaks.
“Where are your kids?”(Claire asks as she tilts her head to a little right,removing her sunglasses)
“Why?You want to kidnap them and blackmail me?”(Emily asks,scoffing sarcastically)
“Well,if you ask me to do it then.”(Claire says as she again wears a creepy smile on her pale face)
“They are out with their father.”(Emily says as she moves her eyes away from her ex-best friend)
“Right,Karissa’s father”(Claire corrects her, which makes Emily turn back to her)
“Listen,you b-"(Claire doesn’t let Emily complete her sentence and says)
“Forget it!Let's talk about a deal”(Claire says as she folds her brown sunglasses and smirks )
“What deal??”(Emily asks slightly curious)
“If you leave Robert, then I won’t kill you or your children and-(Claire moves closer to Emily’s ear and whispers something )
Claire then smirks and leans her side body toward the door and puts her hands into her left pocket.
“Shut up! I won’t leave him!Ever!”(Emily says as she moves back slowly from Claire)
Listening this Claire slowly looks up moving her eyes from the light peach carpet to Emily.She walks towards Emily with slow but steady steps.When Emily tries to back away, Claire takes out her hands from her pocket and pushes Emily towards the strong white wall,holding a sharp black knife towards Emily’s neck making her sob out of fear of death
“Look Claire,Please-please don’t kill me!”(Emily begs as she trembles with fear knowing how dangerous her husband’s ex-wife is )
“I begged you the same way when you were humiliating your own best friend in front of so many people. I begged Robert the same way when he was leaving me.Did it change what happened?No right,so begging doesn’t change anything”(Claire says as she bends down to Emily, who fell to her knees)
“I-I’m sorry,I-I am sorry.Please leave me,I have 2 children”(Emily stutters as she scratches her hands and sobs)
“Do I look like I care,Emily”(Claire says calmly but furiously as she points the neck at Emily’s chin and pulls her up by the knife)
“Claire,listen.Listen to me-”(Emily says, letting her tears flow, but Claire pushes the knife a little deeper in her neck)
Suddenly, the lights went off and there went a high-pitched trembling scream.
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Claire happily takes out her keys from her brown purse and unlocks the door
“Mom!”(Karissa runs to her mom and hugs her as her mom hugs her back while smiling)
“Larrie,You look happy!after a long time.(Candice smiles being genuinely happy for her elder sister)
“Of course, because I am happy, very happy!”(Claire smiles widely and laughs)
Claire smiles, but her smile fades when she notices her elder sister’s neck. She comes near her sister and asks
“Larrie,where’s your necklace?Did you lose it?(Candice asks, being shocked as that was the most favourite necklace of her sister)
“Maybe I lost it,I don’t remember”(Claire says, being confused as she shrugs her shoulders)
“Bu-“(Claire cuts off Candice’s sentence and says)
“Leave all that.Tell me what will you both eat?”(Claire asks, keeping her hands on the kitchen counter)
Candice was still in her deep thoughts, but she shrugged it all out after seeing her sister happy after a whole year
“And what will you eat, Candy?”(Claire turns from Karissa to ask her sister)
“Whatever you’ll cook,I’ll eat it”(Candice smiles with a nod)
“Okay then let’s get to work”(Claire smiles as she turns and walks towards the cabinet to get the ingredients)
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“It’s as good as always!”(Karissa says as she chews her fish)
“Thank you baby.Candice,you didn’t tell me how the food is?”(Claire asks as she raises her right eyebrow)
“What am I doing?”(Candice asks as she takes a big bite from her fork)
“Eating”(Claire says as she stops eating)
“I’m quietly eating instead of talking a lot so that means I want to finish the food fast.So,that means it’s good”(Candice smiles proudly as she explains ,while having food in her mouth)
“You’re such a crackhead”(Claire shakes her head in disbelief)
Just then, the doorbell rang, making them look at the door while having a confused expression
“Oh,who is it at this time.I will go and check”(Candice gets up and goes towards the big brown door and opens the door.As she opens the door her expression change to a look of shock,confusion and anger)
“You?Why are you here?”(Candice says bitterly with rage in her eyes)
“Ask your sister,Candice.”(Robert asks with anger in his puffed eyes, making Candice turn to Claire)
“What does he mean, Larrie?”(Candice asks receiving a blank stare from her sister)
“I have no idea what he means”(Claire says coldly walking near the door)
“Dad,you’re here”(Karissa says as she runs to her dad, not understanding what is happening but a strong hand grips her arm, stopping her )
“You can’t stop my daughter from hugging me,Claire”(Robert says, getting up from his knees )
“I can do whatever I want.”(Claire says, pulling Karissa behind her)
“And what you did is terrible,if I found out that you had to do anything with Emily’s disappearance then I won’t hesitate to get the mother of my child arrested “(Robert says as he walks away with rage)
“What was he telling Claire?Do you know where Emily is?”(Candice asks with fear in her eyes)
“Go to the room, you both!”(Claire shouts, but Candice walks near her )
“Do as I said, Candice!”(Claire shouts again, turning to them with anger and rage)
“I’m doing it now, but I need answers in the morning.”(Candice says as she picks up Karissa and walks to the room)
(Claire stands still for a while as she keeps her hands on the kitchen counter and then starts laughing loudly)
“He-“(She laughs louder)
“He thinks I did something”(Claire laughs as she shakes her head in disbelief)
(Candice tucks Karissa in her bed as they hear Claire laughing like a maniac)
“What happened?”(Karissa asks, looking up at her concerned aunt)
“Nothing grace,she must have read a joke.”(Candice says as she ruffles Karissa’s ash brown hair and places a soft kiss on her forehead)
“I know you’re lying”(Karissa says, turning to the other side)
Just then, the bedroom door shuts open and a frustrated Claire enters the room.She walks up and sits beside Karissa,ruffling her hair
“I didn’t do anything Candie”(Claire says, looking up to her sister)
Candice sighs and nods, but inside she knew how dangerous her sister could be when she gets angry.
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Next morning,Claire walks up to the couch and picks up the TV remote, keeping her coffee mug aside.She opens the black TV as she places herself on the couch
“Emily Wilson,the wife of our brave police chief Robert Wilson was found dead in the lake near her house.She was wearing-“(The TV screen goes black again as Claire stands up happily)
“A red top and a black long skirt”(Claire states remembering her encounter as she breaks out into a loud laugh of satisfaction)
Claire laughs and laughs for 10 minutes straight, but then tears start forming in her eyes while she laughs, making her brush her brown hair.
As she handles herself,the doorbell rings, making Claire dust the imaginary dust off her white pants and walks to the door.
“What did you forget, Candice?”(Claire says with a smile as she puts forward her hand to open the door)
“Don’t tell me Karissa needed to go to the washroom,you should’ve told her to-“(Claire stops her words as she opens the door and finds herself face to face with a fuming Robert who was red by crying and 2 policemen)
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“I don’t think that chocolate is the best flavor,Candie”(Karissa says as she licks her strawberry ice cream)
“You can’t judge me while you eat that Grace.”(Candice says as she points to the strawberry cone)
“Uncle Sawyie’s Mint chocolate is better than that dark chocolate cone”(Karissa says, staring at the chocolate cone intensely, making Candice break out in a giggle)
“When your uncle Sawyie comes back from hospital,go and eat ice cream with him.Don’t come to me.”(Candice huffs dramatically and turns to look out of the window)
Candie?”(Karissa pokes Candice’s arm with a slight smug as she starts to tickle her aunt)
(Candice breaks into a smile and turns,tickling Karissa back, but just then, her phone rings)
“Hello?”(Candice asks playfully over the call but straightens herself when she hears the voice over the line)
“Yes,I am Candice Jone”(She says with concern in her eyes)
“What?I-I’ll be there.”(She cuts the call and sighs deeply with her hands on her lap)
“What’s wrong,Candie?”(Karissa asks, wiping her face with a tissue)
“Nothing grace.I just got a call from my work place,I’ll need to go.”(Candice says with a smile )
“Oh,It’s okay.We can go to the mall tomorrow with mom”(Karissa says with ice cream in her mouth)
“Yeah but for now you’ll need to be at the hospital with uncle Sawyie okay?”(Candice states with her left eyebrow raised as Karissa nods with a sweet smile)
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“I know she’s dangerous, but killing someone,she would never do that!”(Candice says, defending her sister who just kept quiet)
“But she isn’t saying anything in her defence,her silence is the evidence that she did the crime Mrs.James”(The tall officer says as Candice turns to her sister who was sitting on the chair uttering nothing)
“Larrie,tell them that you didn’t do anything like you told me last night”(Candice says walking up to her sister in a fast pace with big steps)
“Tell them, Claire!”(She shouts, falling down to her knees, keeping her hands on her sister’s hands, which were on her lap)
“Please Larrie.”(Candice whispers, looking up to her sister’s face with tears glimmering in her eyes)
“We have evidence against her ma’am.We found her ring in the victim’s fist and she was also seen entering the house from the neighbours CCTV”(The police officer says as Candice gets up and sighs)
“If she doesn’t say anything in the court then I’m not afraid to tell you that your sister is a murder”(The other officer says making Candice shoot her eyes towards him biting her inner right cheek)
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Candice sighs, closing the purple door as she walks up to the kitchen counter. Two hands wrap around her waist, making her sigh and speak.
“I don’t know how long we could have hid this from Karissa”(Candice says turning to her husband)
“But she isn’t big enough to know”(Sawyer says in a worried tone)
“She kept asking me where Claire is. What was I supposed to do?”(Candice sighs and sits on the chair)
“I still feel that we shouldn’t take her to the asylum to meet Claire,it’s a scary place”(Sawyer says as he sits beside his wife)
“But-“(Candice couldn’t continue as Karissa walks out to the kitchen with a smile)
“Are we leaving to pick up mom?”(Karissa asks with her green eyes popping out)
“Yeah,we’ll leave in a minute to meet Claire”(Sawyer says, pinching her left cheek)
The 3 walk on the white tiled floor feeling till they reach ‘Room No.37’. Candice tightens her grip on Karissa’s hand as she sighs and they all enter the cold white room.Worries for her sister fills Candice’s mind as Karissa’s mind fills with fear when she sees her mother with a pale skin,purple lips and open hair with dark circles under her eyes.
“Karissa”(Claire says in a tired and low tone as she spreads her arms for her daughter)
Karissa stares at her mom for a minute and then she takes slow steps towards her mother’s bed,pinching the hem of her skirt.She stands in front of her mother,raising her right hand to touch her mother’s face which was dry now.
“It’s been a long time since we met baby”(Claire says in a sore, sad tone as she takes her daughter’s hand and plants a kiss on her hand)
“When will you be back, mom?”(Karissa asks, touching the dark circles under her mom’s eyes)
“Mom won’t be there for a while, Kari”(Claire says caressing her daughter’s cheek)
“Be a good girl okay?Don’t trouble aunt Claire a lot.”(Claire says plantings kiss on her daughter's forehead)
“I have always been a good girl, mom.”(Karissa says, pressing her lips in a thin line)
“Will dad come back?”(Karissa asks but soon realises how wrong her decision was.)
Claire growls and starts yelling,standing up as Karissa gets away from her and 2 nurses come and pin her to the bed.Karissa stands there staring at her mother when Sawyer rushes towards her and picks her up,out of the room.The little girl tightens her grip around her uncles neck with memories haunting her as Sawyer caresses her hair.
Chapter 1 Ends