Maaria's POV
Me and Christopher walked into Mother's bedroom, to find the bed unmade with the bed sheets being on the side of the bed. I looked around and found three golden chain, keeping one for myself and the other two for money.
"She's not coming back, is she?" I asked looking at Christopher with Cathy's ring on the golden chain. He looks at me, with a firm look on his face.
"She's dead to us now."
"Good. Because we don't need her anymore, not now, not ever. We can depend on each other instead." Christopher takes what he can and I take Mother's necklace from the drawer and hide it in my pocket.
We hurried back to the room before someone could catch us, Carrie was still asleep and Christopher was checking the outside the window.
"When do we tell her?" I asked Christopher, referring to Carrie.
"After breakfast. I don't want her getting scared more than she has to be." We walked over to the table and Christopher counts the money again to make sure we had the correct amount and enough.
"So we just walk right out the front door?" I asked, trying to revise the plan with Christopher.
"We wait till dinner, when all the servants and family are in the kitchen or dining room." I nod my head.
"Then Carrie and I will go the fence and you'll go to the shed so you can turn off the electricity?"
"Then we catch up by the lake and head for the depot for the evening train." Christopher says, putting the money in his pocket.
"And by the time Grandmother comes in with our breakfast tomorrow, we'll be halfway to Florida," He smiles at me and I looked down at my ring and Cathy's,"I was thinking, I can sell my ring and Cathy's," Christopher looks at me and I smile,"It's okay, it's what Dad and Cathy would've wanted."
"Your keeping the rings. Forever." Suddenly he starts coughing and I look at him worried. I walked over to him and notice how he was sweating and how pale he kinda looked. I placed my hand on the side of his head and he seemed warm. I had a worried look on my face and he smiles at me,"I'll be fine. Just get Carrie ready just in case anything happens and we have to leave immediately." I nod my head and kiss his cheek.
"Just be careful Christopher. I love you."
Christopher smiles and kisses me once more before leaving the room. I started to read the rest of my book about the lovers in Verona and the when Carried woke up I decided to fold our clothes into a small bag.
"Carrie, you gotta eat something. You have to be strong for later." I told her gently and I noticed that Mickey was in her hand.
"No. Don't feel well. I have to take care of Mickey." I sat on the bed with her and noticed the donut she was giving Mickey.
"Where did you get that Carrie?" I asked, referring to the donut.
"I saved it for Cory, for when he came back from the hospital."
I sadly smile at her and then Mickey suddenly starts whimpering and nothing, it's silent for minutes. Mickey doesn't move, doesn't squeak, or anything. Because he died. Wait....the donut, the donut must have consisted something in them in order for Mickey to die so quickly. But what? What would be in the donuts that Mickey would die from? Carrie notices that Mickey is dead and starts to cry, bringing me along to cry with her.
We heard the door opening but not taking our eyes off Mickey. It was the last thing we had left of Cory, sweet precious Cory.
"Maaria, we need to leave right now." Christopher noticed that Carrie was crying and his facial expression changed soon.
"It's Mickey. Carrie gave him one of Cory's donuts and he just started whimpering all of a sudden—"
"No, no, that can't be right." I curiously looked at Christopher on what he was referring to.
"What is it Christopher?" He points to the donuts as he explained.
"The powdered sugar on the donuts, I think there was poison in it. That's why we're sick." Oh my god.
"Are you saying that our Grandmother tried to kill us?" Grandmother came in and I stood up, scared for what may to come.
"You have a key." She shuts the door behind her and I noticed a whipping stick was in her hand,"Now give it to me." Christopher looks at her and shakes his head.
"No."
"Give it to me this instant!" Grandmother tries to hit Christopher but he grabs her wrist but Christopher starts coughing due to the sickness and brings himself down.
"Seed of the Devil!" Grandmother exclaims. I get off the bed angrily and saw how she pushed Christopher to the floor, causing the stick to fall from her hand. I pick it up and look at her angrily. She backs up to the door of this attic,"You're never gonna leave this room!" She sees me getting closer to her and I look at her fiercely,"You're gonna hit me? You're gonna whip me? Come on! Come on, do it." Just when I wanted to do it she says something else that invoked my anger even more to the extension,"Beautiful, Prideful, and Weak! Just like your Mother."
"That is not true!"
"You were never meant to be born. You're a stain on the Foxworth name! On the name of the Lord himself! Now if you give me that key, I may show you a little mercy." I looked over at Christopher and shake my head as he proceeded to get up a little bit. He looks over at me and I shake my head gently.
"Christopher don't...."
"Come on!" He puts something in her hand and I felt like it was the key, but Christopher surprised me completely.
"Maaria, go to the attic!" He gives me the key and I take it quickly. I grabbed my jacket and Carrie before Grandmother had a chance of catching up with us.
"No! Give me that! Come back here! Come back here!" Christopher stalks her, giving me and Carrie time to go up to the attic. I pick her up and quickly go up the stairs. I felt Grandmother chasing after us, hot on our trail. I put Carrie done and urge her to run up the stairs, giving her the key.
"Maaria, please!" I heard Grandmother say. She grabs my leg and pulls me down. I heard Carrie screaming my name and I saw Christopher at the door, with the bag and closing the door causing Grandmother to still hang onto me but when she looked at me, that's when I knew I had to strike.
"I am nothing like my Mother and I never will be!"
I lunged at her and hit her with the stick that had been in my hand the entire time, causing her to let go of me and to join Carrie halfway to the stairs.
"Why did you do that? Don't close the door. I need for the door to be open! No. Not the door. Don't turn off the light. Open the door! Turn on the light! I need the door to be open! What are you doing?" Grandmother exclaimed. I remember when mother told us that she was claustrophobic at the beginning. I heard footsteps and saw Christopher halfway with me to the stairs.
"No, no! Open the door! No!" Grandmother starts to weep and I looked at Christopher,"What are you doing?" I go down a few steps and looked at her angrily.
"Like you said, God sees everything. He'll punish you for what you did to us. To Cory and Cathy." I start to cry a bit but turned around and go up the stairs more until we reached the top of the attic.
"It wasn't me! It was your Mother who poisoned you, not me!" I widened my eyes and looked at Christopher. I put my hand on his shoulder and told him as so.
"It doesn't matter anymore."
We turn to the attic heating our Grandmother sobbing and wanting to call out for help, but we ignored her continuing on with our mission. I closed the door of the attic and heard Christopher coughing. I took a small chair and blockades the door just in case, but I remembered the calendar that me and Cathy made.
"Maaria, we have to go." I picked up the chalk and wrote 'Maaria was here' just when Christopher drops the rope down.
"Be right there."
I put the chalk down and looked out the window. Christopher was going down first and then Carrie for on my back as I held her down the rope. The weight of all of us must've been too much that the rope broke as we nearly made it halfway, causing us to drop on the ground. Christopher comes over and checked us both.
"Are you okay? Come on."
We all got up and ran into the woods to where the fence was. We remembered the plan but it was daylight and it was different. Christopher looks at me.
"I'll cut the electricity and meet you at the lake."
"No! No! We're not going without you."
We ran another way around from the fence but the fence was held all around.
"Hurry! We have to make this train." We ran until there was a man with a rifle gun.
"Stop! Stop if you know what's good for you!" I looked at the man with pleading eyes and we stayed silent for a moment until I spoke up.
"Please...please sir, we're Corrine's children." He looks at us all and his face turned to shock.
"My god. Go. Before I'm sent after you! I'll cut the power on the fence. Go!"
We all ran and Christopher made sure Carrie was not left behind. Once we reached the fence, the man did promise to turn off the power and so he did. Christopher takes Carrie on his back and goes over the fence with her. I came afterwards and we ran all the way back to the train station.
Every word. Every memory. Every love. It was all broken three and a half years ago when our Mother choose money for love. Money over her own children. We will never forget Cory and Cathy, as a part of them lives inside us forever. I checked my neck and the golden chain was around my neck. We bought our train ticket and sat down on the station. Remembering most of the things that will stick by with me for the rest of my life.
"No, this is the only safe room where your Father can't hear them."
"I don't know exactly. Maybe a few days or a week? And when I win my Father over, I'm going to take you all down to meet him, and I know he'll love each and every one of you just as much as I do."
"I'm sorry. I promise, all our dreams are gonna come true. Just trust me."
"No one must ever see or hear you. Do you understand?"
"Because if your Grandfather ever discovered that you're here, you'd all be thrown out without a red cent, but not before getting punished for even being alive."
"A marriage that was an abomination in the eyes of the Lord, with five children spawned by the devil! Evil...from the moment you were conceived. Evil!"
"Your my sister, it's my duty to protect you and Cathy and the twins."
"She was wrong, God didn't punish me, not with you. You are perfect. You have to believe it, no matter what anyone says. I hope you can understand that love doesn't always come when you want it, sometimes it just happens, against your will."
"I don't remember. He was a mistake and so were you."
"Your not a mistake, not to us. Your everything a Mother should be. You love your siblings and so what if you don't have our blood, your still my little sister."
"I can't. I can't ever tell him about you, ever. My Father forgave me on one condition, that I never had any children with your Father."
"If you ever do that again, I will whip you! And Maaria, too!"
"Your not gonna cut one strand of Maaria's hair."
"It wasn't your fault Christopher, all you did was look at me."
"I just wish to God you weren't so...close."
"Then you do think of me? Do you think I'm pretty?"
"Yes, but it doesn't matter, because brothers shouldn't be thinking of their sisters like that."
"We are older, Mom! Look at us. I'm not a kid anymore! And Maaria, Cathy, do they even look like a little girl?"
"You said we'd be up here for one night, then a few days, a month- it's been over two years, Mom! You think your presents are gonna make up for what we've lost? What we're losing?!"
"If your ARE even their Mother, you would at least tell Bart about us but in this case, I am going to presume you haven't even told Bart about us. Have you? He doesn't even know we exist!"
"They're from your Mother. I wouldn't eat 'em if I were you. They're not good for your health."
"I was so scared. I was thinking....what would happen if we lost you just like how we lost Dad? If something happened to you..."
"Don't worry Maria, I'm right here, I'm right here."
"I love you too."
"I know that I shouldn't feel this way about you....but I want you to myself. I love you Maaria. We can be different people, no one has to know about our true family, nothing. We can start anew and together."
"You think you can do anything you want, and people will believe you. They'll learn the truth someday. When your husband learns that you have five children locked away in an attic, then we'll see how 'perfect' he thinks you really are. And your Father too. You won't inherit one damned penny, and I'll be glad!"
"They both had pneumonia. The doctors did all they could, but...it was too late."
"It wasn't me! It was your Mother who poisoned you, not me!"
Once we were to board our train, Carrie was sleeping in Christopher's arms. We gave the conductor our ticket and they punched a hole into it, giving it back to us. Carrie was still asleep and I didn't blame her. We sat down, next to each other. As the train began to move Christopher intwines his hand with mine and I looked over at him, my head on his shoulder but then I looked at him.
"We never have to see that place again Maria. It's all over. Just you, me and Carrie, our little family." I smile and look out the window of the train, touching my necklace and looking at my ring.
And for the first time in the longest time, we felt alive, free. We had everything ahead of us. But someday we'd see Mother again and we'd look at her straight in the eye, the children she once loved, cherished, and all our shame and hopelessness. The murder of our brother and sister, Cory and Cathy Dollanganger would weight on her shoulder. The things she had said to us, the lies she had fed us, and the secrets she kept from us, the way she treated us, and the way she would beat us, the guilt would all become hers.
I looked over at Christopher and Carrie, smiling for our freedom. We'll survive somehow, we'll move on but someday I will have my revenge, for Cathy, for Cory, for Carrie, for Christopher, but most importantly for me.
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🥺 It's the final chapter. I loved writing this for you guys so much. Let me know if you want a Sequel next summer or would you like something different but similar to the Sequel, just let me know in the comments ♥️
I really do hope y'all have enjoyed the ninth and final chapter 🤧. So leave a comment, vote for this chapter, and rate it on a scale of 1-10. Love hearing from y'all.
Wherever you are in this world, have a magical day/night, bye! ♥️