A NEW ALLY

"Not yet, but we are working on it. I promise I will find them soon, Grace. I won't allow them to get hurt." I promise her.


"Have you guys tried tracking their phones?"

"Their cell phones were found back in their house, and their security guard was killed. I am the only key to finding them." I say.

"Why can't that woman just get arrested for once, Ellie? She has already admitted to kidnapping them, right?"


"Yes, but if we do that, we don't know what will happen to them, Grace. Gracia is a monster, and she won't think twice about hurting them. Or even worse."

"This is so worrying, bestie. What do you plan to do?"


"I will end this ASAP, Grace. I won't allow Gracia to torture me anymore or hurt anyone else."

"But how, Ellie?"

"It is best that you don't know. On Monday morning, my guards will be waiting for you at the airport. See you then, and stay safe, Grace."

I end the call and drive in through my compound. Its beauty echoes so many worrying sensations of late. Everything that has happened has affected the tranquility of this castle. There are blurry shades of darkness everywhere, threatening the peace of this place. This needs to end.

Instead of entering the castle, I spin in the direction of Gracia's place, but I collide with Nelly just a few steps later. The whore. Today, her face resembles this environment: dull and weirdly pathetic. I don't know if it's the red marks on my fingers that are making her face look this weird, or if it's just really weird.

"So, how was the walk of shame, Nelly?" I speak first as we rack before each other.

Contrary to her usual self, ready to attack or defend herself, today she does nothing. She doesn't respond, but just stares at me so flat, like I am not talking to her. Did a cat bite her tongue overnight or something? This is definitely not the bitchy Nelly I knew until yesterday.

"The next time you try that again, you are dead, Nelly! I'm warning you!"

Still, she says nothing, but this time, she at least reacts by bowing her head down. It seems like my slaps put some conscience into her, or that something is so damn wrong somewhere. Whatever the case is, I don't care, but I hope she takes my warning seriously because I won't think twice about breaking her jaws and gouging her big eyes out the next time she crosses me.

I brush past her, opting to leave her to deal with her demons while I face her witch mother, but two steps away from her, a voice stops me from behind.

"Whatever you are planning to put a stop to this mess, you need to hurry."

Drums roll! A moment of screaming silence! I spin around. There is no one else but me and her. Her face is up, eyes on me, and I can see the vulnerability in her eyes. Confusion!

"My hands are tied, but you can do something to unravel this misery and save us all from the doom that's about to befall this place."

If she hadn't spoken again, I wouldn't have believed my ears—that she was actually the one speaking and saying all these things to me!

"What exactly do you mean, Nelly?" I took some time to gather the courage to speak, still bewildered by her.

"No matter what you do, even if you give my mother what she wants, you won't live to see the light of day after two days, Ellie! Not you, nor your husband, nor your friends. None of you will be spared."

I knew that witch had something cooking, but to wipe us all off?

"What do you know about her plans?" I eagerly ask, walking back to her.

"Everything. I just have one request before I tell you all that I know."

A request? Like the one she made for Damian yesterday?

"What's your request?" I ask, hoping she won't utter some nonsense because I might lose it and slap her already sore cheeks again.

"Spare my mother, please! Send her to jail because she deserves it, but don't take her away from me. She is all that I have, and despite everything horrible she has done, she still remains my mother. I know I have no right to ask anything from you, but for betraying my own mother, and on the blood of the countless lives I am about to save, please, Ellie, please, spare my mother." She pleads, a tear dropping from her eye.

This is the first time I'm seeing her this humbled and broken before me. This is the second time I have seen her shed a tear, and the first time was just yesterday when I beat her up in Damian's office. For the first time, I see honesty in her eyes, and something tells me that she isn't toying with me. I can grant her plea as an expression of appreciation for her choice to help me, but then again, that will solely depend on Gracia.

"I am not a murderer. I am after the truth and justice for my family. You have nothing to worry about as long as Gracia cooperates."

"My mother won't agree to go down. What happens then?" She asks.

"Listen, Nelly. If you have chosen to do what is right, you have done your part, and your conscience is and will forever be clean. I understand that you want the best for your mother, but in the end, it's her decision on how she wants all this to end. You've played your part, and all you can do now is hope that she sees how much you care for her. Pray that your love for her changes her."

"She is beyond redemption, Ellie. Her obsession with vengeance outweighed the humanity in her a long time ago. Her soul now thirsts for blood and power. Unless and until her thirst is quenched, she won't stop at anything. I don't want to see her turn into a monster."

She already has one! The moment she killed the first person, she automatically became a monster.

"What's the root cause of her vengeance anyway? How do I resolve this misery?" I ask.

"For you to know everything, you need to go back to the beginning—from when she, your mom, and your father crashed. Everything started there, and it will end with you if you don't act soon."

Ahem! I know all about that, but what I would love to know is what happened after my mom changed colleges.

"I know about that, but after my mother transferred from that college, what happened?"

"She didn't transfer out of her own will. There was an attempt on her life, and my mother was behind it." She responds.

"Because of my father? Because of the man who never had feelings for your mother? Was that the reason why she did all that?" I ask.

"Yes. My mother's love for your father had turned into an obsession. She was ready and willing to take everything that stood in her way by all means."

"So, did she finally get my father's heart when mom left the college? Did they start a relationship? How did Mama and Papa meet again?" The curiosity is killing me.

"Can we talk in the car? It's too dangerous out here." Nelly asks.