(#1) 𝔹𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕥 •𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓽𝓮𝓭 •

Chapter 22 - Alone.

~Alisa~

_ My deepest fear isn't death. I've died a million times, and seen a million deaths. But when I close my eyes, my greatest fear comes alive. And that's the fear of being alone. _

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Someone was out to get me.

I was paralyzed by that fact. I shivered, each time I recalled the painful way Mrs. Ekwegh had to die. I couldn't stop crying, because she was alive a few hours ago, and dead in the next. I couldn't get over the shock, of how brutally she was murdered. Each time I tried, I only found my self weakened by the thought.

Her corpse had already been taken away, and Mr. Ekwegh was finally home. I saw him crying, before they took her corpse away, and I felt pity towards him. He's currently lost two wives, and it's quite coincidental that they're sister. Twins, even. It was sad, and I wasn't sure what he must be going through.

I decided to lock myself in my room. I'd already soaked my pillow with my tears, and I wasn't sure I was ready to stop doing that. The trauma from Mrs. Ekwegh's death, was seriously getting the best of me, and I held onto the little hope that she was in a better place. But still, what I didn't understand was why someone would want her dead. And how come they killed her without anyone noticing? How was it possible that whomever it was, got into the house in the first place? I was well-aware that the mansion had such a really tight security. So my mind raced on how possible it was that they could've killed her so easily.

It just didn't sit well inside of me. My mind still had my numerous doubts, and I couldn't help but wonder if there was a mole in the house. Someone who leaked information, and someone who spied on everyone in this house. It could be possible, because I saw that as the only reasonable explanation as to how the assassin managed to make such a clean kill. And there were no traces left behind, besides the terrifying note which I held in my hand, even still.

'Alisa... Be careful. You're next.'

I wondered why I was even dragged into the picture. What was my business with all this? I didn't kill anyone, did I? I didn't even know what was going on. I was basically a helpless orphan, who simply wanted to have a family. It had been barely two months since my stay here, and I kept having slight paranoia that they might kick me out. Soon. But, I still found myself shoving those thoughts away. At the moment, I wouldn't even care if they sent me back. Because, right now, it seemed to me that there was something in this mansion that didn't quite sit well with me. I felt like being in this mansion meant my doom. I was definitely afraid, because I didn't even know when the so-called assassin would strike again.

I dreaded the nighttime, because I was afraid that would be the time when the assassin would strike. I suddenly felt like running away, but where would I go to? And how sure would I be that they wouldn't find me? All these thoughts drained all my energy, as I continued to rake my mind with these tiresome thoughts.

Again, I recalled the CD given to me by Mrs. Ekwegh, and my heart clenched in fear. She had said she trusted me. Those were her lasts words to me. And I would really hate to let her down, but what could I do? I didn't even know what was contained in that CD! And I knew that CD definitely had something to do with her death. I remembered how scared she was, when she came to me, last night. She seemed to have seen a ghost, and I couldn't stop worrying over the fact that this mansion had way too many secrets. Secrets that I just wished Kambili would tell me about. Or anyone at all. But it seemed like those secrets were too heavy on their tongue. It felt like saying them, would mean their deaths. It felt like it was hovering over this entire mansion, and haunting its members. But I just wished someone would let me know. I wished they'd tell me what was really going on in this mansion. Because I knew this mansion had way too many secrets, and lies had built up its whole walls.