Order Of Confessions

Chapter 5: Secrets

Laras' POV

Lara looked at herself in the mirror, alongside two maids who helped her get dressed for the funeral. A delicate laced black dress framed her lean structure, her brunette hair was parted from the middle into a sleek low ponytail and a matching black hat lay on her head with a cluster of peonies sewn on them. The family symbol  Lara thought to herself, despising how the flowers stood out.

The ride to the cemetery was filled with silence, everybody busy with their own thoughts. Mom held a bouquet of pink peonies speckled with tiny white flowers and Dad had some sewn into his coat pocket. The sky had started to turn light grey as large pillows of clouds gathered to block out the gold of the sun.

The rain lightly drummed against the roof of the car as they stepped out. The cemetery belonged to the Kierce family, with every Kierce ancestor buried there. They passed through rows of graves until they reached the empty one, Elliots body lay six feet under and covered with a white sheet. Lara looked around to see that the only attendees were her family members and Sergei, with a similar expression of grief. Lara felt as though it was all for show and that they didn't really feel any sort of that unfamiliar emotion.

"My boy. My sweet little boy," Mom cried, holding the bouquet close to her chest. "He died so young with hopeful dreams and wishes. May his soul rest in peace."

Ugh, now she cared. "Wish you could hear us Elliot, Mom and Dad finally know we exist." Lara thought to herself, hoping Elliot would somehow be able to hear her thoughts. "I love you, brother" Lara finally said, crying her eyes out.

"I love you too, idiot" A voice spoke in her head, she knew it wasn't Elliots voice but her own mind trying to deny the fact he was dead. Lara was going to have a hard time trying to get rid of it.

____*____

Lara lay on her bed, still wearing her black dress. It'd been a few hours since they arrived home but she didn't feel like changing. A rush of memories filled her head and she couldn't get them out or think about anything else.

Lara thought it would be a good idea to take a walk in the garden to get her mind off things. She passed Elliots room and didn't even think about going in but her hand lingered above the door handle. A sudden scurry of footsteps went by across her, where the library was.

Normally, the door was open so you could glance at the array of books as you passed by. But now it was closed shut with people speaking in hushed tones. Lara made her way carefully towards the door to eavesdrop at the conversation.

"I believe it's that girl from Merizons family . Was it her? Is she plotting revenge on this family?" a voice that sounded like Dad said.

A sound of bones cracking filled the air for a moment. It sounded like someone had punched someone in the ribs.

"Just tell me god damn it! I don't have time!" Dad yelled.

" I- I don't... I don't know. I just did what I was told I didn't know, I'm sorry. I don't know who hired me please... I'll do anything just let me go," someone said, whimpering in pain.

Lara looked through the keyhole and saw a man in a white shirt and black pants tied to a chair with Dad in front of him and two guards behind him. The man looked very familiar, his voice reminding Lara of that day. Was it this guy that shot Elliot?

Mom stood a fair distance away from the negotiation circle with folded arms and a scowl on her face. The man in the chair had bruises on his face all shades of Skittles and hunched over in pain with blood dripping from his mouth.

"What makes you think you'd take a step outta here alive?" Dad said, pulling out a gun from his back pocket.

"Please no! I swear I don't know!"

A familiar ring stung the air as Lara covered her ears and closed her eyes. She knew looking through the keyhole again would bring back trauma but she did anyway. A limp body lay on the floor with the white carpet soaked in dark red color. Laras hands started shaking as flashbacks of Elliots body rushed through her head.

"Ugh what a useless brat! Clean up this mess, Sergi" said Dad, with no remorse in his voice.

"What do we do now? Send people to get that girl disposed? I bet she has more experienced assassins under her thumb. We barely have enough men to protect us much less an assassin who can get the job done without being notic-" Mom chimed in.

"Shut it, woman! I'm trying to think here! God knows how many more spies like him we have around us. We need to kill that girl before we meet our end"

Merizon family? Lara had heard that name somewhere but couldn't put a finger on it. And revenge? What sort of revenge was Dad talking about? What did they do that made that girl come after them?

Lara froze on the spot as a shuffle of footsteps came from somewhere behind her and before she could turn around to take a look, a pair of hands were over her mouth. Lara screamed, making a very muffled sound, Lara knew it was useless to struggle but she did anyway. The library doors opened wide and Lara was being dragged into it.

The last thing Lara wanted was to face her family.