Trapping His Monster

38. The Finale

"To become mindfully aware of our surroundings is to bring our thinking back to our present moment reality and to the possibility of some semblance of serenity in the face of circumstances outside our ability to control."

― Jeff Kober

"What, no! I'm happy to be back home. It's just that...it was so peaceful over there. They're like New York, but smaller and more tight knit." I smiled. "Everyone helps out and they even get along with their leader."

"If Russia takes them, you won't be able to go back," Asher said.

"I know! That's what's so frustrating. I'll never see Sierra and Dr. Bentley ever again."

"Look, we can only hope they become their own country or get taken in by the United States."

"I'm sure they'd rather be Russian citizens."

Asher chuckled and opened the door for me. The house was dead silent. I almost stopped myself from stepping inside. The mansion had never been this quiet. Not since before I married Derek. I wonder what's going on. It didn't seem like anyone was home.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"I heard most of your staff quit." Asher looked around.

"Most of them? We didn't have that many to begin with. Is Maddie gone?"

"I heard she went to work for your parents. We don't know where they disappeared to."

"Ugh! Someone always has to come along and ruin everything." I felt like pulling my hair out. "Are you telling me I may never see them again? That the next time I see them, they might be in a body bag?"

"Sha'Kera, no one said that."

"Where are my kids?"

"With your parents." Asher took my bags. "When do they want you to start counseling?"

"...Next week. I wanted to sort everything out before I started."

"Did you get to speak to Marcel yet?"

I sighed. I hadn't thought about music until now. Honestly, I wasn't feeling the fame anymore. The media no longer cared about me. They were following new stories. Stories people actually cared about. Like global warming and the upcoming presidential election. No one was begging me to release a new song.

"I don't know what to say to him. He's already spent so much on my tour and that went down the drain. I might as well make it up to him before I decide to call it quits. I don't know how bad my canceled tour messed him up."

"I'm sure he had a backup plan. Everyone has a backup plan."

"Yeah, well, I didn't and this happened." I led him upstairs. "I heard about what happened to Lexi. I feel so bad. She always worried about being replaced."

"...I handled everything to the best of my ability."

I'm sure he did. I wasn't dumb. Asher could be a manipulative freak sometimes. I knew there had been something wrong with Ruby. There was no way she was working for me just to work for me. Everyone has an ulterior motive when it comes to getting what they want. I should have let Derek kill her. Knowing him, he probably would have kept her just out of my sight.

"What are you going to do about Derek?" Asher asked.

"Divorce is running through my head. I don't want to think about it, but I need to protect my kids," I said. "He's never going to change, is he?"

"Rikers won't do him any good. Once he's indicted, he'll probably get a lesser sentence based on--"

"Mental defect..." I sighed. "Yeah, that's what it's looking like. What's going to happen to Wayne?"