Elevator

Chapter 16

"Sheena?", I was puzzled. "What are you even doing?" She laughed at the top of her voice as she stood up with grace. Maybe, I should I have shut up. She was the villain of the situation.

"What am I doing?", said Sheena. "To get back at you for what you done, stupid girl." Stupid girl, no bitch has the right to do so. How could she, as a best friend for many years, what have I done to deserved this treatment? What have my friends did to deserve such terror?

"Don't you remember?", she then proceeded to slap my face hard. "You ruined my whole life ever since that day."

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"Remembered Mr. Vandetti? The man who treated you as his daughter.", Sheena said as I tried to recall what happened. Of course, I remembered him. My family used to be close to him. My brother and I always visited his house every Saturday and we would have ice-cream.

"Mr. Vandetti was so kind to you and your brother. Both of you would come to his house every Saturday for a nice treat, ice-cream and maybe some home cook meal.", she continued. "But then everything came to an end when you, at the courtroom, said and pointed him as the murderer of your family!"

Yes, the courtroom, I recalled. I was at the stand, I was so young back then. The trial took place couple of months after my family got murdered. I was so terrified because there were lots of people and even the media trying to cover the exclusive news.

Then, I saw Mr. Vandetti was brought in to stand for trial. He was haggard, white hair strands were all over the place and here he was, standing with confidence. The judge proceeded to ask me, whether was Mr. Vandetti was the man responsible for the murder of my family.

I was asked again, but I did not respond. The whole courtroom became silent as they awaited for my answer. I looked over at Mr. Vandetti, who was giving me a slight smile as though he was reassuring me that I was alright. It's okay, he mouthed.

I did not know what came to me, but suddenly I found myself pointing at him and saying he was the killer. The whole courtroom went into shock, media became more interested and Mr. Vandetti still remained confident and serious. Later, the jury gave the verdict after going through evidences and questionings, confirming he was guilty.

"I saw my own father being dragged away, Brooke.", Sheena said with pain in her voice. I now remembered, Mr. Vandetti had a wife and daughter. I remembered seeing them in tears as they saw their loved one dragged out of the courtroom. "My mother cried so hard that day and that was when I no longer saw the light."

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"My mother went into depression and no medication could help her.", Sheena said as she looked up to the ceiling, again emphasising there was no light beyond the room. "One day, I came back from school, thought I could play with her."

"All I just saw was her, already lifeless. Hanging up at the ceiling fan.", her voice was filled in sadness. "It was because of you, Brooke. My father treated your family with kindness and was falsely accused because of you." Sheena said. "My mother killed herself, thinking that the world was no longer a place for her to live in."

"But myself...", Sheena admired the sharp knife she took from her man. "I lived in an orphanage until I was eighteen and from then on, I changed my last name from Vandetti to Gable."

I was in deep shock. I never thought of my best friend was the daughter of Mr. Vandetti. I felt bad for Sheena because I made her life miserable. Till today, I had no idea what gotten me to say it was him for murdering my family. I couldn't help but to blame my younger self. I, myself, later lived in an orphanage until I was eighteen. Tragic, but we were both same.

Just as Sheena was about to make a mark on my neck, a shotgun was pointed to her head. "Put the knife down.", said the voice, I could hear the shotgun being loaded.

"Nobody has to die today."