Insanity (Sequel To Madness)

The Owner

~*Violets POV*~

I wake up with my head starting to ache. I rub my head and look around, seeing a large white room that looks like a type of hospital room. Mark sits next to me, his eyes widening slightly when my eyes open. I smile at him and look around for Shane or anyone else, but don't find them.
"How long was I out?" I question with a yawn, still rubbing my head lightly with the palm of my hand.
"A few hours." Mark replies with a shrug. "Maybe 5 or so." Mark adds with a small nod. I nod back, but it only makes me head worse so I stop.
"Where's Shane?" I ask while tilting my head to the side. Mark's face drops to his hand where his wide eyes stare at me.
"Shane... Is..." He mumbles through his hand.
"What? Is he with Rebecca or Zachary? Did he have to go back to the Main District?" I question all the options I can think of. "Whatever it is, I don't care if he cheated on me or something, I just want to know." I state with a small chuckle. I tilt my head softly and grab Mark's hand hoping that might make him tell me.
"Violet..." Mark starts while he gently wraps his fingers around my hand that holds his tightly. His chocolate brown eyes look into my green ones with a type of sadness in them.
"Shane has... Well... He passed away yesterday." Mark tells me with a tear sliding down his pale cheek. I stutter out a laugh, he's joking, he has to be joking.
"What? That can't be." I stumble over my words and shake my head strongly, trying to hold back tears.
"I saw it happen..." Mark admits while staring at me intently.
"How?" I ask him while giving him a long stare which he only answers with silence. "How did it happen?" I repeat my question as tears brim the edges of my eyes.
"Josh... He stabbed him." Mark explains with a single nod and many tears slipping his eyes.
"What happened to Josh?" I ask, gripping Mark's hand harder as more tears start to form in my eyes.
"He was arrested by district 10. They announced you were the new owner of the Main District and all others. Rebecca said it was what Shane told her before he was killed." Mark explains further, answering all my questions with more tears.
"So... I own all the districts now?" I question back while breathing heavily.
"Yeah... You do." He replied, giving me a single, fast nod. I take in a few more shaky breaths and nod back at Mark. I release his hand and instead use my hand to push myself up in my bed and move towards the edge to get myself out.
"Where are you going?" Mark asks me, watching as I put my bare feet onto the cold tile of the room.
"I have to make a statement to all the owners. I have to show that I'm strong, that's what Shane would have done." I respond while I softly place a hand on my head to try to make it stop spinning.
"But you were just knocked out, no one will judge you if you need more time to heal." Mark tells me while he gently places his hand on my hand that rests on the bed to sturdy myself.
"I don't get time. I own all the districts, and I have to show that." I respond while I slowly begin to walk towards the exit.
"Okay... Rebecca is out there right now. She's taking this pretty hard, and she's been acting in Shane's place and gave a speech earlier today. Be gentle on her, she's been crying all day." Mark tells me in a soft tone. I nod and rub my temple to try to calm the headache I have. I stumble out of my room and turn my head to scan the area. Rebecca sits in a chair with her face in her palms. She looks up at me with her eyeliner and mascara running down her cheeks. Her lipstick is smeared around her lips and she sniffles and wipes her eyes, only making her make up worse.
"Violet, you're awake?" She sighs and sniffles again. She stands on her bare feet and walks towards me with a stuttering smile on her face.
"Yeah." I respond simply. Her arms suddenly wrap around me while she engulfs me in an embrace.
"I'm so sorry about Shane... I tried to help him, but I wasn't strong enough to get to him and..." She sobs into my shoulder while her well done nails dig into my shoulders.
"It's okay, I'm sure you did everything you could." I respond while softly wrapping my arms around her in return.
"But everything I did wasn't enough." She replies through her sobs. I nod slowly and slowly release from her which she replies with a small tilt of her head.
"I want to address all the district owners before too much happens. I think Shane would want me to talk to them before they try something." I explain, trying hard not to think about Shane's fate and more about the fate of the districts.
"Yeah... Of course. That makes sense, he would want that since he worked so hard on those districts." Rebecca sniffles again and nods while she releases her grip on me entirely. I nod back and start walking away from her, following signs in the building to find the exit. I check myself out with a quick signature. I chuckle softly as I of down the pen, my first signature as the owner of the Main District. I sigh to myself as I walk out of the building and towards the large meeting building.
"Mrs. Lancaster?" A voice calls me. I turn to see Tim walking close behind me with concern in his eyes.
"Yes?" I answer, standing up more strait to look more professional.
"I'm surprised to see you outside so soon, and you have my deepest condolences for Shane. He was a terrific man." Tim informs me, which I answer with a nod.
"He was..." I mutter while trying to keep back tears. "I wanted to address all the district owners about it. Since he had a lot of unfinished business with many of them." I explain, trying to keep my mind off of my deceased husband.
"Oh, of course. Do you have a statement?" Tim replies while rubbing his hands together.
"No, I have a lot of thoughts about what happened... And I have a lot of ideas for the future that they should know about..." I chuckle softly while wiping a tear away from under my eye. "And of course Shane would want me to say something and look strong like he would be." I have a smile that fades from my face as more tears begin rolling down my cheeks.
"Oh, sweetie... The business life is rough, and its even more rough when the good guys leave it. You should go back to the hospital, or to 16 with Rebecca, or back to your home. Dealing with all this now is way too soon and none of them will judge you about that." Tim states sincerely as he gently pulls me into an embrace. I begin sobbing into my hands and sniffle heavily while trying to make myself stop. However, no matter what I do to try to make myself stop, I can't seem to. Few people could ever really calm me anyways, and all of them are far away from me.