Mona is plagued by a curse that claims every suitor of hers. After each disappearance, a sick warning from a peculiar admirer came in a form of well painted portraits of her.
She was his favorite muse just as her suitor's blood was his favorite colo...
Marie gasped in horror, her hands clamped at her mouth at the events that flashed at her screen.
When Shawn asked her help to expose the Don of a certain Sicilian Mafia she had no clue that it involved her friend Mona until Hugo came in contact with them.
Hugo aided them by providing the blueprints of the estate along with the property where the CIA analysts along with the case operators camped in. He even provided vital information regarding his father's affiliation.
He called it the Ghost, a well hidden organization that slipped the interpol's radar.
A fact proven true when the said mafia was not listed among interpol's roster. This made it hard for Shawn to obtain a warrant for this operation but was able to carry it out with the support of his superiors.
With a lot at stake at the operation Hugo suggested that should the operation fail, Marie is to broadcast whatever was recorded by a live streaming lense attached to Hugo's shirt.
The drill was simple. Mona and Hugo enters the estate with Hugo drawing information from Don Rafael. Reveal the existence of his mafia then leave. With substantial evidence at their disposal, they would seek reinforcements from the closest precinct to arrest the Don.
But things went downhill when they excused themselves making Shawn along with 20 of his finest men decide to stealthily make their way in.
They were clearly outnumbered so they decided to silently infiltrate the estate, clear the mob and rescue their targets.
Not knowing how far in Shawn's unit was, all she could do was keep her sight glued on the monitor.
"This is who she truly is, a mindless killing machine. My Monique." Don Rafael fondly introduced
"Papa, Monique draw." she motioned towards the bloody carnage.
"Don't forget to wear your gloves sweetling." the elderly man reminded to which Mona, Monique rather answered with a brisk nod disappearing out of sight.
"What did you do to her! Why is she calling you that! " Hugo blurted out. The lense heaving in the same manner as his chest.
"I've done nothing. All I did was be there when she switches identity that's all. You see when I was keeping tabs on you I found her reeling in that first kill."
"She fascinated me so I did my research on her and I learned that she switches to a child-like killing machine due to dissociative identity disorder so I looked for the right triggers. She mistook me for her father and well the rest is history." he pointed at Mona who materialized out of nowhere with a set of brushes and a blank canvass in tow.
She had crouched down the floor between the corpse of her victims, soaking in their blood that turned her immacutely white dress crimson. Her lips pouted as if contemplating about something before dipping her brush at the splattered brain and drew on the blank canvass making Marie sick to her stomach.
"Funny how you were running in circles finding the killer when she's actually that close to you the whole time." the elder man motioned towards Mona.
"What do you mean?" Hugo asked as he faced Mona giving a good sight of her disturbing state.
"Have you figured why the victims were drawn based on their first time meeting?" the patriarch questioned, pride registered in his features as captured by the lenses.
"It's based on what she remembered!" his laugh echoed causing Marie's hair to stand at how twisted the man is.
"Mona look at me. This is not you. Please come back to me." she heard him say before he lunged for Mona, shoving the then blooded brush off her hands.
A look of confusion crossed her face before her image was blocked when Hugo locked her in a protective embrace.
"You see it worked out well for me. Monique does the dirty work then I clean up after. She's like a robot wired to kill when needed. All I did was pull the right strings. I even got her to avenge your mom from the Dubois." the man continued his narration.
"But then your nosy butler knew of my involvement so I ticked him off the list too." Mona leered away from him enough for the lenses to capture a hint of recognition in her eyes as she poked at Hugo's figures, her face like that of an inanimate porcelain doll void of emotion.
"Poor Mona." she mused, feeling pity for her friend. She may have done the killings but at the end of the day she was still a victim pulled in puppet's strings.
"How could you use her like that!" Hugo blurted his anger at the man who dragged Mona away from his grasp.
"It was like death was her lover, claiming all who stood in her way. Bacio della morte, a poetic way to show its devotion!" his eye shone in a way a madman did.
"Hugo was lucky to be raised away from this man" Marie shook with contempt as she watches the man go on with his litany.
"She was perfect. The only one suited for the job you keep refusing. I just had to break her enough to make her lose her humanity." he stated a matter-of-factly, ghosting his hand over the blood that smeared her face. As Marie pooled all focus on the screen she noticed a tear broke free from her eyes, her face remained emotionless as it occured.
"I accepted your offer! Why did you have to do this?" he blurted, pain and anger fused in his voice.
"You're my son. I know your heart is as black as mine. Once you get what you want you will leave. That's a major drawback on my part so I used my ace." he tssskked as he carried on his speech.
"So what part do i play in this scheme of yours?" Hugo taunted his father whose jaw twitched, his patience wearing thin.
"Keep your word and I'll let her be. You can even keep her all to yourself." the Don's response made him let out an audible sigh.
A moment of silence reigned only to be interrupted when the sound of a gun going off alerted the Castiglione patriarch as he sprung towards Mona.
"The choice is yours son." he offered dragging Mona towards the large painting in front of the dining hall.
Hugo stayed rooted to place, a sigh was soon heard from him before he whispered "I'm sorry." as he removed the lense. He then dropped it to the floor just in time to capture a panting Shawn holding a gun, pointing straight towards where she assumed Hugo was before their feed was cut off.
"They made it in!" she exclaimed as relief flooded her being only to be taken aback when an explosion erupted from Casa Castiglione.
"No!" Marie shrieked as she sprinted towards the window to see the proud estate crumbling to the ground, smoke forming a fog within the premises.
The furious tapping of buttons, the calm voice of the case operators drowned in her ears. Staggering down as her knee went limp from exhaustion, both physical and emotional.
Her hand reached for something to hold on to, counting one to ten in an attempt to still her nerves before surging towards the door. She was nearly hopping her way to her car easily gliding in to turn the ignition on.
"Please be safe" she prayed as she remembered Mona's wish before they departed.
"I hope we can grab some coffee when this is over." she casually joked before they sped away.
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Did anyone survive? Read on to find out.
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