Chapter 45
A sinister smile spread on her face. “I am. And you had the audacity to do your own killings and try to make it as if I’d done it.”
“But here’s the thing I don’t understand. The murders went on for years in different states. Katherine never traveled to those states.”
You’re a monster,” I spat. “How did you get Alex to that house?”
That was easy. I sent him a text message from your phone that day when you were sleeping off a headache, gave him the address, and told him to meet you there after his literature group because you had a surprise for him.
You’d already found the address I planted in Alex’s bag.
I was the one who made you research The Last Chapter Killer.
I needed you to believe that Alex Whitmore was Anthony Ridley.
Pretty clever, right? I was all set to take over after you burned that house down.
But then the others had to force Katherine back.
I couldn’t have that. You all had to go. ”
“You bitch!” I shouted. “You’re a monster. A pure evil monster!”
“It takes one to know one, sister.”
“I know why I killed cheating men. But what I don’t understand is why you go around killing young women who are on the path of destruction? So, explain it to me.”
“You’re right. I am a monster. But I wasn’t always like this.
I was a sweet and kind little girl who protected Katherine from that monster.
The things he’d done, night after night.
I took it all for her. And one day, when I looked in the mirror, I didn’t recognize myself anymore.
I’d become someone ugly, unnoticeable. Then I remembered.
‘The longer something goes on, the more likely it is to lose what made it beautiful.’ I didn’t want other young women to suffer the fate I had.
So I wrote their last chapter to preserve them before anyone discovered the truth about them. ”
“You made me kill the man I loved!”
“Please, Dahlia. You could never love anyone. You’re just as stone cold-hearted as I am.”
“Not true.” I folded my arms. “But what about that apartment Alex visited? He was cheating on me. I saw it with my own eyes. They hugged and laughed.”
“I wish I could say he was, but he wasn’t.
She was nothing more than the wife of a professor friend of his.
She had asked Alex to find a rare edition of a book her husband wanted for his birthday.
Alex did, and he brought it over to her.
She was thanking him. If you’d stuck around a little longer, you would have seen that he was in and out in ten minutes.
But I have to admit, it fit perfectly with my plan. ”
I placed my hands into the pockets of my sweatpants, my fingers tightening around the syringe I’d placed in them before entering the forest. I walked slowly toward her.
“What are you doing?” she asked. “Stop where you are and don’t come any closer.”
I looked up and saw Sydney sitting in the large oak tree. I nodded, and she jumped onto Mara. They both fell to the ground. I quickly removed the syringe from my pocket, ran over, and shoved it into the side of Mara’s neck.
“This is your last chapter, bitch!” I spat. “Are you okay?” I looked at Sydney.
“I’m fine.” She smiled. “Thanks, Dahlia.”
“Let’s get her inside.”
Sydney and I dragged Mara’s body into the tree house, where a large steel cage sat in the middle of the room. We threw her inside, chained her up, and secured the door so she could never escape.
Suddenly, I could hear their voices. The Librarian. Sunny. A smile swept over my lips. They were awake.
“Dahlia,” I heard Dr. Bondi’s voice. “It’s time to wake up.”
My eyes flew open. I turned my head and looked at her. “It worked, Dr. Bondi. Mara is locked up, and she’s never escaping.” I sat up. “Did you hear everything she said?”
“I did.” She picked up the small recorder from the table. “I also recorded it.”
“Katherine can never know about her or what happened to her when she was four. Do you agree? She has no memory of Mara whatsoever, and it needs to stay that way. Something like that will break her even more than she already is.”
“I agree with you, Dahlia.”
“Good. Now, when can I get out of here?”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible. Katherine needs a lot of help. It hasn’t been that long since she found out about you and the others. We need to work on Katherine accepting what she’s learned and how to work with the system. You all can live peacefully together without any more violence.”
“And what if Katherine doesn’t want to come back here? She’s very happy at the cottage with Elias.”
“If she chooses to stay there and you stay here, nothing will change. You will still be bound to this institution, getting the help you need.”
“And how long will that be for?” I asked.
“It’s up to the judge. Detective Walker knows everything you’ve done. She just can’t ignore that. Justice needs to be served. Some may disagree, but I’d rather be locked up in here than in prison. Talk to Katherine and see what she says.”
George was waiting for me on the other side of the door when I left Dr. Bondi’s office and took me back to my room. I lay down on the bed, closed my eyes, and visited Katherine at the cottage.
“Hey, you.” I smiled as I stepped onto the porch.
“Dahlia. Hi.” She grinned. “What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk, Katherine.”
“Of course. I’ll go get us some iced tea, and we can go sit down by the water.”
“Hi, Dahlia.” Elias waved from the garden.
“Hi, Elias.” I waved back.
Katherine emerged from the cottage with two glasses of iced tea. I took a glass from her, and we sat in the loungers by the water.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked.
“You need to make the decision of where you want to be. You can either stay here or spend many years at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital.”
“Oh.” She stared at the water. “I like it here. This is my home and where my husband is.”
“I know. That’s why I’m giving you the choice. It’s your decision, Katherine.”
“If I stay here, you’ll have to endure Bellevue, right?”
“Yes.” I smiled.
“It’s not fair to you,” she said.
“Oh, it’s fair. I’m the one who went on a killing spree. Not you. You shouldn’t have to suffer a life of being locked up for something you had no control over.”
“I don’t want to leave here. Who will look after Elias and Sydney?”
“Exactly.” I smiled.
“Besides. There’s something I haven’t mentioned yet.”
“Oh yeah? What?”
“I’m pregnant. I’m finally going to have a baby, Dahlia.”
“That’s wonderful news, Katherine. I’m so happy for you.” I reached over, took hold of her hand, and squeezed it.
“Thank you. Elias is over the moon about it. He’s already starting to plan out the nursery.”
“Then I guess the decision is made. You stay here, and I’ll go.” I smiled.
“Will you still visit us?”
“You know I will.” I held up my glass. “Sisters forever.” I smiled.
“Sisters forever.”