Chapter 17: Shock reveal
That night, after taking all my belongings, instead of leaving as planned, Erica decided to hide at Watson’s house with the purpose of investigating the matter that Mrs. Lani had discussed with the lawyer. Erica had a strong feeling that the incident was somehow connected to her. It could be something very serious, and Erica needed to find out.
By this time, it was twelve o’clock at night. Mrs. Lani tossed and turned on her warm bed but couldn’t find a comfortable lying position. She couldn’t sleep peacefully, especially with the furious thunder and lightning outside. To make matters worse, Mrs. Lani was plagued by a terrifying nightmare. In that horrifying dream, she saw Erica standing right at the foot of her bed, looking at her with a malicious smile. Erica’s long hair flowed and danced in the cold night breeze. A fresh stream of crimson blood flowed from Erica’s head, staining her innocent and beautiful face. Mrs. Lani was filled with horror, her eyes wide open, unable to utter a single sound. She struggled desperately to break free from that terrifying image, but all her efforts were in vain.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
Unfortunately, like countless nights before, that terrifying image refused to disappear. It lingered in Mrs. Lani’s mind every time she tried to sleep. What’s more, unlike previous times, Mrs. Lani felt a chilling fear as she saw Erica approaching her. The distance between them was getting shorter and shorter.
“Erica, don’t come closer. Please go away,” Mrs. Lani whispered, her lips trembling, as she tried to ward her off.
Despite Mrs. Lani’s hands clasping together, pleading relentlessly, Erica remained calm and slowly moved closer to Mrs. Lani.
“Please don’t come any closer,” Mrs. Lani continued to plead, her body contorting uncomfortably. The shapes she involuntarily created looked truly grotesque and repulsive.
Suddenly, Erica’s hand extended, reaching forward and firmly gripping Mrs. Lani’s leg. The abrupt contact filled Mrs. Lani with terror, causing her to let out a piercing scream. In a reflexive response, Mrs. Lani sat up abruptly, her eyes wide open.
Mrs. Lani’s eyes widened as she gazed ahead, but Erica was nowhere to be found.
Mrs. Lani snapped out of the nightmare, breathing heavily as she struggled to dispel the fear. Cold sweat streamed down her guilt-ridden face. She sat in a daze, trembling and disoriented, her vacant eyes scanning the room. After a bewildered moment, Mrs. Lani realized she had just experienced a dreadful nightmare. Feeling somewhat relieved, she was about to let out a sigh of relief when the haunting terror once again enveloped her.
Just as everything seemed calm, the lights flickered, alternating between dim and bright. A strange noise emanated from under the bed. Despite her fear, Mrs. Lani’s curiosity got the better of her. Summoning her courage, she gathered herself to investigate beneath the bed. And then the unexpected happened. Erica’s face gradually came into view within her sight. Mrs. Lani was startled and jolted by fear. Instantly, she retreated under the covers, curling up on the bed and trembling uncontrollably. In the blink of an eye, Mrs. Lani kept her eyes closed and muttered comforting words to herself: ‘It was just an illusion. Erica is gone.’
As desired, when Mrs. Lani opened her eyes again and poked her head out of the blanket, Erica was no longer in that position. However, the haunting feeling didn’t cease. Mrs. Lani still felt a chill as she sensed someone’s presence near her. She turned her gaze behind her and panicked when she saw Erica standing there, staring at her. Erica’s smile appeared grotesque.
“Hello there, have a good morning,” Erica said softly.
The lightning outside the window created a streak of light, causing Erica’s image in Lani’s eyes to flicker between clarity and obscurity.
“Mom, save me; there’s a ghost.”
Believing it to be Erica’s ghost, Mrs. Lani screamed in horror. At the same time, another thunderclap resounded. Her screams were drowned out by the noise. She continued to hide under the blanket, trying to shield herself from Erica. Unfortunately, Erica quickly pulled the blanket towards herself, leaving Mrs. Lani with her eyes closed, hands clutching her head, and curled up in the fetal position.
In the silence, Mrs. Lani suddenly jerked, her heart pounding out of her chest as she heard Erica’s voice persistently ringing in her ears.
“How are you? What’s making you so scared?” Erica’s voice, as it passed through Lani’s ears, sounded mysterious and chilling.
“Go away,” Lani mumbled, trembling, attempting to scare off Erica. “Don’t haunt me.”
“Hey, I have something to ask you,” Erica nonchalantly continued, showing no concern for the other’s fear.
“I have nothing to say. Please, just go,” Lani pleaded in anguish. Her eyes remained tightly shut, lacking the courage to open them and look at Erica.
“I want to talk to you, just for a moment,” Erica calmly persuaded.
Lani firmly refused. “You go. Leave me alone.”
Observing Mrs. Lani’s distressed appearance, Erica knew she was deeply afraid, so she continued to corner Mrs. Lani. Erica had contemplated this extensively and finally decided to employ this method of intimidation to extract information from Mrs. Lani’s own mouth. Initially, Erica wasn’t certain if the plan would succeed. However, upon witnessing Mrs. Lani’s reaction at this moment, it truly exceeded Erica’s expectations. This made Erica feel quite satisfied.
“Hey, I heard you’ve been looking for me. Why are you searching for me?”
Mrs. Lani remained silent, offering no response. She intended to feign ignorance, pretend to be mute, and fake deafness.
“Tell me, why are you treating me like this?” Erica switched to another sentence. “Why torment, slander, and harm me?”
Mrs. Lani continued to keep silent. Erica’s words left Lani frantically shaking her head, too terrified to answer Erica’s question.
“Hey, tell me. Why? If you don’t speak up, I won’t leave you alone. I’ll keep going.”
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Lani panicked and said:
“I truly didn’t mean to kill you. I just hired some thugs to scare you and give you a little warning. But I never expected that you would die. All because of their own actions. Not my intention. You died, not because of me. Please don’t seek me out for revenge.”
Erica tilted her head with a momentarily perplexed expression on her face. She thought about Mrs. Lani suddenly confessing the crime. And then it all started to make sense to her. It turned out that the individuals who attacked Erica that night were hired by Mrs. Lani. The actions of Mrs. Lani filled Erica with anger. It is despicable. Mrs. Lani believed that Erica was dead; the proof is that Erica’s spirit is right there, haunting Mrs. Lani.
Damn, this woman is so cruel. Mrs. Lani harbors malicious intentions, yet she’s still afraid of trivial things like ghosts and demons. There is really nothing more to say about Mrs. Lani. Erica is so disappointed.