Extreme

16. Mansion Of Mysteries

"Bigger than I thought it'll be," Liam said, admiring the Wiltshire mansion all around.

Marcy only distantly nodded, walking around with fidgeting fingers. Her eyes wandered around nervously, feeling as if she was missing something.

She feared it would be her daughter. All she could remember of her was the day before, watching her wander the forest that surrounded their home from the window.

But she never returned home.

Marcy stared up at the roof, seeing the crystal chandelier resting beautifully up above. The floor beneath her was made of white marble as the white walls stood high. Light shown brightly through the open windows of the place, showing the cleanness of the mansion.

With it only having been used by Mr. Reeds, the mansion appeared well looked after despite all the dirty happenings going around. After his passing, he had given them the mansion in his will. He thought of it as a perfect place for the organisation to give comfortable homes to the one's recovering from treatment.

It made Francis's day, with him telling him of his appreciation of his giving. Marcy thought of it as a kind gesture, but the words he whispered in her ears whispered to her once again.

"The dead are coming for you," He had whispered to her.

It had made no sense to her.

Is this related to the mansion? Is he lying to me? Marcy wondered, but the fear for her daughter won her over.

"Um, Liam have you seen-" She began to ask him, but a gasp stopped her short.

She turned to see what was going on, only to have her heart sink and her eyes to tear. It was Eva in her father's arms, the blood visible to her eyes. Her arm was dangling down as her eyes were staring at the ceiling lifeless and gone.

Her daughter was dead.

She rushed over to them, her heart clenching. With tears streaming down her eyes, she hugged her dead body. She gripped onto her tightly, desperate to never let go as she cried into Andrew's arms.

All day long, she cried until she grew numb and tired.

***

Marcy had broke, and she felt she could break some more but the tears wouldn't fall. Her lips quivered as she stared down, her fingers playing with each other again. She felt the world was crashing deep inside her, but the ground stood still and strong beneath her.

Andrew was beside her on the bed, trying to comfort her through the pain. He rubbed her back soothingly, telling her softly that all was going to be alright. He believed Eva was somewhere far, but somewhere safe. She believed none of it, only believing that her daughter was in a dark place and was never coming back.

The tears finally came back to her, tears rushing down her cheeks as she struggled to breath through the pain. "I-I thought she was going to come back..." She cried.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay," Andrew tried to assure her, wiping her tears away gently. "You did nothing wrong."

Marcy turned to face him with fury, shocked that he even thought it would be her fault. "I sure didn't. But I sure know you had something to do with it."

"What?" Andrew asked her, astounded.

"You betrayed her. You always have. All you say is lies," She told him, staring at him resentful. "Did you ever believe in her?"

Andrew shook his head, sighing. "I couldn't let her believe violence was the answer to violence," He told her.

With a cold stare, Marcy got up from the bed, moving her shoulder off from his touch. She went to her dresser, sitting on the chair. As she sat, she picked up her brush and began to move it through her tangled hair.