Six Feet Under

chapter one // epilogue

10TH ANNIVERSARY OF CECILE GREENE'S MURDER

09/11/2025

"Mama, let's go! C'mon!"

Madison fussed over Cecily's scarf one last time and adjusted Will's beanie before hefting him onto her hip, feeling Blake's gaze on her from the driveway. He was probably smiling; he'd always loved seeing her act motherly towards the kids, since it was a sign of love and attachment and proof that she wasn't a sociopath anymore.

She'd let him believe the lie. As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss.

"Alright, go ahead." She pointed at Blake, leaning against their car. "Daddy's waiting for you, see?"

Cecily ran off, right into Blake's open arms. He scooped her up and bounced her a little even though she probably was a little too old for that right now. Madison might not really love Blake, but seeing him happy has always been enough to make her smile. If he's happy, then he wouldn't get suspicious.

She locked up the house one-handed and turned to walk towards the car. Blake had already gotten Cecily settled in the backseat, and when he shut the door with his left hand the platinum band on his ring finger glinted in the light.

She yawned when she got close and rose up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"I'm so sleepy," she murmured. "Can you drive, love?"

"'Course," he opened the car door for her and gestured for her to get in. "Ladies first, then."

"What a gentleman," she giggled, handing Will over to him. "Don't forget to strap his car seat properly this time, okay?"

"What do you take me for?" Blake asked, mock offended as he slid into the driver's seat and shut the door. "Alright, you can go to sleep now. It'll be a few hours till we get to the Cove."

"Mm," she hummed, before reclining the seat a little and curling up. She didn't close her eyes, just kept them on the window and watched as the scenery flash by and lulled her mind into a blank.

Madison held Cecily's hand as she walked on the stone path that winded around the cemetery in search of Cecile's grave, Blake behind her with Will held on his hip. As the familiar statue of Persephone came into view, she noticed the figure dressed in black standing in front of the grave.

"Is that Adelaide?" Blake asked, surprised. "I thought she wouldn't come."

"Me neither," she replied, giving Cecily's hand a gentle squeeze. "But here she is."

Adelaide turned around at the sound of nearing footsteps, and the afternoon light haloed her outline for a few moments before Madison's eyes focused. Adelaide looked small from afar, hunched in on herself and frighteningly thin. It was a strange look on a girl who used to be larger than life.

"Hello, Adelaide." She greeted as they neared her. "It's been a long time."

They stood there, facing each other; Madison with her family on the left and Adelaide alone on the right like Cecile Greene's grave was a line none of them wanted to cross.

"Madison," she nodded, and her eyes flitted the diamond ring on her ring finger. "Blake."

"You've gotten thinner, paler." Madison remarked, perhaps a little insensitively, but it was true. Adelaide's black coat had washed her out, like a black-and-white character sketch in a technicolor movie. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun at the top of her head, making her cheekbones stand out in sharp relief and the shadows under her eyes more pronounced.