Janice gave a soft, almost amused laugh.
“I just kindly told her that I dumped your family’s remains in the trash. Next thing I know, she went berserk and came at me with a knife.”
“Oh, and her body? It was sent off to Arlington too. The spiritualist says with the right spell, her soul—and all your ancestors—will never reincarnate.”
“I mean, come on. Why would I let someone who tried to hurt me live?”
My rage exploded and I lost it completely. I lunged at her, tackled her to the ground, and wrapped my hands around her throat.
“Go to hell, Janice!”
But just as I was about to squeeze the life out of her, Alexis burst in. He kicked me hard in the stomach.
“Halle, are you insane?!”
He didn’t hold back. I hit the ground hard, and my wound tore open completely. Soon, blood soaked through my clothes.
I curled over, clutching my stomach, barely able to lift my head.
“Alexis… it was her—”
“Shut up!”
He didn’t even look at me. Instead, he scooped Janice into his arms and turned away.
“It’s okay, Janice. I’ll take you to the hospital.”
I watched them walk away until my vision blurred and everything went black.
When I came to, I was still lying in that same basement, only that my stomach was simply bandaged
“Ma’am, thank God you’re awake,” said a voice—Maggie. She looked pale and out of breath. “When I got here, you’d already passed out. I wrapped your wound the best I could, but we have to get you to a hospital.”
Halle's POV
As soon as I opened my eyes, Maggie rushed to the basement door, pounding on it in a panic.
“Open the door! Let us out!”
A cold voice came from the other side.
“You’re being way too loud. She’s awake, isn’t she? That means she’s fine. Mr. Stanley said she injured Miss Brewer today. She needs to stay down there and reflect. Once she realizes her mistake, she can come out.”
Maggie’s eyes turned red with fury, and her voice cracked with desperation.
“Can’t you see she’s injured?! If we don’t get her to a hospital, the wound will get infected. If she dies, can you live with that?”
There was a long pause before the person outside spoke again, this time with uncertainty.
“I… I don’t have the authority to decide that. Just wait. I’ll go ask Mr. Stanley.”
I was losing blood fast, and the fever had kicked in. Everything started to blur. Before I passed out again, I heard Maggie sobbing quietly by my side.
“Please hang in there, ma’am. We’ll be at the hospital soon.”