I could hear everyone panic, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. My chest was tightening as the murmurs got louder. My breathing staggered and my eyes were filling with tears. They must have made a mistake; there is no way.

  Panic rushing into my soul, I got up from the couch. I clutched my chest like an older woman clutches her pearls. I looked around the room, my vision distorting as I hyperventilate. I saw Zarah-Rose in the corner of the room with a smug face. I ran to her and grabbed her shirt and stared into her eyes.

  “Was this what you meant? This, was this the shit you were warning me about? Are You Fucking Insane!? How dare you! Do you know what she did? Do you know what she has done to me? To other people? Other families? How dare you!” Zarah-Rose tried to pull my hands off her, but I was not letting go, she needed to explain how she knew this, how she knew that they would escape.

  “Was this just a revenge plot? Do you hate Blood Servants so much that you put psycho’s back out into the world?”

  “Scarlett, let her go!”

  “Your still so mad that Lady Blackwood is your sister. You have to try and destroy her and me in the process.”

  “Scarlett, enough!”

  “Why, Zarah-Rose? What was the end game! What was it?”

  “Scarlett!” Someone pulled me off of Zarah-Rose and slapped me across my face.

  “She wasn’t the only one who knew. We didn’t think it would be this bad. I mean; we knew it would be bad but not like this.” Emily Heiden stood in front of me with an ashamed look on her face. I could feel tears coming down, but it wasn’t sad tears. These tears were from anger and hurt.

  “Plus, we didn’t know much, we knew that people were going to escape. Unfortunately, how it was phrased, people from families who had loved ones killed by your sister were to escape. We thought it would be four families coming after us, not… not what was just announced.”

  “So, who the hell is giving you this information! I know I will either become a pawn for the police to capture my sister, or she will find me. If that happens, I will be worse than a Blood servant. I will be a prisoner for the rest of my life.”

  “I understand.”

  “No! You don’t understand! You don’t. You don’t understand how manipulative that woman is! How insane she is, she killed everyone around me until I had only her. She wanted it to be me and only me. You don’t understand how scary that is. The stalker mentality, plus the controlling nature, and the…the. No… I…just can’t... can’t go back to that. She will always want to…”

  “To eliminate anything and anyone who comes in the way of their plan.” I turned to see Lady Blackwood was finally awake. She looked drained. I felt drained too. I feel like my energy is fleeting.

  “Mom, you’re, okay?” Collette, Avalynn and Aaron all ran over to their mother. Lady Blackwood kissed her kids. Then she tried to get up, tears fell from her face. This is the first time I have ever seen her cry.

  “I must tell you all why I became Aubrey Grimshaw. I have to clear some misunderstandings up with my siblings as well. I honestly never believed that the information our parents got almost 24 years ago, about this day, would finally come. I was told to be quiet until it was released on the news.

  You all always wondered why your parents would adopt me. Me of all people, this was the real reason why.”

  Lady Blackwood tried to get up but her kids were not letting her. She looked reluctant to tell them this.

  “Mom, you can tell the story while you’re sitting. Plus, we already know some of it.” Colette said as she rubbed her mother’s back. All of the kids, except Micheal, who was still whining in pain on the couch, looked down in shame.

  “What do you mean? What do you know?” Harrison asked the kids.

  “That mom was a Blood Servant. That is why she treats the other Blood servants like her kids.” Avalynn said. The adults’ eyes widened.

  “Also, that daddy was supposed to marry Aunt Zarah-Rose, as an arranged marriage and because they grew up side by side. Dad fell in love with mom but couldn’t do anything because she was a blood servant. Then when mom was adopted, there was nothing stopping him from being with her.” Aaron said.

  “How did you? When did you find this out? Who told you this?” Harrison asked slightly panicked.

  “Told? We figured it out on our own.” Aaron scuffed.

  “Well, of course, Margery was first one to catch on. Then I caught on after. That was around the time Scarlett came home as a Blood Servant. Margery had an inkling a few years before but couldn’t find evidence. However, she confirmed it when Scarlett came around and mom instantly relaxed around her. Aaron and Eli found out on their own maybe 2 years later, as you can tell they struggled with it. Aaron rejected the Blood servants as much as he could. Funny enough, he treated Scarlett a lot better than the rest. While Eli hides from everyone trying to figure out what was truth and what was a lie. Micheal and Avalynn figured it out after the blow up with dad and Aunt Zarah-Rose. So, that part, were good on.” Colette concluded.

  Lady Blackwood burst into tears.

  “Why didn’t any of you tell me, or at least your aunts and uncles? Why did you just sit on it and simmer in whatever feelings you had by yourself?” Lady Blackwood asked.

  “I know why I didn’t tell you,” Aaron spoke up. “I didn’t want you to think I thought any less of you. We all love you.”

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  “However, we all know how the society is outside of our house. We know how outsiders feel about Blood servants. It’s easier to keep quiet than to let an unsuspecting person find out. Then try to make our lives a living hell. We already have that in the family.” Colette added.

  I clenched my arms; I’m so mad about what is happening. I’m not mad that the kids affirming that they love their mother. I understand where they are coming from, but they don’t understand who has just escaped and is running free.

  “I still am going to start from the beginning. I was raised in what used to be a six-family household. Both my parents were managers of a very large wood company. My Mother, Dawn Lynch, was an office manager while my father, Alec Lynch, was the overseer of the production line. Then in the order of oldest to youngest was Miles Lynch, a college professor, one of the youngest of his time. Meeria Lynch, at the time was a college student with high praise. Dominic Lynch, a very ill high schooler. He was diagnosed with polio but still strived in school. His body was very weak. Then there was me Veronica Lynch, I was 12 around the time things got bad. I was bright for my age, but I was never as bright as my siblings.

  I always knew there was something off about my sister, but she was so much older than me and I rarely saw her. So, I could never pinpoint it. Not until the summer before I transitioned into high school at 13. My eldest brother died. My sister told my family it was too much to be away, so she was moving home for a bit.

  When Meeria made her way back home from college, as she came into the door, she smiled wide. That smile felt like the grim reaper was smiling at me. I carefully, in a polite voice, told her I was going to check on my brother. Never letting her get a word out, I remember that day very well. That day was a warning for everyone, and no one took it seriously. My sister came home with her natural black hair.

  Meeria’s and Miles bio father died when they were young. My mother remarried relatively fast; My sister didn’t care for it. When Dominic was born, he had platinum blonde hair. It slowly made its way to a dirty blonde like my mothers. Nevertheless, Meeria paid no attention to Dominic. I was told she would even scowl at him as a baby. Then when I was born; I, too, was born with platinum blonde hair but mine stayed that way. When Meeria saw me, her attitude towards the family became increasingly better.

  Not even 3 weeks back from college, Meeria came home from the hair solan with Platinum blonde hair. She told our family that she wanted to look like the rest of the kids and she wanted to feel closer to us. I found it weird and so did Dominic. However, it was the day when I found her messing with Domonic’s meds that I knew she was dangerous…. I won’t get into it anymore. The state’s court reports can tell you everything else you want to know.

  It took 5 months before I was a Blood Servant for Zarah-Rose. I was to be her bodyguard, her shield, anything that would get her through the days without a fuss. I never stepped out of line; I put my head down and did what I was told. When Zarah-Rose and the rest of the kids, other than Hael, went off to college. Annette Grimshaw made me her personal assistant, which meant I went everywhere with her. That included a meeting with the Mayor of the Education Sate of Rivi. Which resides in the District of Asia. He was a very small man; jeez, he was no taller than 5 feet, maybe. However, I could tell he was very powerful by how he spoke and approached our parents.

  “He warned Annette and John about a war that is coming. He doesn’t know when, but he knows it won’t be for maybe another decade. He said the Vice president is messing around with some dangerous experiments, with some dangerous people. He only knows so much, and he can’t talk so bluntly. He kept saying the words, “The walls hear everything.” He told them before leaving, they would keep in contact with each other. They had to be coy about it so the communication would be through regular mail and tele-mail. To lead off their scent. The last thing he said that I could comprehend in that meeting was, “We need to put in place a system to crack our own home.”

  I was the only one who was allowed to receive physical mail. The fear of someone intercepting it was huge. I was the one who knew which mail was to go straight to our parents. They filled me in on what I needed to know to keep things safe. Like people who may visit, whether they are enemy or friend. Who to trust.

  Then 2 weeks before the accident, your parents were scrambling. News of the man they met with a year and a half ago came to them saying the mayor and his family were murdered. John told me they are putting a plan together. I remember lady Grimshaw’s words to me. “Veronica, Things have gotten out of hand. We have set steps in motion; I need you to keep to yourself. Do your chores, don’t show that anything is wrong. If we get hurt, we have lawyers that know what to do. But if we die, call this number and they will set our plans in motion. We believe someone is going to try to kill us. Go downstairs and do your list of chores, okay.” After this day, they stopped taking me on car rides. I was to remain in the house and make sure the house ran smoothly. Then 2 weeks later the car was hit and flipped into the forest. Luckily someone saw.

  I was not allowed to know what steps were in motion and what was coming. When the lawyers came to me that day, we were all in the hospital, the day they announced that they were adopting me. They told me, “You are the last step until the war starts.”

  You know the rest. I knew something was going on but no matter how much I dug, how much I bribed, when the vice president was killed, everyone’s mouths shut tight.” Although, I always knew, very well, all of you hold resentment for me. Not because of marrying Harrison, but because you all thought I killed Annette and john. You thought I bribed our parents to adopt me. Yes, I did know why they died, but I wasn’t the cause. I’m sorry.”

  There was a heaviness in the room. Tears came down the faces of Lady Blackwood’s siblings, as well as her children. However, anger still ensued in me. I don’t care about their damn family history. I don’t care about this touchy-feely moment, soon nothing will be the same.

  “I need to leave. I need to run.” I said in a calm voice.

  “I can’t stay here; she will know where I am and it won’t take her long to figure out how to get here. Let me out and you all can figure out how to stay safe.” I heard a snicker come from behind me.

  “You think after all this chaos. The information we just found out from mom and that your sister and her sister are running loose, were just going to let you out to fend for yourself. I may have flipped over the wheelchair, but I didn’t hit my head. If this was in the back of mom’s head, she has a plan to get us out. Right, mom?”

  Micheal said as he sat up from the couch. He clutched his side further down from his ribcage. However, I could see the room shift its gaze towards Lady Blackwood. I started to walk to Michael to check his wound on instinct.

  “Scarlett, the kids are not your worry anymore. Micheal is right, I do have a plan. Harrison, is the Daft phone still connected to the screen?” Lady blackwood turned to Harrison. However, her words cut me in a way I wasn’t truly expecting.

  It felt as soon as things were heavy, I was alone. But not in the way of no support. The feeling of being stripped from what I know, who I protected and what I love yet again. It cut me, I don’t like feeling like I am never going to see these people again, no matter how they treated me. It was always better than my sister.

  I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see Lady blackwood standing in front of me.

  “I know what you’re thinking and stop it. We’re going to get out of this, and no one is abandoning you. Not the kids and not me, don’t fall in that hole or this ordeal will be tougher to get through. You of all people know you need to be on your toes.”

  I looked at her face, she looked scared, but I could hear her words were genuine. I nodded my head.

  “Honey, I got it and hooked it in.” Lady Blackwood looked back at her husband shocked.

  “That was very quick.” Harrison pressed a button that opened, revealing a huge wall tv monitor.

  He booted it up and the internet connected instantly.

  “Call Morgana Remiel!”