(CHAPTER 3 & 4)
"DEVIL'S SMILE"
I immediately tucked the contents of the envelope into my pocket. I glanced left and right, scanning for anyone who might have seen me.
Just yesterday, this wasn’t here. But earlier today, it suddenly appeared in front of me.
Impossible.
Suspicious.
I hurried to the restroom to read the letter again, but something else quickly caught my attention.
Andrew—my co-worker.
There he was again, fuming with frustration.
I watched his every movement, each word that came out of his mouth growing more irritating by the second.
“I already told you, your name isn’t in our system. Why are you being so persistent?” he snapped.
“Please, sir, I need to apply for a loan... it’s for my daughter. I’m begging you, please help me,” an elderly woman pleaded.
“You’re being too much, ma’am. We’ve got plenty of other clients to attend to,” he retorted, clearly losing his temper.
I quickly approached to defuse the situation, noticing how others were already beginning to stare.
“Ma’am, come with me,” I said gently, taking the elderly woman’s hand. “I’ll assist you from here.”
“What are you doing, Ellerie? She’s my client, so I’ll be the one to handle her,” Andrew protested.
He yanked my hand away, forcing me to release the old woman.
I couldn’t hold it in anymore. My eyes burned with rage.
I couldn’t do anything for her—not with Andrew insisting on handling it himself just to show off that he had the most clients today.
“You okay?” Anyah asked, clearly concerned.
“Hmm,” I replied curtly.
I returned to my desk, seething with frustration.
A few moments later, I walked over to Andrew’s desk. I needed to talk to him.
“Date with me,” I said without hesitation.
He was taken aback, stunned into silence.
“I’m already taken,” he replied, turning abruptly away.
“No, you’re not,” I answered confidently.
He whipped back around, surprise written all over his face.
“How did you know that?” he asked, clearly confused.
“Cause I know. 12:00, before lunch. I’ll send you the location,” I said calmly, turning my back on him.
Even without looking, I could feel his shock. But I didn’t dwell on the envelope anymore. What I had to do now was far more important.
---
11:00 AM
“Ellerie, where are you going? It’s only 11,” Anyah asked, puzzled.
I ignored her, hailed a taxi, and quickly got in.
Soon, I arrived at my aunt’s house. My uncle had just returned for lunch and was the first to greet me at the gate.
“Tito… can I borrow your car?” I asked boldly.
He didn’t answer, so I went straight to Tita to ask for permission.
She agreed immediately, leaving my uncle with no choice.
“Thank you po. I’ll be back right away, Tito,” I said sweetly.
While driving, I kept checking my phone for Andrew’s reply—just in case he got lost on the way.
Text: “Where are you?” Reply: “OTW, almost there.”
---
11:20 AM
Twenty minutes later, I picked Andrew up.
“You’re really the one driving?” he asked, surprised.
“Yeah,” I gave a forced smile. “Get inside.”
As soon as he got in, I handed him something.
“Here! Drink this—just something to give you a bit of energy,” I said with a wide grin.
Without hesitation, he drank it.
“It’s good,” he said, clearly enjoying it.
“It’s still a bit of a drive—I want to take you somewhere nicer to eat,” I said, even though it should’ve been him making this kind of effort.
“Okay. The breeze is making me sleepy,” he replied, stretching.
Before long, he had fallen asleep.
I stopped at a gas station to buy fuel, which I poured into a small water can. Andrew was still out cold.
---
11:50 AM
“We’re here, Andrew,” I said cheerfully.
He was still asleep, so I blindfolded him. His hands and feet were already bound.
Still unconscious.
Perfect timing. Windy, quiet, peaceful—though still warm under the sun. This wasn’t a romantic date anymore. It felt more like a sentence.
“Ah, gosh, you’re so heavy,” I muttered as I dragged him toward the grass.
“Here, this spot’s better,” I said brightly.
I doused his body and the surrounding area with gasoline.
Suddenly, he stirred, eyes barely open.
“Hi, Andrew,” I greeted sweetly.
“What are you doing, Ellerie?” he asked, panic creeping into his voice.
“What do you think? Actually, I wasn’t planning on this… but I couldn’t hold it in any longer after watching how you treated that elderly woman. You call yourself a CSR, yet you have zero respect for people.”
“You don’t deserve to live,” I said in a calm, steady tone.
“Ellerie, please… I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” he said, his voice trembling with fear.
“You’re right—it won’t happen again. Because you won’t get another chance. If you were going to apologize, you should’ve done it earlier.”
“Ellerie, please… don’t do this,” he pleaded, tears forming in his eyes.
“You know, I’ve kept quiet long enough about how you treat our clients,” I said seriously.
I opened the other side of my coat and—
“Pick one. What color of lighter do you want me to use?” I chuckled.
“Ellerie…”
“Ellerie, please…”
“Don’t do this to me, please…”
He had started to cry.
“Oh come on, don’t cry like a kid. You’re not a child anymore,” I teased.
“If I were you, I’d just pick one. Is blue your favorite? Green? White? But honestly, I think red suits you best—since you’re a devil!” I laughed.
“You’re even more of a devil than I am,” he spat.
I pointed a finger at him and said,
“Right, right, right.”
“You’re clever… but you’re also stupid,” I laughed. “Know why? Because you drank that juice I gave you—said it’d give you energy, remember? But it didn’t even work. Guess you’re too old now.”
“F*CK YOU!” he yelled in fury.
“Oh, really? How cute,” I said in a sweet voice.
Suddenly, I glanced toward a tree. I felt like someone was watching us.
That’s impossible—after the fire that burned our house down, no one ever came back to live here.
I shook off the thought and grabbed the red lighter.
I lit it—and threw it onto Andrew’s body.
“No!”
“Ahh!”
He screamed in agony as the fire began to consume him. The stench of burning flesh—something I hadn’t smelled since ten years ago—filled the air once more.
“F*CK YOU, Ellerie…”
But in the midst of my grim satisfaction, I instinctively clutched my stomach when I heard a—
Click.
I turned to the right. There was a flash—a camera.
Someone was there. Someone saw.
Who was it?
Why were they here?
My pulse raced. My chest tightened.
What do I do now?
———
"Never Forget, Never Forgive"
I clearly saw the flicker of light in the distance. I ran toward it, hoping to see who it was. But the moment they heard the sound of my footsteps, they bolted.
They were fast—too fast. I couldn’t catch up. The area was covered in overgrown grass and thick trees. I had no idea where they came from or where they disappeared to.
Their outfit caught my eye—it looked like some kind of work uniform.
I had no clue who they were. But judging by their height, they were about the same as mine.
I rushed back to Andrew’s body to fix it. When I got there, the fire was still devouring his body.
Panic surged through me. Someone had seen me—and I was sure the police would find out.
I sprinted to the car and grabbed the water can. I poured it over Andrew’s burning corpse until the flames finally died.
Then I quickly dug a hole—deep enough to hide him. I buried him there.
At first glance, the ground looked undisturbed. But the smell of scorched grass clung to the air, betraying what had happened.
Whatever false sense of security I had was gone. I thought no one would see me, not in a place this deserted. But I never expected a witness.
It was already 12:39 p.m. I had to go—Tito still had work, and so did I.
As I drove home, a message came through.
A photo of me.
Taken earlier, while my back was turned. My face wasn’t visible—but my heart pounded anyway.
I couldn’t stop the thoughts from spiraling. What if Tita got dragged into this?
This wasn’t the first time I burned someone alive.
It was the fifth.
---
FLASHBACK
December 25, 2022
“Kick her!” shouted the girl in a polo shirt.
They kicked me—stomach, head, arms. Every inch of me.
They didn’t stop. Not even when I threw up blood.
“HAHAHA!” Their laughter sounded demonic. The look in their eyes, their twisted grins—those were things I knew I’d never forget.
It happened on Christmas Day. Around five in the afternoon. The sun was already sinking behind the trees.
Earlier, at around four, four of my classmates had invited me out. They said we’d hang out at the newly built mall. I couldn’t say no. Auntie let me go after I told her it was school-related—even though it was Christmas.
But I knew deep down it was a lie. They weren’t inviting me to have fun—they were bringing me out to hurt me again.
They had been abusing me for a long time—inside an abandoned room at school. Whenever they were bored, I became their favorite game.
They mocked me for being an orphan—for not having a mom or a dad.
It was true. Only Tita and Tito had raised me.
And now, here we were—somewhere deserted. No cars in sight. No one around to hear me scream.
My hands and feet were tied. I was like a pig—helpless, waiting to be slaughtered.
“Please… stop.” I begged, my voice barely a whisper.
“Ellerie… isn’t it your 18th birthday tomorrow?” one of them teased with a laugh.
“Invite us, will you?”
“HAHAHA!”
“Oooh, her debut!”
“Yay! We’re invited!”
“We’ll be there, okay?”
The girl in the polo shirt stepped closer. She was the leader. The most violent of them all.
“See you tomorrow,” she said, her grin sickening.
They left me there—bleeding, barely able to move.
I got home at eight. The sky was dark. The road home was long and cold.
When I arrived...
The table was overflowing with food. The Christmas lights twinkled in bright, cheerful colors. The house was filled with warmth and laughter. I could hear the neighbors banging pots and pans in celebration.
I should’ve felt happy.
But I didn’t.
I wanted to cry—from the pain not just in my body, but deep inside me.
When I saw Tita in the kitchen, still preparing food, I quietly slipped upstairs. I didn’t want them to see me. My face and body were covered in bruises.
But the next morning, they noticed anyway.
---
December 26, 2022 – 9:26 AM
My 18th Birthday
“Ellerie.”
“Ellerie!”
“Ellerie, wake up!”
It was Tito’s voice. But I kept my eyes closed.
“Ellerie, please wake up…” Tita whispered, her voice cracking with tears.
Until finally, my eyes shut completely.
---
3:51 PM
I woke up.
The light was blinding. It hurt to open my eyes. The silence was heavy—it felt like I was in the countryside.
“You’re awake!” Tita gasped. She rushed out to call the doctor.
But then—
A woman burst into the room.
It was her—the girl in the polo shirt.
She yanked out my IV. Grabbed a pillow. Slammed it down over my face.
I couldn’t breathe. She was too strong—I couldn’t fight back.
My arms were pinned between her legs.
And then—
“Beeeeeeeeep.”
The heart monitor let out a flatline.
Until I could no longer breathe.
---
[To be continued…]
———
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More chapters are on the way soon, so please stay tuned!
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