They silently stared into the void, waiting for someone they were expecting. Trapped in a cell, they couldn't escape; their hands were bound by invisible restraints.
"When can we get out of here?" asked the woman with them.
Felicia didn't answer. She quietly surveyed their bleak surroundings. She had long accepted she would return here once she died.
Leah had been gone from the world for years, but her thirst for revenge had turned her into a soul that refused to rest.
How many decades has it been? Felicia often asked herself. She had spoken with Leah before—begged her for peace—but Leah only came back again and again.
"Reminiscing about the past, Felicia?" came a gentle voice.
Felicia turned to see Leah smiling at her, radiant and satisfied.
She didn't respond.
"Until when will your revenge end, Leah?" she finally asked.
Leah laughed softly and thought for a moment. "Until I get tired of looking at your faces."
She sat down gracefully, arms crossed, her mourning dress casting shadows. Her black shoes gleamed dully in the low light.
Queen of Darkness. That's how Felicia described her now.
"Leah, I'm begging you," Fredrick spoke up. "We've been imprisoned here for decades. We haven't forgotten our promise to you."
Leah smirked, stood up, and approached him.
"Oh no, Fredrick. I won't be swayed by your pity. That ran dry while I was still alive," she said coldly, eyes sharp as blades.
Her gaze shifted to Angely, standing quietly beside Frederick.
"You're with the one you loved, Fredrick." She cocked her head. "Don't worry—your sister is safe. I wouldn't hurt a living person. Sheila truly inherited your greed, Angely." She let out a mocking laugh.
"Sheila really takes after you."
"Don't involve my sister in this, Leah!" Angely snapped.
"I didn't do anything to her," Leah replied. "I only visited."
"Why am I even part of your revenge?" Felicia interjected. "I had nothing to do with this."
Leah raised an eyebrow and gave her a sly smile.
"Amnesia now, Felicia? Forgotten what you did to me? My soul asked for peace, and you failed me. This is what I've become."
Felicia opened her mouth to speak, but Leah cut her off.
"I know your precious adopted child will be affected," she whispered. "You're just using others to escape this place."
"But don't worry—you'll never leave this cell."
"I told you before… I am your karma."
Darkness slowly began to seep in from the corners.
"Find a way, Felicia," Fredrick urged.
She sighed, weary. "Sharlene will help us. We just need to wait."
No one responded.
"Sharlene will save us," she repeated, her voice full of conviction.
Even though Sharlene wasn't her real granddaughter, Felicia believed in her heart. Sharlene would come.
"I can smell your greed, Felicia." Leah's voice returned like a breeze laced with poison. She stepped forward, a grin on her face.
"You and Fredrick are just waiting to die, right? So your souls can escape? How pathetic."
The ground beneath them began to steam. Felicia gasped, though she was no longer alive. Fear still gripped her.
"L-Leah, stop this," Fredrick pleaded.
The cell around them began to shrink. The air thinned. Breathing became harder and harder. Sweat poured from their ghostly bodies. They collapsed, pressed into tight spaces, like coffins being sealed shut.
"I haven't even been properly buried," Leah said with a smile. "And yet, here you are—being buried again."
She laughed, savoring their pain.
"You won't make it to heaven!" Felicia cried. "You'll fall into hell!"
"Heaven?" Leah chuckled. "You think you are going to heaven?"
Her smile faded. Her eyes narrowed.
"No, my dearest friends. All of us… will fall into hell."
Her expression turned serious, deadly.
"I told you—I will fetch your souls from hell."
"We'll play here. Just like you played with my life before."
Felicia gasped as something sharp pierced her body.
I'm dead. I shouldn't feel this.
A scream echoed—Angely's.
"It's burning! It's so hot! I can't take it anymore!" She screamed as fire consumed her. Her body writhed, engulfed in invisible flames.
Felicia looked down and saw blood on her hands. Panic washed over her.
Then she saw it—visions.
A young Sharlene, hiding, fleeing from someone. Someone chasing her… and herself, Felicia, holding a stick.
"Oh, what a passionate grandmother you were," Leah mocked. "You beat a child. Your own adopted grandchild. Remember now?"
Felicia's heart dropped.
"She probably doesn't even remember the pain," Leah whispered. "Don't worry—I'll remind her."
Every strike, every harsh word Felicia gave young Sharlene flashed before her eyes. She hadn't realized how much she had hurt her. She had taken her anger out on an innocent child.
"F-Forgive me," Felicia whispered, her body trembling, tears falling freely.
Leah laughed loudly.
"We're not done yet. We're just getting started."
"Now that the three of you are here—my palace will never be lonely again."
Felicia collapsed. She couldn't feel her limbs. Everything was fading.
She turned her gaze toward Leah one last time.
No—I can't give up. I must escape.
She clenched her fists and looked at Leah, who was now seated on her throne of vengeance, watching them with a satisfied grin.