Ericka was panting as they traveled. Even though they had just been caught and were in the middle of a heated argument, she suddenly had a vision. She looked at Thalia beside her, reached for her palm, and the moment their hands touched, they were back inside the warehouse.
They were walking far inside, and the horrors hidden in each room revealed themselves to her eyes. She was deafened by cries, sobs, and desperate pleas, mingled with the laughter of demons slicing through flesh. Each sound, each sight, pierced her as though she were the one being tortured.
She blinked, and the scene shifted. They were inside a vehicle. Ericka saw the four siblings, who had been abducted before, brought straight to the warehouse. She witnessed the torture of Ellese while she was still alive; Chesca, barely speaking, enduring every punishment without a cry; and Felisa, sitting on a chair, forced to watch her siblings suffer.
"Are you really going to imprison me? Am I the one you dare challenge?" Ellese's father's voice rang with anger.
"Dad, please… surrender to the police. We will forgive you for what you did to Mommy and Aunt Bianca," Felisa pleaded weakly, her voice strained from injury.
Their father struck her face with all his might—and in that instant, Ericka noticed Thalia's own cheek begin to bleed.
"Do you know I'm striving because of you? If only your mother wasn't so weak-hearted and hadn't given up on me, we would have been a great family! Such foolishness ruins everything. I'm greedy—especially for what I'm striving to achieve."
"Dad! What you're doing is no longer right! Mommy just wants to keep your hands clean from evil—she's saving you! But little by little, you're drowning yourself in the mud!" Ellese's voice broke with tears.
"Even our older brother Giovane—you smeared his name, dragged him here… to test him, didn't you? Didn't you?? Dad, we love you. Please, stop this. So many innocent people are already suffering," Mikaela begged.
"You really take after your mother—weak-hearted. I love you, but I will choose wealth over you. If you betray me, it would be better to end your lives one by one. You are obstacles to my plans."
The darkness swallowed them again. When it lifted, they were in the forest, where the two siblings—Mikaela and Chesca—were running for their lives, their bodies drained of strength. Rain poured down as Vince found them.
Nearby, a figure crawled on the ground, covered in blood, clinging to life. Fernan—on the brink of death—was finished off with a single shot to the head. Ericka's breath caught; the weight of what she was seeing from the past was becoming unbearable.
"That's enough… that's enough," she whispered as the scene shifted once more, this time to Fernan's cousin's house.
They saw the truth clearly: the house had not been robbed—it had been deliberately entered to slaughter the remaining members of Fernan's family. Ericka heard the desperate pleas not to harm the youngest, but the killer had no mercy and wiped them all out.
She noticed Thalia's hand trembling, though she was forcing herself to stay strong.
"Thalia, you also need to see something from the past," Ericka said, holding her hand.
Thalia's eyes fixed on her. "I'd rather not travel anymore. My mind can't take it. I don't even know where I belong anymore, Ericka."
"All of this will come to an end… all of it."
Darkness surrounded them again, and Ericka's brow furrowed—she recognized this place. Souls wandered aimlessly, drifting through endless night, carrying with them the hatred and pain of their deaths.
"What… what are we doing here?" Thalia asked.
"I don't know," Ericka admitted, shaking her head. Even she was becoming confused by what they were witnessing. More and more souls appeared before them—each with a different face, a different fate—showing their struggles before vanishing into the void.
"Thank you," a voice whispered. Thalia turned, startled, to see a soul speaking to her.
Then Jasmin appeared—not as the sorrowful spirit they remembered, but at peace. She embraced Thalia, who froze in surprise.
They caught a fleeting glimpse of what was to come. Tears filled Thalia's eyes as Jasmin smiled at them before fading away like a bubble.
But Ellese and Felisa were nowhere to be found; they knew their souls were still restless.
"Thalia, come with me one last time—on our final journey," Ericka said with a faint smile.
Though still confused, Thalia nodded.
The scene shifted again—this time to the front of Thalia's house. Her breath caught. Two familiar figures stood there.
"Mom… Dad!" Thalia cried out. She saw the children then, and the baby—she recognized Greg.
Ericka closed her eyes, bracing herself. She needed to see what happened again—to know what evidence had been gathered and why it mattered.
They would find out.
This is my final journey, Ericka thought.