Chapter 7 : Night
"I held out for as long as I could. But eventually my mind was lost..." said Olivia in a soft tone "I don't remember exactly when it happened, or what finally did it... But at some point... I was theirs... And they became my entire world... I wanted them. More than anything. I wanted to please them... I wanted them to want me, to touch me, to take me... I wanted them to hurt me... I even begged them for it... And they did. Everyday..."
Anton said nothing as he dropped his eyes to the table.
"This went on for months, though I barely remember any of it..." continued Olivia "And I suppose it would have gone on forever. Were it not for the fact that one of the demonic elixirs that they were using... Could force a soul-link to form..."
At this, Anton closed his eyes and shook his head.
"And that was when, for the first time in so long, I finally got a lucky break. If it had been any of them but him... Well, luckily it was just us that morning... When he laid his hand on me, and felt the tiny movements inside me... He didn't get angry, instead he panicked... Knowing that the child, what could very well be his own child, would likely be destroyed as soon as the others found out. He did something that I would never have expected him to do... He used a charm to force me to sleep. And then he took me away from that place... He took me far away from there... And when I finally awoke, I was in a hospital, and was being put through a detox that would remove all of the chemicals and magical residue that was plaguing my body and mind... I was told, that I had been found abandoned outside of a fire station in the middle of the night. And that my detoxification would take a long while to be complete, as they had to be as gentle with me as possible... Because you see, I was pregnant with twin girls..."
Anton remained still as he kept his eyes on the table. He said nothing as Olivia finished off her glass of wine and refilled it.
"The hospital staff were understandably frustrated with me when I refused to tell them what happened. But I didn't care. I wasn't going to risk anyone getting to those men before I did." said Olivia as she continued "When I was finally discharged. I pulled every cent that I had saved up out of my bank accounts, and bought a house far out in the country. In a place where I would never be found. And then I went into hiding, until several months later, when I gave birth to my daughters..."
Olivia paused for a moment to take a sip of wine.
"Once I was fully recovered, and had the girls safely hidden away, I was finally ready to go back to the company. My mentor was elated with my return, though he too was irritated with my refusal to elaborate on where I had been. Apparently, he had been told that I had left to join another company. He didn't believe this though... In fact, he had actually reported me missing, and had even begun a private investigation into my whereabouts... Which I have to say, even if this was mostly monetarily motivated, it was still nice to know that at least one person did care that I was gone..." said Olivia around a faint smile "As for the other three owners, they were obviously apprehensive about my return. But a few pictures of the girls and a warning that if they did anything to me, then everything they had done would be exposed, was enough to keep them somewhat at bay, at least at first. Of course this wasn't going to stop them forever, but having learned to always be on my guard, I was able to just barely stay one step ahead of them. And luckily for me, it turned out that they themselves no longer trusted each other. And I was able to use that fact to my advantage by sowing suspicions and inciting discourse between them. A very long game of cat and mouse involving all four of us soon followed. And the end result of this, in an effort to avoid me, was them having all moved on to other companies. Of course I still kept tabs on them, and after many years, I had finally gathered enough information on each of them to make my move. By this point I knew everything there was to know about them, their daily schedules, where they and their families lived, what security systems they had in place, their medical histories and most importantly, what undeath enchantments they had imbued themselves with. There was just one more piece of information I needed, and once I had it, I would be ready. And then, finally, after years of searching, I found it... I found that damned beach house."
Clearly pleased with herself, Olivia paused for a moment to enjoy another sip of wine.
"Since there had been no formal interaction between any of us in years now, there was no reason for anyone to ever suspect me. But even so, I did everything I could to limit any evidence of my presence. I had made multiple plans that covered all possible scenarios, and with everything finally in place, I was ready... Years of careful planning had gone into this moment. So I reigned in my excitement, and moved slowly. I had been patient for this long after all, I could afford to be patient a little longer... And after nearly a decade and a half of waiting, that patience would finally pay off... Over the course of several days, I made each of them disappear... And just like that it was over... I had them, all to myself... I had won... Once again, we were all together at that beach house. Though this time, our roles would be reversed."
"...That house, and the one you took the girls to?" questioned Anton in a soft tone.
"One and the same." smiled Olivia as her eyes began to glow faintly in excitement "It's gone now. Burnt to the ground, and then washed away by a storm. And good riddance to it. I hated that wretched place. But even so, I would savor my victory there. I wanted to enjoy every single second of it... So I was slow, and very methodical with my vengeance. And then, after a few months, I was finally satisfied enough to end it... And so I did... And from what I understand, you already know how that went..."
Anton said nothing for a moment as he slowly nodded his head.
"...Did you ever find out which one was the Father?" he asked softly.
"Of course not!" snapped Olivia "That's the last thing I'd ever want to know..."
Again, Anton remained silent and merely nodded.
As the time began to drag, Olivia cleared her throat.
"Well there you have it then... I think I've told you everything of importance now." she said as she tilted her wine glass back and forth "I do hope that you're satisfied with your newfound understanding. And that your curiosity has been sated..."
"...No, not quite. Not yet." mumbled Anton as he looked up at the dark elf "There's still the question of why you would want the girls there that night? What was the point of that?"
"Ah, yes... That..." nodded Olivia "Well the answer to that is rather simple really. I wanted those men to see them before the end. You see, those girls were the only thing that kept those men from fully acting against me. I would have been killed, or recaptured if it wasn't for them existing, hidden in the background. Unseen, but never forgotten. Those girls were a bane to those men, they were their ultimate failure. And I wanted them to see this for themselves. I wanted that failure to be the last thing those men ever saw, right before they died..."
Anton was quiet for a moment before he creased his brow in confusion.
"...Was that really it? Was that the only reason?" he questioned "All of your careful planning, and years of patience... Thrown away for something so petty? That still doesn't make any sense. You had won, Olivia. You had gotten away with it. Why expose the girls to what you had done and then not even explain anything to them at all? You had no reason to create loose ends like that. You were about to end it. So then why when... when..."
His voice trailing off, Anton went silent as realization formed in his eyes.
"Oh, by the Gods, no... You weren't going to leave any loose ends... Were you..." he whispered softly as he shook his head "You were going to end it all..."
Gazing at her wine glass, Olivia said nothing for a long moment.
"...It was finally over." she whispered softly "I could be free of it all..."
