CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

"Are you really going to come with me now, Vivianne?" Sharlene asked her.

She only responded with a nod, determined never to change her mind now. She took a one-day leave from her job, and she will return when her body can handle going back on Monday.

They no longer hesitated now. They headed to her grandmother's mansion; she could only sigh. Vivianne will never return to this mansion, filled with bitter memories.

As soon as she entered the gate, she saw a cheerful little girl playing in the vast garden; she knew she had stepped into the past memories of the mansion they were now walking on.

She took a deep breath first. She prepared herself. She closed her eyes for a moment.

"Sister, I'll just look around here. Then I'll go upstairs; I'll follow you."

"Don't push yourself too hard when you can't take it anymore, Vivianne." Concerned, she said to her.

She just nodded. Her sibling entered first, leaving her outside. Vivianne scanned her surroundings. 

She encountered many restless souls, most of them servants; she couldn't see the souls of Leah's parents. 

Once a joyful family lived in this mansion, one of the ancestral houses of the Martinez family, if it hadn't been given away by whoever gave it to her grandmother. Vivianne witnessed how it was raised by its kind parents.

She also saw that Leah was Angely's friend during her youth. Angely was treated like a true friend; the mansion where she was was filled with laughter.

She witnessed the romance between Manuel and Leah, an innocent woman who fell in love with a man. Leah's deep love for Manuel is evident. It's true that Leah assisted in the search for Sharlene back then and supported Manuel, despite their failure.

When she got married to the man, the mansion also became quiet, with only her parents living there.

Occasionally Leah would come home here when she was upset with her husband; she saw that she was pregnant.

Vivianne gasped. 

Pregnant. She thought to herself. She saw a staircase leading to the basement. 

Vivianne could hear every sob of Leah when she lost her baby in her womb.

Is this where she buried the baby? She wondered in her mind.

She noticed a wooden cross that had, over time, succumbed to termites. She continues to see and hear the cross calling out to its child, who never received a proper burial.

Vivianne hears someone digging; she shivers at what she sees in the past. Armed men. 

She witnessed armed men storming this mansion and saw two elderly people pleading with them, hoping to settle things peacefully, but they didn't listen and riddled their bodies with countless bullets. 

The armed men spared no one, not even the children who were around fifteen years old; even if they were hidden by the elders, they were still found.

Vivianne hears the deafening cries and wails. She only observes the last moments of their lives, as well as Leah's parents. 

But, before they took his last breath, an old man also entered and stepped on the lifeless bodies.

There was a woman following; she was shocked by what she saw.

Angely? She wondered in her mind.

"Before you take your last breath, please sign this first." She clearly heard the man say to the dying victims.

Vivianne saw the glare in the eyes of an old man protecting his wife.

"Ray—mun—do, you bastard." 

"Sign it before I take you to hell." He even smiled.

His body was already weak; the man could no longer stand, so the armed man had to support him.

"Faster!" The old, weak man was still being ordered.

The two elderly couples are on the brink of death; Vivianne couldn't see what papers they signed. He signed the papers. They were even signaled to finish the two couples.

"Is everything okay there?" Angely asked.

"Yes, of course, honey." He even kissed Angely on the lips.

Thereafter, they left as if nothing had happened. The police sirens eventually reached her ears. She was still engaged in a conversation with a man named Raymundo.

"I want no one to know about this, and after your investigation, please tell your people to clean it up immediately, because someone will be living in that mansion." Vivianne heard him order the people he had spoken to.

She was sweating profusely from what she was seeing, and the after-effects of her ability made her feel like throwing up. She saw her grandmother Felicia.

She was talking to Raymundo, handing over some papers, and another was a bank account owned by the Martinez family.

It can't be, it can't be. She only shook her head at what she saw. Even if she denies it, she knows that her grandmother knows Raymundo. 

My God, what has this family gotten into? Her mind could only wander. 

Vivianne understood the incident and why it felt heavy on her heart when she visited here; the negative emotions in the mansion were mingling with the numerous bodies of the innocent who were not given a proper burial.

She saw that some of the bodies were displayed to the public, but no family attempted to claim them.

She was complaining about the headache she was feeling; she hurriedly went to where her Sharlene was. 

She still sees some pictures.

The mansion is a witness to all the heinous crimes committed here. 

Sister needs to know this. Her mind couldn't help but say,. 

Suddenly, the surroundings darkened, and she saw Leah, looking at her sadly, wanting to show her something. 

She woke up again, holding her forehead; her painful head was still throbbing. She is now in the living room.

Did I lose consciousness? She pondered this question in her mind.

"Vivianne." Someone called her.

She didn't speak; she was carrying medicine now. 

"Are you feeling better?" was the only question Sharlene asked her.

Vivianne adjusted her sitting position. 

"I saw you on the stairs; I thought something had happened to you." Sharlene, feeling concerned, spoke to her as she observed her closely.

"I told you, didn't I? Don't force yourself when you can't take it anymore." Sharlene just sighed.

"You need to know something." That's all, Vivianne said to the person in front of her.

Sharlene looked at her. "Take a break for now." She simply said.

"Sis, did you ask Lawrence about the situation of this house?" was her only question.

Sharlene nodded at her. "The Salazar family hurriedly left after the massacre, fearing they might become the next victims. He doesn't know who did this, but I know Grandma Felicia does." 

"Raymundo."

"Raymundo?" Sharlene asked, confused.

"That's the name of the man who ordered the massacre here." 

Sharlene looked at her; she was thinking and digging through her mind. She gasped, her eyes alarmed.