In the middle of the day, California's sun was beaming.

Louise gathered her blonde hair into a high ponytail and tied it with the elastic that she kept on her wrist. She even had most of the buttons on her shirt undone to let the fabric pool at her waist, exposing her bralette.

She sat on hard concrete floor, propped by the side of their little black car—or rather, the car that Chloe had stolen. Using a lug wrench, Louise loosened the wheel fasteners on a tire.

Chloe was leaned back on the hood of the car. Her eyes shielded by shades. On her ankle, a large bandage covered the gash that she had earlier made for them to avoid the police's suspicion. She hadn't complained about it once.

They were stationed at an abandoned shopping mall behind rows and rows of empty parking spaces.

Louise eyed her sister. "Chloe, are you actually keeping watch?"

"We're in the middle of nowhere." She lifted her shades to rest on her head. "And if you're so worried, you should at least let me help change the tires. Seriously, we would be done by now."

Louise glanced at her sister's belly, hidden behind a loose top that flowed outward. "Well, yeah. You shouldn't be doing hard labor."

"I'm pregnant, not... crippled," Chloe laughed. "Wait, is that why you insisted on coming with me here? Maman didn't need the both of us."

The blonde pulled the wheel completely off and rolled it to the side. She let her forearms lay on her raised knees. "Not really. I know you can take care of yourself."

"Oh. Then I bet you just missed everyone. I did too."

"Yes, and... I accepted a job here."

"Really?"

"Someone posted on the dark web a while back, and I just happened to come across it recently. It's a weird request, so a lot of people weren't up for it."

"Oh? What's it about?"

"The person wants to erase someone completely. They want it done in a way that makes that person unnoticeable, and so no one can find them after," she said. "They didn't even give me a date, just the target's photograph."

"That's... oddly specific. I wouldn't know how to wipe someone out like that." Chloe raised a brow. "And you do?"

"I have an idea," Louise said quietly. "But to want to erase someone... That's gotta be deeper than hate, right?"

"Is it?" Chloe scooted further up the car and laid on her back. She raised her arms to rest her head on. "I have someone I'd like to erase."

Louise turned in Chloe's direction. It was from there the sun floated. Despite what she'd just said, Chloe didn't budge.

They both knew who the someone was.

"Yet there's nothing we can do about that person," Louise stated.

From there, one worked until her palms were rough and the other basked in her thoughts. When all four wheels were replaced, Louise used a knife to cut up the old tires so they couldn't be traced. She left the rubber pieces stranded by the deserted mall and washed her hands with water they'd brought.

Louise entered the vehicle while wiping her hands on her shirt. When she plopped onto the seat, Chloe posed a question.

"What'll we do about the underground passageways that Maman told us about? Taking care of that seems impossible."

Louise shrugged. "I have a way." She said before digging her hands into the backpack at her feet.

"A time bomb?" Chloe blinked at the item her sister retrieved. It was a bundle of red pipes, held together by two bands. In the center was a digital clock, displaying six zeros. Besides that, a button.

"I bought it to use on my target."

Chloe nodded with approval. "It's a good thing you did. Let's see... if I remember correctly, there are four places that access the passageways." She used her fingers to count. "The auction house, Celine's office, the Leroux residence, and the former Leroux residence... And... the roads intersect somewhere, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Then we'll only need one bomb."

Louise and Chloe spent the rest of the day completing that task. They drove to the old Leroux house—still vacant since their mother refused to sell it for this reason— and used a hidden opening in the basement to get below the ground. It wasn't difficult; They simply trekked to the intersection point, set the bomb timer to an hour, and casually walked back to the house.

"This is quite nostalgic, no?" Chloe said as she ran her eyes over the empty living room space.

Louise's attention was on her phone, and her fingers dialed a certain number. "One second, I have to make a call."

"Hitmen duties?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll be in the car."

Louise walked into the kitchen holding her phone speaker near her lips. "Hey, it's me. My apologies for the late response. I'm calling to let you know that your payment went through successfully and I will be handling your request soon. Don't bother to call back. Just sit tight and I'll do the rest."

She sent the voicemail and pocketed the device before joining her sister. The sun had gone down by then; their journey underground had taken longer than they expected.

Louise approached the passenger window and made two downward swipes with her hand. When Chloe lowered the window, she gestured a thumb over her shoulder.

"I'm off to take care of business. Au revoir."

"Louie, get in here." Chloe dismissed her farewell, earning a stupefied look from the blonde. "Come listen to the news. They're talking about Dimi."

Immediately, Louise hopped inside. "A-are you sure?"

"Who else is Dimitri Leroux?" Chloe threw her arms in the air. "Just listen."

So she did.

"... due to nearby highway surveillance cameras, the teenager could be identified. He has since disappeared in the forest, and it is unknown where he is now. California residents are encouraged to avoid the forest area. Dimitri Leroux, who strangled a 35-year old Chinese woman to death only hours ago, is now a wanted individual. If you come across anyone that fits the description, do not engage with him; inform the police immediately.

"He is the son of Celine Leroux, and it is becoming clear now how dangerous and violent that family is. The public puts their trust in Lieutenant Victor Morales, who has taken the lead in..."

"Our brother is alive, Louie," Chloe said quietly. "And Maman lied that they're all dead..."

Louise jumped in her seat. "H-hold on... That boy from the woods this morning... was that Dimi?"

"That means she knowingly abandoned him... I'm going back to her office." She shifted the gear. "I'm done pretending everything's alright."

***
Near Past

"Please..."

"Yes, Neo?"

"I can't take this anymore."

Celine chuckled at his response. "Oh don't be silly. Yes you can."

Neo broke into a cough. He'd been forcing himself to speak through cracked lips, and to breathe from a disrupted stomach. His eyes were barely open, and any color on him had long turned pale.

Celine turned to the desk beside his bed, on which the fifty bullets laid.

"What do you want... f-from me?"

From her raised angle, Celine glared down at him. She brought her hand closer to his beard, stopping when the gap was a mere inch wide. Neo's chin drew back. When he could retract no further, his breath sped.

"P-please."

"Do you know how it feels to hold a grudge on the dead? Do you know the anger that comes with wanting revenge that you'll never get? You can do nothing about it. Even if you dig their body from the ground and burn it, it won't be satisfying." Celine grit her teeth. "They won't writhe and groan like they deserve to. They won't cry for me to stop. They won't beg me for forgiveness like they should've. But you can."

With a sudden sharp movement, she closed her hand around his neck.

Her tone was menacing, indifferent to the struggle. "And if only you'd taken on their sins—thrown your hatred on your boy the same way they did to me—I'd have gotten my revenge a long time ago."

She let go of his neck, but the disdain that wrinkled every muscle on her face remained.

Neo wheezed. "I did... m-more than that. To Eve, I was a monster."

Celine glared, for it was not done yet. Project Neo was still a box unchecked, and her teeth ground because of it. "You weren't even close, Neo. I want you to do worse. After that, I'll disappear from this world."

"You'd have to kill me, first."

"Tch. Fine. There are other ways to satisfy me." She walked towards the door and opened it a crack.

"Please, don't-don't do anything to Eve."

"Don't worry. This next part has nothing to do with him."

Celine exited to enter a room on the opposite side of the hallway. Inside, a bed, desk, chair, and lone suitcase hardly decorated the space she was to live in starting from now.

She bent her arm behind her back to undo the zipper on her black dress, long and weighted with fabric. It was becoming heavy, and she missed the lighter, shorter version of it.

Once she was in her little black dress, she plopped down on the chair and drew circles on her temples; it had been a long day.

If not for all the money going to the doctors, she would've added more furniture and painted the walls black. The emptiness of the room was unsettling to the woman. It forced her back in the room she spent her childhood in. Celine easily brought herself back; the memories didn't shake her anymore.

The phone on her desk rung furiously. Celine looked at the number and scoffed.

"What do you want, Cam?"

"Oh, thank god you haven't thrown away your phone yet." Her brother sighed with relief.

She crossed her legs. "I don't have anything more to say to you."

"No, please! Please listen to me. I-I beg you." He was yelling through a whisper. "Please hear me out. I'll make it quick; I have to anyway. I'm still at the auction place and if Morales finds out I have contact with you, I'll get in trouble."

At the quivers of his voice, Celine was thoroughly amused. "What happened to the confidence you had this morning?"

"Please, hear me out! I-I promise. Look, I know why you hate me so much. To be honest, I've known for a long time." Cameron began. "Mom and Dad, they... they treated you badly. I was a coward and I did nothing to stop them."

Celine closed her hand around the phone. She saw exactly the road his words were traveling on.

"I'm so sorry, Celine."

Suddenly, she was a little girl again, neglected in a room as empty as this one by a family that was... afraid.

Their blood was shared,

But hers was rejected.

It is no surprising fact that at the early age of six, Celine Leroux was diagnosed a psychopath.

It began with the beheading of her dolls. Then, she'd draw humans with limbs broken or out of place. From there, cut and torture small animals. Her parents watched the progression through dreadful eyes, and it wasn't long before they—

Stop it. Don't write another word about that.

—Cameron went on. "I'm sorry I never apologized. After they died, we just-we brushed it off and never mentioned it again."

"Get to the point before I lose my patience."

"I know I betrayed you. I know that you'll get rid of my family, but I'm begging you. Please give me a chance. I-I think I know someone you'd want dead."

Unconvinced, Celine let out a meager, "And who's that?"

"Damien. Damien Ruhl."

With a lift to her brow, Celine heard him out.

"He was alive this whole. He's been alive, and he's the one who-who saved the Ruhl boy and put that tracker in your suitcase. I can get rid of him."

The phone was silent as she thought.

"Alright."

"Oh thank you! I-I promise I won't fail, so promise me you won't hurt my—"

Lowering the phone, Celine pulled out the only drawer of her desk. Beside a heap of folders was a photo. It was of her and her husband, Yves, taken by a stranger at a beach they once visited in Greece.

She made a delicate smile. He was the first to ever accept the little girl that sought joy in breaking limbs.

After all, his death was a product of her inhumanity. And he died with a smile on his face.

Celine set the picture down and stood. The doctors were probably finished by now. Thus, she walked over to the makeshift hospital room. There, Neo was being moved into a wheelchair by the doctors Katz and Boucher. He groaned as he was made to sit.

The older one greeted Celine as soon as he noticed her. He piped in his native language happily, or so it looked; Celine knew he simply feared her.

"Mademoiselle! It is ready. Do enjoy." He motioned to the closed door and moved away from Neo.

"I trust I haven't been disappointed."

"O-Of course not! I think you'll be very pleased with our work. Don't you agree, Dr. Katz?"

The younger man had been overly focused on the gloves he was wearing. He rubbed his hands on his shirt repeatedly. He spoke to her in English. "After this is over... I'll get to go home with my money, right?"

"I do not go back on my word." Celine took his place behind Neo. She grabbed hold of the wheelchair's handles and pushed him towards the door in question. It opened to a hallway, and they proceeded, just the two of them.

Neo was a hefty man, and Celine went at snail's pace because of it. For a while, they listened only to the rolling of wheels on tiles. The path was quite dark, lit up by lanterns here and there.

Unable to see his face, she posed a question.

"Why so quiet, Neo?"

"Whose blood was that on-on their hands...?"

"How curious you are. Don't worry. You'll know exactly who when we reach the stage."

"Stage?"

"Yes, Neo. It is only on stages that shows are put on."

"Shows?"

Celine found herself amused at his one-word responses. "Yes, Neo."

Eventually, the walls surrounding them widened. Now at the end of the hallway, lighting was mostly absent. Even so, Celine smiled at the bits and pieces of the display that were visible.

From her memory, she found the switch to her right. One after the other, a row of lamps turned on. The first revealed a rope.

The second revealed a hand, hollow where its palm should've been.

The next lit up a head of hair. The strands were colored red.

The fourth lamp caused a flinch. Neo was silent then, and he was silent now, but for two different reasons. For the light of this lamp fell on a face.

The face of Sarah Taylor.

As the stage became fully illuminated, Celine awed at its glory. It was better than she had imagined.

Sarah hung in the center. Beneath her were a clump of bodies. It must've taken Neo a moment to recognize her. Her face had become white over the years. Her skin sank in and the layers were dried.

"S-Sarah..."

Celine beamed at the heap of ropes resting on a wooden table. Circular and small, they were a perfect fit for her fingers. Eager to try, she slipped on the strings and lifted all of her digits.

On cue, the bodies on the floor were suspended in the air. Upheld by ropes slipped through the holes that were drilled in them, they swayed in wait of their master's command.

Seven female puppets. One male. Like Sarah, they had all been turned to redheads.

"What do you think? I cut them myself," she announced proudly. "The doctors put them together for me. Isn't it great?"

Neo was wide-eyed as he made out the faces of his ex-girlfriends. "Wh-what did I do..."

Celine's next command was a tilt of her thumb. Not yet familiar with what each of her movements caused, the suspense stirred her.

This move, she quickly learned, caused the turning of a head.

Neo immediately crouched down and hyperventilated. He hurled an empty stomach.  

But for Celine whose eyes refused to blink, the sight was beautiful. Bones crackled as Sarah's head completed a full three-sixty. It was something no human should be able to do; and no human did.

These were not humans; they were her marionettes.

Thus, they danced as her fingers danced.

Celine smiled with her teeth watching how dislocated limbs flew, how quickly jaws could fall, and how anyone could be made flexible.

"Are you seeing this, Neo?!"

Neo was mumbling something into his lap. Her guess was a prayer. Celine turned to him and crouched to his sitting height.

"What was that, Neo?"

Still, his murmurs were hard to hear. His plea was faint. "Please, don't kill me."

She extended her lower lip to a pout. "Oh, Neo. Since you won't do what I want, this is the only other way."

"N-no," he nearly yelled. "I-I have to apologize t-to Eve. To Sarah's family. E-everyone."

"I can't allow that now, can I. You see, you were my favorite puppet, but you've cut your strings completely." She stood up and extended her arm towards her army of dead. "What else would a puppet master do if not reattach them!?"

His face sunk so much he blended in with the human puppets. Sweat had long rained on his forehead.

Celine walked over to a corner where a heap of supplies laid. She moved aside a circular drill and chainsaw to retrieve a small knife. Holding it by her side, she turned around.

When she did, she found that Neo had turned himself around and was rolling his wheelchair towards the exit. He didn't get far; Celine grabbed the handle to stop him.

Knife held over her shoulder, she positioned herself in front of him and dipped her hip. "Would you believe me if I told you that I killed my husband with this exact knife?"

Neo shook. His hands failed to push the wheel anywhere. Soon they gave up and he froze. Fishlike, his lips begged for mercy.

Celine chuckled. "Oh, whatever." She rotated the knife handle and pointed it downward. "And Neo? When you preform in my show, be sure to break a leg."

And the blade drove towards flesh.