The camera flashed with numerous questions being asked. The crowd was getting bigger and I sat there on the bed edge along with the lifeless body of my mother, staring down at her. I could hear the noise around but I wasn't able to figure it out. The tears dried somewhere along the way and I had nothing left to say anymore. I moved my gaze up and looked inside the crowd, there she stood smiling at me. She was gesturing something at me but I couldn't figure it out. I was too small for that. Dad rushed to my side and picked me up and he shed a few tears looking at me but I didn't show any emotions. It was too much for a five-year-old. I looked at my mother down again and in the crowd but there was no one now. The reporters moved towards us and circled down as they kept on asking us as to why my mother would kill her when she had such a young daughter and a successful career. I was numb so I engulfed my dad in a hug and kept on crying until they were gone. 

The flashes from the past came alive when I see the same thing today. It's just there are no reporters around but the people from the town whispering something or showing their hatred. The factory was shut down as people barged inside and ruined everything. Every single thing. Even today I was numb as I sat on the couch looking down with Aiden and Emily on my either side holding me tight. My dad stood at some distance handcuffed. There was no way to go out with protestors around the area so Mr Moore started with his investigation at house without wasting any moment. Evans had a smirk on his face.

My mom was surprisingly calm and composed as she stood with Mr and Mrs Wright. Dad! No, he can't be. A murderer can't be my father. He is Callum Anderson the wrong person my both moms married. He had nothing on his face. No shame, no worry, no anger and no guilt. He wasn't ashamed of his crimes. He just stood there keeping his head high even now.

"Are you sure that she committed suicide?" A friend of my dad came to grieve about the loss he was suffering from. Dad shook his head while I was sitting closely. I was still recovering from what I saw even after a week. I just couldn't get it out of my head or I was able to believe that I won't see my mom again. I was shocked and that's how I started seeing her around the house everywhere. Even now she was sitting in front of me but she didn't smile. The look on her face got me scared.

"Who would want to kill her? She was so innocent," Dad said. I kept looking at my beautiful mom sitting at the front as she held her head low.

"It's sad that she chose this path," Dad's friend said again and looked at me as he asked further, "What will happen to the daughter? Would you able to take care of her on your own." There he pointed at the possibility of getting me another mother.

"I can handle her well,"  Dad said looking at me for a brief moment and back at the person, "I will give her all the happiness that she deserves." He finished putting a hand on my head. the person let out a laugh and I couldn't quite get him. I looked at him with confusion.

"You hold your head too high, Anderson. People might mistake you,"  he said. I didn't get it at that time. I didn't get what he was trying to say. It meant he is not guilty or sad for anything happening around him because he doesn't care. Never has.

"I don't know what should I be guilty of. Why won't I hold my head high?" Dad said and smiled at him. That smile wasn't his usual one. The five-year-old me was scared but I had nothing more than my father. I wiped off that face I saw and put it back into my memories. Locking that part behind and forgetting about it.

I remember that very well now. I know what it looked like and it scares to point at the next possibility. I am scared for the confession but I need to hear the truth.

"Why?" Mr Moore asked. I kept my head low as if I was the criminal but he even when I don't want to admit is my father and my family so, the hate people showing out is for me as well. I lived with this man for the 18 years of my life and still couldn't get him. I don't know why I feel responsible for people outside. I sniffed as Aiden pulled me closer and pecked on my head.

"Because they got to know about the things they shouldn't have," Mr Anderson said in a casual tone as if it's nothing. I shot my head up and threw an unbelievable look. That killer spoke again, "George was too nosy with everything. He was my manager but then acted as if he owned me ever since he got to know a few of my secrets."

"I had to shut him to lead a silent life," he said and shrugged. I don't believe him. I got up with a sudden movement with anger surpassing me. Emily and Aiden along with Edmund stood to my side.

"Silent life? You think killing people who don't fit with you would lead you a silent life," I shouted. That man looked at me with no expressions.

"Faith, I love you. I always have. The only thing I cherished with all my heart," he said. I gave him an unbelievable look and shook my head.

"Wrong. You just love yourself, Mr Anderson," I shouted again, "It disgusts me to put that last name after the beautiful name my mother gave me."

"I tried to stop you many times but you were fearless," He said again. So he was responsible for whatever happened with me in the past few weeks.

"I was trying to save my people, I was trying to save you but now I feel stupid," I shouted again losing my shit. Aiden and Emily were holding me but mom rushed to my side and pulled me closer as I cried out loudly.

"You love me? And you still sent Elijah to kill me thrice and then this prick?" I shouted again. He sighed. Mom kept me holding closer to her.

"Meet her, Faith. This is Jane. Your mom," Dad said with a smile as a beautiful lady sat in front of me. I crooked my eyebrows not liking the idea to call her my mom.

"My mom was sleeping on the bed," I said innocently. Dad's look changed as he became pissed off. He wanted me to forget about my mother. My birth-mother. He always dropped her topic when I picked it up as if he was running away from it. 

"That was sure your mother but this lady will be your mom from now on," he said again but this time with a bit of sternness. I frowned hearing him.

"Understood?" he asked when I refused to say anything. I nodded scared of the look on his face. 

"You have a beautiful daughter, Callum," The lady said with a smile. I liked her as she looked genuine but still calling her mom was a little too much for my mind.

"My grandmother says that I take after my mother," I said as she chuckled.

"Oh does she?" she asked and I nodded as she went ahead, "Then your mother must be very pretty."

"She is," I smiled and nodded with happiness. It was the first time that I talked about my mom after she was gone. I was excited.

"She was," Dad said correcting me. I frowned looking at him as a few tears surpassed my little eyes.

"Callum, just go easy on her. She is barely six," The lady said. Dad sighed.

"She needs to know this. Her mother no longer is around and we should stop talking about it," Dad said with irritation.

"Yes but she needs time," The lady said making me like her even more with each passing moment.

"Jane, I would like you to know a few things as well," Dad said and paused for a few moments.

"Like?" she asked with confusion.

"Like never ever interfere in my personal space," he said rather in a threatening tone. I could see the look on her face changed drastically but dad smiled it off. 

"Callum?" she said chuckling along and feeling relieved.

"I meant we should give each other enough privacy," Dad spoke again covering himself with a mask of kindness, of genuineness.

"I don't care about your past and you shouldn't care about mine," dad said and shrugged. The lady smiled and looked at me because I was from his past. 

"What about her," she asked further.

"I am there but if you want then you can befriend her. But don't ever ask her about her mother. She still gets nightmare and I trying to push them off," he said totally putting it out on me so she won't talk about that particular incident ever.

"Understood," she said and nodded and looked at me with a smile, "We will be great friends, Faith."

And indeed she became my close friend. She kept her promise and offered me with all the love and care that my dad never gave me. I was happy with her.

"I sent him for the first two times just to scare you and not to kill you," Mr Anderson said not finding anything big out of it and answering the question which was being asked.

"The third time was William," he said. I gave him a disgusted look. 

"I tried to get a hold of him but he started pissing me off even more just like Elijah or that Wittanakar," he said making a face further. 

"Why?" Mr Moore asked raising his eyebrows.

"Because they got to know about my past," Mr Anderson spoke again with so much ease. Past? What past?

"What past that you thought it would be nice to kill them rather than letting whatever it was out," I shouted on the top of my lungs. I was frustrated and disgusted by the man in front of me. Mr Anderson moved his gaze away refusing to answer my question. A tear rolled down my eye.

"Why did you help him out?" Mr Moore asked looking at Evans who had a boring expression on his face.

"It's fun. The hide and seek game," he said smiling widely, "Letting people guess." He was excited. I was disgusted.

"You are sick," Mr Moore said with the same disgust.

"How did you two get together and how did you plan?" Mr Moore asked further.

"I wanted a few people by my side. Evans being the policeman as I knew, Moore that you won't help me out. I can read people. Evans had nothing to lose and he loved what I offered," That person spoke again opening his filthy mouth.

"Elijah said Evans will help me out as they had previously worked together," he said again, "Now why Elijah? Then he works for money. He was shaken to the core at first but later he got used to it."

"Wittanakar kept pissing us off till the end so we were thinking of killing her next but you guys got in," he said. I shook my head.

"I read you were going to kill Mr Wright," I said as everyone shot him a look. He let out a laugh.

"He was a nuisance so we thought of clearing him up," he said and looked at Mr Wright. I don't believe him. He showed as to how much he was fond of Mr Wright. Always visiting houses and having dinners. It was all a lie. I looked at Aiden unknowingly who didn't have anything much to offer. He felt my gaze on him and looked at me. A tear rolled down my eye. He sighed and came closer as he wiped that off and gestured me that it's alright. 

"I always felt something off about Evans and that was the reason he might have thought of executing me," Mr Wright said. Anderson gave him an impressive look.

"Clever," he said with a chuckle. This person can't be my Father. No! He just can't.

"What kind of past?" Mr Moore asked, "And who was number nine? It's still missing." That killer's eyes shone with excitement hearing the question.

"You won't find it," He spoke again smiling away. 

"Why?" Mr Moore asked.

"Because I killed her years back and people believed that she did suicide," he said containing his laughter. My eyes widened as my heart rate increased. I felt Aiden holding my hand tighter knowing where this conversation was leading to. Aiden knew everything about it. Every other thing about my past. That person spoke again, "I just felt immense pleasure to see you people giving your theories about number nine." He giggled along with Evans. What kind of sick mentality is this?

"You killed her? Who was she?" Mr Moore asked.

"Mom?" I breathed out as a tear slid through my cheek. That killer started laughing loudly and hysterically as all eyes went to me. Mom pulled me closer from the side and I started crying loudly.

"That's right. Clever, Faith," He said through his laugher.

"You... You killed her too?" Mom asked with disbelief. I kept on crying loudly in her arms. I never thought about it. I never would have trusted if someone has said it. I don't believe I lived with this man who killed my mother. I feel so guilty for doing that.

"That woman got to know about my past as well. I loved her but then I warned her to stay out of my business. But she kept digging deeper and reached where she shouldn't have," He spoke again. Mr Wright and Mrs Wright came towards me with concern when my crying didn't stop.

"I pleaded her to not say it to anyone but she kept on insisting that she will hand over everything to police and get me arrested," That man continued to talk further, "She knew..."

"About what?" Mr Moore shouted at him.

"That I have killed more people for pleasure. I just love the look on their faces when they look at me with those pleading eyes asking me to stop. It makes me feel so much important like... like you know?" He said as I looked at him. He was having some wicked smile on his face as he spoke those words. He looked cruel. He looked inhuman. He looked dangerous and not someone I was grown up looking at.

"I own the whole world," he said looking at Mr Moore with excitement visible on his face, "It started when I killed a puppy when I was a kid and I just wanted more," he said and laughed.

"Have you heard about the mysterious disappearance of animals in the past Moore?" he asked Moore excitedly. He nodded.

"Yes in the west of London, at a small town of Stepford," Mr Moore said.

"I lived there," he said and licked his lips. The excitement refused to live his face.

"You are so sick," Mr Moore said.

"NO!" That man shouted making us jerk hard. Mr Moore gave him a look. That man shook his head rapidly as he spoke again, "No, don't say that. She said it too."

"Who? Your wife?" Mr Moore asked.

"My sister when she got to know about it and I tried to choke her but my mother saw it and sent me to asylum. It was bad that I freed myself by running away. I wanted to search those two and kill them first but then I met her mother," he said. I don't know what he was speaking. Did he try to kill his own sister and mother as well? What is this man? Do I know him at all? He spoke again, "She ruined me completely."

"I was fine until... Until I started feeling restless and I felt like..." he was saying but I intervened. 

"So you killed my mother?" I asked shouting loudly as the tears refused to stop. He shook his head.

"No, I killed lucy, the cat we bought then another and then another one but one day she saw me," he said with excitement as if he was telling some bedtime story to me. I crooked my eyebrows. I remember Lucy. She was the first cat I bought home. He spoke again, "I got scared but she showed as if she didn't find it a big deal."

I searched the whole house looking out for my white furry friend, lucy. She was the first I brought home a couple of days back. Mom was mad at me but I made my way like always. Dad was welcoming and he kept looking at the white furry with excitement in his eyes. I didn't understand the excitement. I thought he was excited like me because he welcomed my new friend. 

I fed furry luring her to stay with me by offering her fish and milk. She stayed only for me to find her lifeless on the window sill after a couple of days. I thought she was sleeping but later discovered that she was long gone. I kept on crying for a few days until my mother brought me a new friend though I wasn't convinced that she is the same furry but it made me happy. Mom named her Benjamin. She lived longer for about a month until we found her the same way. We didn't bring a cat for a year later until I found a dog. I was happy when he would follow me around the whole house and sleep beside me. He lived longest for about four months but later mom shouted at me and asked to not bring anyone home until she says so. I thought she didn't like that all met the same fate. The little me decided not to own any animal ever again.

It wasn't even a month and I found my own mother in the same state. I wanted to tell the police and the reporters about how my mom happened to meet the same fate as all of my pets but my voice got faded amongst the shouting in the surrounding. Besides who would have believed a five-year-old girl who was in trauma and was getting haunted by her mother.

I shut my eyes close and opened them again to look at the disgusting man at the front.

"But that bitch searched my whole past and got to know everything about me and that's when I had to stop her, to shut her," he spoke again filling the details about why he killed my mom.

"That's when I killed the first human and I loved it but I needed to stop for your sake, Faith but I couldn't. It was just getting to me again," he said looking at me. I looked away with utter disgust. I don't want him in front of me ever again.

"George got to know about it when he found me confessing one day. I tried to stop him but I couldn't and this time I didn't want to dirty my hands so I took Elijah's help and came up with a plan," he said again, "I wanted Evans to draw me records of serial killers and found one but you stupid girl ruined everything for your father."

"You are not my father," I hissed at him. I hated him. I hated everything about this man. There is nothing more than disgust and anger inside me for him. I wanted to kill him but I don't want to end up like him. My mom would never want me to.

"I am and trust me that you have to bear this weight for the rest of your life," he said with a smirk. I shook my head as tears slid through my eyes again. I sniffed and looked down as I cried again.

"I will come back," he said looking at me. I shook my head rapidly.

"No," Mr Moore shouted, "No, Callum, you won't. I will make sure that you won't ever trouble those two again." I sniffed still not able to bear this pain which was infinite. I felt like I was suffocating. I wanted to vanish from everything. But I was still here. 

"Why did you betray him if you were enjoying so much, Evans?" Mr Moore asked. Evans sighed.

"That bloody bastard tried to stab me in the back after sticking with him throughout," Evan hissed at that man. He chuckled.

"He was planning to kill me and put everything on me so he would lead a silent life. Bloody asshole," Evans said again. I kept on shedding tears remembering everything.

"That's what happens," Mr Moore said smirking slightly and looked at me as he went on, "Faith, do you have any questions for them?" I looked at that man standing without any guilt on his face. I am pretty sure he would have killed his own daughter without aby guilty to save himself.

"No," I said and looked away. It was unbearable for me to look at that man. It made me disgusted. I was angry at myself for staying with him and not recognising him all those years. Am I too bad at recognising people?

"We will ask the rest at the station then," Mr Moore said with a nod.

"Take those bastards and throw them at where they deserve," he said again looking at one officer.

"Gladly," That officer said and gestured the people behind to pull those two culprits forcefully and dragged along. I kept on staring blankly at the front as I remembered all those years. I started walking slowly and made my way to my room without trying to make any conversation with anyone around. I was glad that no one followed me behind.

I entered my room and closed the door shut. I rested my back on it and slid to the ground. The tears started flowing through the eyes yet again and I started crying unable to hold anything back. I sniffed multiple time but it was of no use. I wiped my face and nose but I was out of control. I moved to the dressing table and opened the drawer. I pulled out the red stone necklace of my mom and held it close to my heart as I started crying loudly. I miss her. I miss everything about her. I knew she wouldn't kill herself but I never imagined the man on the mask did.

It was out of my control. I felt like my whole world fell apart. I wanted to rewind everything and save her. I wanted her back so badly. But I didn't know how. I heard a knock on the door but I didn't try to stop because I couldn't. I felt someone beside me the next moment. I knew it was Aiden. He kept sitting on the bed edge and I could feel his gaze on me. I kept on crying and crying. Aiden finally held me in his arms and made my head rest on his shoulder.

He knew everything and he kept quiet. He let me be with than man even when he knew everything. I pushed him hard and frowned looking at him.

"I know you are mad. I know you think I deliberately kept you away from the reality but what would have I said, Faith?" He asked explaining hos point to me. I stayed quiet sniffing and wiping my face.

"That your father is the one who is pulling the strings?" He asked further when I refused to speak anything. He sighed and spoke again, "How can I when I wasn't even sure?" I looked at him again with anger. He could have at least said he suspected him. I would have believed him blindly. He is the person I trust the most in the whole world. I know he won't ever think anything bad about me.

"Remember the day Elijah was arrested and you were attacked?" he asked again. I nodded

"I found your dad and Evans talking something in the corner instead of paying attention to you," he said further, "Your dad was furious while he kept on insisting that he tried to open the door but I knew he was just acting." He shut his eyes for a moment containing himself and looked at me again.

"You just know a few things by looking at people and how they behave," he said again.

"I..." He sighed unable to speak ahead. I knew he had more secrets. He spoke again being uncomfortable, "I was caught by Evans. The thing I kept from you people." He looked to side unable to meet my eyes.

"He knew that I have known all along. That's what he put his men or man after me and that's how he found us in Tyler's pub. He stabbed me in an attempt to kill so they will hide the deeds of your father," he said and looked down at his hands. He was guilty I could tell that. I sniffed as few tears left my eyes. I don't want to do this. I don't want to hurt him but I can't.

"I can't be with you anymore, Aiden," I said and my mouth left a sob. Aiden looked at me feeling hurt.

"Faith, I am sorry. Don't be mad," He said and moved to hold my hand but I moved them back.

"No, this won't work," I said shaking my head slightly. I felt some deep pain inside me. I can't bear looking at him. I don't know how I will be able to change my habits of having him around but I need time to think about everything once again after whatever happened. I don't know how to trust people. I need to think about myself again and I need to find myself. I need to focus on myself more than anyone.

"You always keep things from me. You lie to me. You..." I couldn't utter anything after than and started crying again. I don't want to leave him. He has done so much for me. I can't do this with him. Aiden held me tight.

"I am not able to understand you. I never did I guess," I said truthfully, "I need time to think about us. About everything and start afresh." I sniffed and looked at him with tearful eyes.

"I want to do it on my own. I can't be here. I don't want to be here," I said again and held his shirt tight in my grip. My mind waa shouting to leave him but who will make me understand my heart which is so used to beat for him.

"I am sorry," I said and sobbed again. Aiden was holding me closer.

"Don't be. I am sorry that I put you in this spot and I hope you come back," He said in a low voice. His voice was broken which made me feel bad.

"I will wait," he said. I pulled away from him and shook my head rapidly.

"Don't. I don't know if I will ever. I will be moving to London and you will leave to Oxford," I said and sniffed.

"We will meet new people and I don't want to keep you bound to me," I said looking at him. He had hurtful expressions but smiled anyway for me. I am so bad. So so bad.

"I love you, Aiden. More than you could ever think and I guess I will always keep on doing the same," I said and sobbed again.

"But right now I feel like I need some time to get over things, move on and just be myself again," I said. I was confused as fuck.

"I am... I am really sorry," I said and cried again. He held my face and wiped it.

"It's okay. I understand," he said with a smile.

"Just be safe and focus on yourself," He said being understanding like how he always has been. I am so stupid. Stupid to leave him like this, "I truly hope you will find yourself soon enough."

"I wish too," I said with a smile and wiped my face, "I truly want to get away."

I said and started crying holding my face in my hand. Aiden sat there for a few moments and made his way out of my room and my life. I cried my heart out until I finally fell asleep.

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