Chapter Ninety-Seven: Home We'll Go

Lillianna’s Point of View

The audacity of Aamon was unfathomable. Without a second thought, he had given my hard-earned jobs to Chloe, someone who had no business taking them from me. My head spun with fury, drowning out any sounds around me until Iris appeared, her cold voice cutting through the chaos. Before I could react, a searing pain ripped through my abdomen as her bullet tore into me. I felt my insides lurch and knew she had hit vital organs. The shock was almost too much to bear as I gasped for air, realizing this was how I imagined my end. A scream rose in my throat, but was stifled by the shock and agony coursing through my body. All I could do was curse fate for this cruel and undeserved death as I bled out on the floor in front of the bathroom. Rage turned to despair as my last thoughts faded into darkness.

Chloe’s Point of View

I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed. Iris had made a grand entrance and delivered a deadly blow with precision and finality. As I stood there, frozen in shock, I watched as Lillianna's life slowly drained from her body. Her once vibrant eyes were now empty and fixated on nothingness, while her face contorted into disbelief, pain, and fury. It was both haunting and mesmerizing to witness.

“She’s dead. Sam? Sam, you can come out now,” Iris called out.

Even though I was used to killing people in my line of work, seeing Lillianna's lifeless body didn't bring me any sense of relief. It just left me feeling numb, which was unusual for someone who had taken numerous lives before. Maybe it was because, this time, I had a personal connection to the person I killed.

“Is it safe?” Sam’s voice came out scared and unsure.

“Get the fuck out here now, Sam. Lillianna’s dead,” Iris groaned.

The bathroom door creaked open, revealing a blood-soaked and bruised Sam. It was clear that Lillianna had unleashed her full rage upon her. I let out a heavy sigh and lowered my gun before holding out my arms to Sam. She hesitated for a moment, then collapsed into my embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I-I don't know w-what's going on," she stammered between sobs. “But, you both DO NOT work in marketing.”

I couldn't help but chuckle at her words, the situation suddenly feeling surreal and absurd. My body shook with laughter as I tried to contain myself, but even Iris joined in with a mixture of amusement and relief.

"Believe me, Sam, we are definitely not in marketing," I said through tears of laughter. But let's just say we work for the government in a classified department."

Sam looked up at us with wide eyes, clearly confused and overwhelmed. But after a moment, she nodded in understanding. The less she knew about our dangerous line of work, the better. Ignorance truly was bliss in this case.

Iris contacted Ethan to inform him of the situation. He immediately messaged the two operatives, who arrived at the apartment and began taking care of the task at hand: removing Lillianna's body and erasing any evidence of her presence. Iris had used a silencer on the gun to avoid disturbing the neighbors with a loud gunshot. No screams or struggles were heard, adding to the chilling speed at which it all happened. As I stood there in shock, my mind struggled to comprehend that Lillianna, with her dominating presence and dangerous aura, was now nothing but a lifeless shell. Lillianna was truly gone.

Lillianna’s Point of View

I gaped at my lifeless body in disbelief and terror. I could hear every word that Chloe, Sam, and Iris spoke, but my hand passed through her form when I tried to strike out at Iris angrily. I was nothing more than a ghost lingering in this realm. My life was truly over.

"I tried to warn you, but you never listened," a familiar voice said.

Stunned, I spun around to see Xavier standing beside me, looking back and forth between myself and my motionless body on the ground.

I was bewildered. "How can you see me?"

"I'm not exactly Xavier," he explained. "It's complicated."

"Then who are you? What should I call you?" I demanded answers.

“I’m not Xavier. Well, not exactly. It’s a bit complicated,” he explained.

“Not Xavier. Then who are you? What should I call you?” I demanded.

“Just X,” he replied calmly.

“So, X, is this all there is to the afterlife?” I spat with anger.

“For you, yes,” X answered calmly.

“But you can’t stay here. It’s time for you to go home,” X added, gesturing towards the front door and beckoning me to follow him.

“And where exactly am I supposed to go?” I yelled as X stopped in his tracks, clenched his fists, and took deep breaths.

I groaned. Even in the afterlife, I managed to provoke Xavier. Or whoever this man was.

“I’m not here by choice, in case you were wondering,” X snarled.

He turned to face me, his face contorted with anger and rage.

X grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door. I couldn’t understand how he could touch me if I were a ghost. Confused and scared, I struggled against him.

“Stop fighting, damn it. You're running out of time. The glimmer of hope within you is what made them reconsider your destination. But if you keep resisting, they won’t hesitate to send you somewhere even worse,” X spat angrily.

As I followed X out the front door into the darkness, my fear overwhelmed me, and tears streamed down my cheeks. "Where are you taking me?" I whispered.

"To confront your past and make peace with it," X replied calmly. "You need to take responsibility for everything you've done, good and bad. These moments belong to you."

X led me to a chair in front of a screen, where an old-fashioned projector cast memories from my troubled youth: the chaos I caused and the moments of kindness and help I gave when given a chance. I saw the pain and tears I caused others and the joy and laughter I brought them. And then, I saw how I responded to the difficult moments in my life and tried to protect Shiloh from a similar fate.

“You are not an evil soul, Lillianna. You’ve done evil things, but you are not evil. You have a choice. You can continue to linger in the hatred and darkness that almost consumed your soul or trust the glimmer of hope within you. What will it be?” X asked.

I didn’t want to be surrounded by this much pain and tormented by my past for the rest of my existence. I nodded toward the small stream of light I saw in the distance.

“Good choice,” X said, walking towards it until he realized I wasn’t following.

“Lillianna, it’s time,” X sighed in frustration.

“Time for what?” I retorted, my fear causing me to have an even bigger edge to my voice.

“Time to go home,” X said, gesturing for me to follow him and continue on his way.