Prologue 2

"An... An.... Angelina?"

Panic seized Marlie as she found herself standing alone in the room, with Chad and the others having departed long ago. The sight of the woman with fierce, penetrating eyes sent shivers down her spine, compelling her to let out a piercing scream at the horrifying apparition before her.

"aaahhhhh.....!!!!"

Her cries reverberated, prompting nurses to rush into the room to investigate the source of her distress.

"Mrs. Baristanas….." they repeated her name in an attempt to calm Marlie.

"Angelina is here, she's alive, she's here!!!"

She pointed towards the door, persisting in her claim, yet the nurses searched the room and the doorway fruitlessly.

"I saw her... she was there... she was right there," Marlie explained. Despite her attempt, no one seemed inclined to believe her.

"Ma'am, you may have imagined it."

The nurses were not intentionally dismissive; there was simply no one by the door.

"No, I saw her there..."

"Perhaps it was simply a dream, ma'am,"

A male nurse entered the room, his words resonating with Marlie as all eyes turned towards him.

"Mrs. Baristanas, perhaps you had a dream. You may have witnessed something in the dream that startled you." He offered a reassuring smile to Marlie.

Marlie composed herself. Yes, it was all a dream, which had likely led her to believe she had seen Angelina by the door.

"Who are you? You're new to me."

One of the female nurses spoke up, noting that the male nurse was unfamiliar.

"I'm new here. I'm James."

He introduced himself, displaying his name tag to the nurses.

"You shouldn't be here. This is a VIP ward. Mr Baristanas won't like the interference."

The nurses assisted Marlie back into bed, yet a sense of unease lingered.

"You need not fear, ma'am. Everything will be fine."

James reassured Marlie before departing from her room with the female nurses leading.

As friendly as he sounded, midway down the corridor, a figure materialized behind him. He halted having noticed the figure. The female nurses were far gone. A sly grin appeared on his face, and he spoke out.

"You frightened her, cousin. She's trembling with fear and anxiety. I doubt she'll hesitate to call Chad and inform him."

James turned, to face the figure. Marlie, it turns out Marlie was not seeing things. It was really Angelina she saw at her door. She stood there in flesh and blood. Angelina was indeed alive. And the fact was simple, James was her accomplice, her cousin.

Angelina had survived the fire at the asylum. She orchestrated setting the place ablaze to fake her demise.

"I shall make them both pay dearly."

*****

On the brink of nightfall, Marlie slumbered peacefully. To her, her problems were all gone now. Until she was stirred by screams and shouting.

Marlie didn't know what was happening outside. It was usual that a hospital would have such disturbance at such an unholy hour. She got down from her bed and walked to the door to find out what was causing the screams.

It wasn't just normal screams. People were running out of the building in shouting.

"What's going on?" She wondered.

"Didn't you just give birth?"A shaky voice spoke from behind Marlie. She was startled. Turning, she came face to face with the speaker, a fellow mother cradling her infant.

A bewildered expression crossed Marlie's countenance as she replied. "Yes..., in the morning."

"You must run, their ward in fire!"

"What?!!!"

The urgency in the warning propelled Marlie into immediate action. In sync with the fleeing crowd amidst the blaring alarm, her eyes honed in on the nursery, her heart gripped by dread.

"My babies," Marlie whispered as she darted towards the nursery to protect her twins. However, her path was blocked by firefighters battling the flames.

"Please, my children are in there. I must go to them," Marlie pleaded, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to break free from their grasp.

"Ma'am, the fire is spreading. It's too dangerous to enter," the firefighter urged, attempting to guide her away from the danger.

Despite her desperate pleas, Marlie's tears and anguish could not sway their resolve. It was too much pain for her. She sank to her knees, eyes welling with sorrow and helplessness.

"Please, let me reach my babies..."

She hoped someone would listen to her and help her save her babies but she felt deserted, no one was helping her.

"Ma'am, your baby..." A voice interrupted her anguish. Marlie looked at the man standing in front of her. Her attention quickly drew to a baby wrapped in a blanket, held by a familiar figure. It was James.

"I believe this is your son." James motions towards Marlie. That proved to bring out the lost hope in a mother. She quickly got up from the floor and noticed it was her son, Evan.

Overwhelmed with relief, Marlie embraced her son, tears of gratitude and relief mingling on her cheeks.

"Evan, my son, my baby..." Marlie's voice cracked with emotion. She planted kisses on her son. She was glad to get her son. But she needs one more baby.

"Where is my daughter?" She questioned, darting her eyes around to see if Evelyn was also nearby.

James somberly met her gaze and sadly shook his head, hinting at the grim news to come.

"I regret to inform you, Mrs. Baristanas, that we could only rescue your son," James delivered the heart-wrenching update to Marlie, who could not fathom the truth, tears cascading down her cheeks.

"What? Wh... what do you mean? No, no, not my daughter. She has to be there somewhere. My Evelyn has to be somewhere. I must find her; I will go and retrieve my daughter," Marlie declared through her tear-stained rage, although they could not permit her to enter the engulfed building.

"Ma'am, I doubt your daughter is inside, but even if she was, she would not have survived. The fire has spread in all directions and everything within the room, animate or not, may have been completely consumed by now." A firefighter gently relayed the harsh reality to Marlie.

That was too much to take. Marlie collapsed to the ground, refusing to accept that her daughter was gone.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, your daughter is no longer with us," James pronounced to the grief-stricken Marlie, clutching Evan tightly to her chest. No amount of condolences could assuage Marlie's sorrow. The revelation of her child's demise in the blaze was unbearable for her.

Marlie couldn't handle it and fainted.

Grief was all Marlie could be left with. She thinks her daughter is in the flames but Angelina stands, cradling her baby girl.

She observed Marlie's anguish for her lost daughter, a daughter she now held in her arms.

"Angel, do you see the suffering of your mother? That is but a fraction of the pain I wish for her to endure.

You are now my daughter, Angel Rodriguez. And you will take my revenge for me!"