Despite that, Joanna had no choice but to et with Alice, all for Clara’s sake.
"I was actually pretty shocked at the state she was in. Her hair was a ss, and she looked malnourished. And I felt sorry for her..." Joanna balled her fists up, a lump rising in her throat. She was inexplicably upset.
"That’s nothing but a facade. That woman is used to acting fragile to gain sympathy. She’s actually an evil sociopath deep down. I thought I could fix her if I showed her so genuine love, but... she dragged down to her level instead!"
"Hah, you sure are quick to shift all the bla to her. You n are the sa. You’re just mad because you couldn’t handle her."
"Looks like Alice is a pitiful woman after all. To think the man who claid to love her with everything he’s got abandoned her in the end regardless." Joanna shook her head, sighing.
Due to their similar experiences with n, Joanna sohow empathized with Alice at so point in ti, despite being rivals.
"She used my tape with Clara to threaten you. Isn’t that enough evidence to show that she is a bad person through and through? She doesn’t deserve your sympathy. It’s not your fault you pushed her off the cliff! She crossed the line first," William said calmly.
"So you were there too? You saw our fight that night and how I pushed her off?" Joanna replied in a composed tone. At this point, she could finally face the accident with a fresh new perspective.
Technically speaking, she was indeed a murderer in this case.
Alice made many insulting remarks that night. Her goal was simple. She wanted Adie. If she didn’t get him, she would publicize the video to the entire internet.
Not sacrificing either her child or best friend was a no-brainer. She would never send them in harm’s way.
Hence, she lunged over to Alice in order to snatch the phone out of her hands, losing all rationality. As they continued to struggle, she accidentally pushed the woman off the cliff...
"Actually, I’m not sure if she’s still alive, but I’m pretty sure she’s not. Her corpse was probably washed away by the waves. Else how were these past three months so quiet? No one ca looking for trouble at all!" Joanna smiled sadly.
She had been living in terror for the past few months, waiting for the police to bring her in for an investigation every single day. At tis, she would even get the urge to hand herself in every ti she saw a police car driving by.
However, she rembered that her children were no older than five. For the sake of their future, and for the sake of the Pierce family, she could only choose to hide this secret deep within her heart.
She had never expected another to be present when it happened. It was rather hard to keep a secret all to yourself, especially when it concerned others. Ultimately, no one could truly pretend that nothing ever happened when they know for a fact it did.
"I saw the entire thing, but I don’t think you were at fault. Even if the cops found out, you’d probably get a light sentence too. And well... I’d personally want us to take this to our graves." William, once again, expressed his opinion.
He then took a glance at Clara’s ward, his eyes filled with guilt, and took sothing out of his bag. He handed it to Joanna and said, "This is the original video file. Please destroy it. And let’s hope Alice really drowned so we can finally move on from this damn Chapter. Clara’s reputation would be protected as well."
Joanna returned to the Carmine Pawnshop after destroying the tape thoroughly. She headed to bed with a heavy heart.
She was especially restless for the entire night, with several dreams popping in her head during her slumber.
In her dreams, Alice crawled out of the sea with ssy hair, with her limbs dislocated and her bones penetrating through her flesh. She then cackled eerily, her face completely drenched in blood.
"Hahaha, Pierce, your days are numbered... I may not have been able to compete against you when I was alive, but I can drag you down to hell with as a ghost!" Alice screeched as her bloodied face inched closer to Joanna, to the point she seed to be hovering right above her.
The suffocating pain consud the woman’s chest. She flung her arms around in panic, screaming, "No! Don’t co near !"
"Miss Joan! Miss Joan! Wake up! The sun is up!" Nancy worriedly held her hand, sitting by her bed.
"Argh!" Joanna felt like she was pulled out of an abyss as her eyes snapped open. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest.
"Miss Joan, you look pale. Did you have a nightmare?"
"Mhm." Joanna nodded, panting.
Her nightmare was just too vivid, as she rembered how Alice’s gory face was right in front of hers and rembered just how despairful the sensation was. It felt like she was drowning.
"It’s alright, you woke up..." Nancy patted her on the back, visibly concerned. "You must’ve been stressing yourself out, Miss Joan. That’s why you had a weird nightmare."
"I’ll make you a small scented bag later. It can help get rid of germs and reduce anxiety, so bring it around with you. Then you won’t get those nightmares anymore."
"Thanks, Nancy." Joanna took a deep sigh, then asked in a whisper. "Hey Nancy, do you think really evil ghosts exist in this world?"
"Ah, I don’t know..." Nancy’s expression turned serious, reminiscing her past. "I’ve learned dicine from my grandfather, and I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff too. Traditional doctors usually believe in these things since life and death, when viewed from a dical standpoint, are great mysteries. So I can’t really say for sure...
"Evil ghosts may exist in so other realm, a realm we can’t see or touch. Or maybe, its existence is a form of energy, a magnetic field. When the energy or magnetic field is too strong, it might affect our realm as well.
"For example, Miss Joan, you don’t get nightmares back then. But you suddenly dread of sothing that was so scary that it woke you up in cold sweat. It is possible that you were affected by those types of negative energies. So it’s best to be more cautious," Nancy explained, her cryptic ssage sending chills down Joanna’s body.
She gulped, carefully responding. "So you an so kind of evil spirit with high negative energy might be attached to ?"
"Hush hush! You shouldn’t say things like that! You’re a nice person, Miss Joan. It’s not like you offended or provoked anyone. So there’s no way you would encounter evil spirits!"
Nancy was very superstitious, quickly nagging her like how most elderly would. After that, she got busy preparing the scented bag as promised.
Joanna looked towards the mirror at her dressing table, noticing her pale complexion. Alice , if you really are haunting , I advise you to reincarnate soon, she thought as she clenched her fists.
’You couldn’t win against while you were alive, so don’t assu you’d ever have a chance at death either!’
After having breakfast, Joanna checked the ti and noticed that she should be leaving soon. She then got up from her seat and turned to Quinton, Nancy, and the children. "You guys take your ti, I have to head out for a bit."
"It’s still so early in the morning. Where are you going?"
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