Scarlett’s Secret

Scarlett was no ordinary woman. Well I mean she was to everyone else, she was exemplary but ordinary. Scarlett had a secret. A secret that made her far from ordinary. A dark secret that made her successful job as an engineer seem almost meaningless. Something you would of never have expected from her, and this was something she relied on.

She relied on people just seeing her as a hard-working and gifted young woman. She was stunningly beautiful too, she had silky long dark hair and shining bright brown eyes. Her makeup always perfect, classy and natural. She was always elegantly dressed with designer heels. Scarlett liked to make a statement in how she looked. She had graduated university a couple of years ago top of her class and now she was a successful mechanical engineer which surprised everyone. From childhood, she was always passionate about life, being unique and making her name in a man’s world. She had chosen the field of engineering as a challenge because wherever she looked, she saw a man hanging to this prestigious job and she wanted part of that. There was something unique about Scarlett and if you met her, you would realize that she is no simple woman but a women driven by passion, a passion to prove that what she has set her mind to, is certainly within her grasp. It wasn’t the most glamorous of careers but somehow she made it look good.

There was one more thing about Scarlett, something nobody would of ever guessed, she was an engineer by day yes…. But by night a private investigator, and ice cold killer by the cover of both. Of course Scarlett would never kill the people she was hired to investigate, no definitely not, she would leave them to the justice system. She knew better than to kill anyone she had any ties to, she would be caught in a heartbeat should multiple victims start turning up with her as a common denominator. Instead Scarlet uses her resources as an investigator to track down those who deserve her harsh form of justice. Of course this hasn’t always been the case, Scarlett was once just simply a simple albeit impressive engineer. That was until one night many moons ago when Scarlett was attacked….

Scarlett doesn’t just pick her so called victims at random, no she chooses them very carefully. She watches the news, she keeps track of the monsters of County and then she looks into them. She makes sure they truly deserve her type of justice.

During her studies, she didn’t just study hard but also spent a lot of her free time with the people from her father’s company, they cater to big organizations as mechanical engineers. She was obsessed with watching what they did, they didn’t just toy around with tools and machinery, they had a vast field of information where they got involved in manufacturing or research and development too. This was a very smart move that helped her in reaching her goals faster than anyone else she knew.

Scarlett was very gifted in the intellectual way, if she set a goal then nothing else could take the focus, no matter how attractive the other options where, she wouldn’t digress because they are not the goal. Scarlett’s friends admired her determination but did not consider her as a true friend material because she was obsessed with her goal that anything else was just not that important, even her friends.

Scarlett had a point to prove to herself, and the world, that women ARE capable of reaching the same position where men have been designated and preferred for quite some time. She successfully graduated top of her class and thanks to her practical knowledge, she was already 10 years ahead of everyone only possessed with theoretical information. She climbed the ladder of success within no time.

Scarlett was the eldest of two sisters. Her younger sister, Elizabeth, can be considered as a different species compared to Scarlett because she just wanted to enjoy her life and did not believe in being serious. Elizabeth was a cute happy blonde with a big personality and beautiful of course. Maybe it was because of her elder sister giving her a sense a sense of security that gave her the freedom to enjoy life knowing she would always be looked after. They were only 2 years apart in age but Scarlett treated Elizabeth as her baby girl and always felt that it was her duty to protect her from everything and their bond was something to be proud of. They would do anything for each other.

Their father, Tony, was a banker before becoming a engineer himself, he had built up a very successful company, and their mother, Taylor, was a housewife. Tony always felt that his family should be close as possible and therefore provided them with a very good lifestyle which was enough for everyone to stay happy together. Being the elder daughter, Scarlett felt her father’s feelings and wanted to keep that bond by providing a helping hand in running the house smoothly as it has always been. Scarlett loved still being at home with her family. In this world, this was something which was not common because everyone requires privacy once they reach adulthood but not here, this was a family who was considered as old fashioned in certain ways but as they were happy together, they never felt the need to adopt the lifestyle which was required by society.

Tony and Taylor had a tradition that every summer they will have two whole weeks of private time where there would be no work, no friends and no excuses and they would explore new adventures together.

One night they were all having dinner together when Taylor said “So! Have you thought about it?” Tony replied “what are you talking about?”

Taylor with a bemused look on her face “What else would I be talking about? This is that time of the year when you can spare some time to spend with us mere mortals, we have been doing this for quite some time now”

Tony smiled “It is not just about me now sparing time now, Miss perfect here is also a bread earner herself”

Scarlett: (Sarcastically) “Ha Ha! Very funny dad! But I will take that as a compliment”

Taylor laughed “I think the discussion was about deciding the location and not father and daughter admiring their talents”

Scarlett put her head down and quietly said “Mum look I know how much this means to you to have all of us together but I think this time, I may have to give it a miss. I have recently been promoted and some new employees have been designated under me, so I can’t just leave my work at this moment, I’m sorry”

Taylor sounding very disappointed “Honey it’s just two weeks and you have been working hard for the past two years, I am sure your boss will understand”

Scarlett felt guilty “He wouldn’t understood Mum, were hiring a couple new guys and it’s made it hard because my boss is busy with other departments so that means it’s on me, I can’t just leave it like that, that’s not what a leader does”

Tony felt the tension “So is there any window opening soon where we could reschedule then darling”

Scarlett was feeling so bad “I don’t think so dad. I think it would be selfish of me to just leave the work for 2 weeks with all that’s going on, I have worked so hard to get to this point. This has been my dream, mum please understand”

After sitting quietly for few seconds carrying on eating, Taylor puts down her knife and folk, looks over at Scarlett “We love you honey and know your position but I don’t want to put a pause to this tradition because if it happens once,it we will again, and we will lose this time we look forward to together, we need to hang on to these things”

Tony places his hand on Taylor’s “I have to agree with your mother here, I have experienced this in the past that once you just let go of something it just doesn’t happen again, at all. It may just feel like one time but trust me, it’s not. Next time there may be something else and again something else. We have to come up with something darling”

Scarlett started to get frustrated “I understand what your saying, I love our time together please trust me, It is just this time, I promise. I will make sure this is a one-time thing”

Elizabeth stopped eating her dinner looked up at everyone all smug “Hey, geniuses! What if we go for a weekend this time? Surely you can spare a weekend sis?”

Everyone started to stare at her weirdly and thought about it. Taylor wasn’t so impressed “just a weekend?”

Elizabeth started getting excited, she got like an excited little puppy “Think about it, Scarlett has been working hard at her job and she has earned to get to where she is. So it would be selfish if she just dropped everything for two weeks leaving them in trouble. So why not go for a weekend some place nearby and that way our tradition won’t be broken, Scarlett wouldn’t need to take time off work and everyone is happy. If all goes well, we can plan another weekend whenever we want. Remember, it is our tradition, we can make it happen in whatever way we want”

Everyone was surprised, they all smiled, and stared at Elizabeth who had just come up with a solution that made everyone happy. Which made a change for her, she wasn’t the brightest.

Tony smiled “Sounds like a plan to me, so it’s settled, the second weekend of this month is dedicated as family time. As miss smarty pants has come up with a great solution to keep the tradition going”

“Dad was that a compliment?” laughed Elizabeth

Everyone laughed and carried on finishing their dinner. Taylor seemed to be relieved because being a housewife, she was the one who knows the most how important this time is as Tony and Scarlett are busy with work and Elizabeth is always busy with her social life. She cherished and remember these moments when she was at home alone.

A couple of nights later Taylor was sitting alone in her room in the dark with just a small candle for light, she was drinking hot chocolate and thinking about the past holidays they have had together as a family when Scarlett came into her room and sat with her.

“Mum, can I ask you something?…… Why do you stress yourself so much on this tradition stuff?” Scarlett questioned.

Taylor looked up at her “What do you mean sweetheart?”

Scarlett put her hand on her mums “I have seen people… seen how they spend their time. How unimportant the word family is to them. I go to work every day and meet new people and I have observed how self-obsessed they can be, they don’t care about things the way you do. I consider myself very lucky that we have you, always showing us how much family and time together matters. What i don’t get is when we are together every day , so why is going away together so important to you?”

Taylor smiled and said softly “Honey we see each other everyday but we don’t really spend that much time together any more, I am worried that we might just drift apart if we don’t take this seriously. When Tony and I got married, we were very alone because none of our parents were there with us, they didn’t approve of us getting married, and we kind of felt alone, and maybe that loneliness brought us together all the more. We have stood through thick and thin with each other. Having parents who care is a blessing but it was something I was not blessed with, your nanna and grandad where never around, they never bothered with me, i was bringing myself up by the time i was 10. Then i met your dad and he loved me and accepted me, and helped realize how a love of a family could feel. So that’s when i decided when i have children of my own i would make sure i would shower them with love and give them the childhood i never had. The yearly holiday where it was just us was me wanting to show you that you mean the world to me and no matter what happens i would always be here for you and put you first. We were aware that as you and Elizabeth grew up, you would get jobs, get married, move out, so you would not have as much time for us, so we wanted this to be something that would always be our time. Maybe it is selfish of us but we just want to savour the time we spend together and this holiday is something where I get to be with you all the time regardless of your education or job or boyfriends, it was our time that nobody could takeaway”

Scarlett had a tear in her eye “I promise you that I will make sure that our family stays together and no matter what, we will have our time together every year no matter what, weather its two weeks, a week or even a weekend, I love you, your the best mum ever”

Both Scarlett and Taylor just sat there and talked the night away. Scarlett always knew that her passion to be ahead of everyone would pull her away from her family at some point but for right now spending more time with them just seemed right.

It was decided among them that they would spend some time at a cabin in the lake district which was not that far away from their current location in Manchester and it had plenty to offer like fishing, boating, walks and relaxing. This was their first getaway as a family where they would be spending just a weekend together so it was decided that it would be a work-free time where there will be a strict no mobile phone rule.

So the day came and everyone was excited because this was their first time to the lake district in a cabin and it looked breathtaking on the website. The house was big enough to have separate rooms for everyone and the lake had some boats which where good enough for fishing and exploring the area. They all were pretty excited on the drive up and upon their arrival, they were amazed, it was beautiful, just like out of a magazine. They all headed inside with their bags. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside.

As the evening came Tony and Taylor were a little tired from the trip so they decided to stay inside the cabin while Scarlett and Elizabeth were still pumped up so decided to go out to the lake and have a swim. They both had their swimsuits under their clothes, the took them off and just jumped into the lake. It was cold but so refreshing. The sun was setting and had a beautiful pink glow in the sky which reflected off the lake. They felt so relaxed. They swam for about an hour or so. It was so freeing, nobody around, just the two of them, bonding. They both swam to the edge of the water to chat.

Elizabeth lay looking up at the sky half in the water “Do you know what?, since you started your job, I kind of miss the time that we spend together”

Scarlett turned and replied laughing “What are you talking about? We live in the same house and see each other every day. We spend lots of time together”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes “I know that! But your always so caught with up your work. We haven’t had a sister to sister talk in a while. We use to talk all the time. We would sit up watching films putting the world to rights. Now its more hi what do you want to eat. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy for you but there are some things which I share with you and not with anyone else”

Scarlett laughed “This is about a guy isn’t it?”

Elizabeth smiled “No not a guy, I mean there is a guy but nothing serious. I have been offered a scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. with some of the best in the world, but the thing is I have to leave the country to do it, I would have to move to France. It’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so I don’t want to miss out but going there would mean leaving the family which I think would upset mum and dad. I mean just look how upset mum was about missing this holiday, imagine what she will be like when I say by the way I am moving to another country, what do you think?”

Scarlett filled with pride “oh my god lizzie, my sweet sweet little sister, that’s amazing news, I’m so proud of you. I didn’t even know you was looking to do something like that. It really is amazing but I do think this is entirely your decision. If you plan to take it then yes mum and dad would be upset your moving but I think they would come round to it. This is your life and it needs to be about what you want. Sure, family is very important to us but that doesn’t mean we want to hold someone back. Mum and Dad were very supportive of me and they will be of you too. It is your call, you do what you want to do because whatever you decide, we will all be very happy for you and support you”

Elizabeth smiled “But what about living alone?, I have always had someone in the house, I have never even had one night on my own. I don’t know what to do on my own. Scarlett I am just so confused. What if I don’t like it? What if I get lost? What if I….”

Scarlett hugged Elizabeth “Look you are talking about your future little sister and no one can guarantee anything but one thing I do know is that you are strong, capable, amazing, and you can do this. If you feel that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, then don’t waste this life just thinking about it. You don’t want to wake up one day thinking what if?”

Suddenly, they both hear a breaking noise and shouting coming from the cabin. They both looked at each other in shock.

Elizabeth looked scared “What is that?”

Scarlett looked towards the cabin “I have no idea. Cover up and stay behind me while I check it out” she said passing Elizabeth her clothes.

They both ran towards the house trying to be quiet. While approaching Scarlett spotted something through the window, there were four people with guns in their hands and they were standing in the living room. Tony and Taylor had their hands up, they were kneeling on the ground. Scarlett pushed Elizabeth down low so she wouldn’t be seen and so she could assess the situation, Scarlett asked her to not to move or make any noise.

What seemed to be the main guy kept repeating “You are lying! we know you’re a wealthy family and knew you were coming here for the weekend. We want £500,000 in cash now. We know you have it in the safe. Give us the money or we will shoot you right now”

Tony was crying with fear “I swear, I am telling you the truth, we don’t have that kind of cash on hand. Check my wallet, there is a bit of money in there but that’s all we have. I dont have that kind of money lying around! Please please don’t hurt my wife”.

The burglars were not accepting their plea and kept hitting them both. After a minute they got fed up and put a gun to Taylor’s head. “Alright wise guy! If you won’t give it us we would just shoot your wife and see how you feel then? maybe that would give you some encouragement” Taylor was crying and begging them not to hurt them.

Tony was scared “Please please, believe me, check in the side room, my bags are in there along with my wallet, take whatever you want. I swear we will not tell anyone about this. Just please please don’t hurt my wife, please!” The main guy asked one of the others to go and check in the room. Everyone in the room was silent while the other room was checked. Scarlett and Elizabeth were filled with fear, they felt helpless. They were miles from anywhere and their phones where in the bedroom switched off.

When the other guy came out of the room and handed the main guy a wallet “These are the wrong people, we were given the wrong information, they’re telling the truth”

The main guy was angry “Shit! That is complete bullshit! How can this happen? OK, listen up people, take whatever you can find while I work this out. If you dare to tell anyone about this, we will come to your house and kill you while you sleep” then he waived the wallet showing Tony’s driving license which had their home address on.

Tony was still fearing for his wife “I promise, I will not tell anyone about this just please take what you want and go”

The main guy walked to the front door. Scarlett and Elizabeth hid quietly. One of the other guys came behind him “What are you playing at, you can’t let them go they have seen our faces”. The main guy looked back at him “Don’t you think I know that, I just wanted them to calm down, when we leave we will set the cabin on fire with them in it”

Both Scarlett’s and Elizabeth’s hearts sunk when they heard this. Elizabeth started to cry quietly but Scarlett stood with a cold look on her face and said to herself “nobody hurts my family” then she knelt down to Elizabeth “I need you to head into the woods and find somewhere to hide, you don’t come out until I come and find you okay, no matter what until I find you”.

Elizabeth ran off as quietly as she could while Scarlett looked around for a way into the cabin without anyone noticing her. She remembered her bedroom window was open, so headed quietly towards it. When she got to the window she peeked in to see if it was clear.

Nobody was in the room and the window was still open so she very quietly climbed in. Once in she got out her bag. Scarlett had packed something very special in her bag, something she carried everywhere and nobody ever realized. It was a small bag, like a makeup bag but inside was far from lipstick and mascara. Inside was a needle containing etorphine, this was a sedative, there was also a small knife, a garrotte, gloves and sanitizer. This was her kill bag, her kit for doing what she does best.

It all started when she was 18. Scarlett was out with her friends in town when she was violently mugged by a man in a black hoodie. After getting out of the hospital she vowed to find him and make sure he couldn’t do it to anyone again. She started working out 5 times a week and studied criminal psychology along with forensic science online so she knew what to do without getting caught. Scarlett never did find her mugger but she did stop 29 other bad men who where doing bad things to women. She didn’t feel guilty either as underneath she knew its all they deserved for what they had done to people. She would tell herself its stopping them hurting more people. She was good at it too. These people were scum so it never made it to the papers or anything that these men had gone missing. Presumably nobody cared they had gone, some maybe even happy the monsters never came home so didn’t tell anyone. Plus if ever questioned on anything she would always have a alibi, as a private detective she would always have a reason to be lurking in the shadows. Being a private detective paid very well too so she always had everything she needed to cover up her…… let’s say indiscretions.

So dealing with these men who where about to hurt her parents was nothing. It was just justice. Cleaning up the scum of the world. She would see to them the way she sees to the rest of the trash she had encountered. Scarlett grabbed everything out of her kit, she put it in her pockets and headed towards the door.

The bedroom door was ajar so she could hear what was going on. She heard one of the men shout “We need to hurry up” then another reply “I’m going as fast as I can, they don’t have much to take” and then Tony cried out “No please stop please”. Tony had been hit again as they took his watch off him. Scarlett’s anger grew as she heard her dad cry out. It made her want to kill them all the more.

“I will check the bedrooms” one shouted. Scarlett heard him heading her way so she hid in the cupboard. Scarlett got out her garrotte ready for when she had her chance. One of the men came in, he went straight to the bags on the bed. He started pulling things out of the bags seeing what he could take. As he was riffling through Scarlett snook up behind him. He felt that someone was behind him but it was too late, by the time he caught a glance of Scarlett in the mirror she was already putting the garrotte round his neck. The man went to cry out but didn’t have the chance. His face turned red as he gasped for air slowly falling to the floor, frantically trying to pull the garrotte. As he took his last breath Scareltt whispered “This is what happens to bad men”. This was something she had whispered to all her victims, she needed them to know there was a reason they was dying. As he hit the floor she dragged him into the closet. Scarlett knew it wouldn’t belong before the others came looking for him.

Scarlett quietly crept out of the bedroom into the hallway. She could see her mum and dad but they couldn’t see her. Slowly she made her way to the kitchen. She picked up a knife that was on the side but had to hide behind the counter quickly as she heard someone coming. The foot steps got louder and then they stopped. Scarlett could see the man’s reflection in the oven door, he was looking at his phone. Scarlett quietly crept closer towards the side of the counter. The man looked up and turned to look out of the window. As he did Scarlett took her chance, jumped up and wrapped the garret round his neck. She pulled tighter and tighter. He didn’t even have chance to scream. As the man gasped his last breath he slowly fell to the ground. Scarlett pulled the man behind the counter fast hoping she wasn’t heard. She picked up the knife she had left on the floor behind the counter and crept to the kitchen door to see what was happening.

The main guy shouted from the living room “Tone, Cal, where are you? You found anything”. Scarlett knew it was just moments before the last two realized something was wrong. The main guy shouted again “Tone, Cal, what you doing?” with a worried tone in his voice, then he turned to the other guy “go see where they are”. Scarlett waited with the knife in hand. As the guy came towards the kitchen she could hear him stop and quickly check the other rooms. He reached the kitchen and walked in, he had his gun in hand. Whilst he was looking around Scarlett quietly crept behind him putting one hand over his mouth and using the other to slice his throat. The blood came pouring out and he started choaking, he dropped the gun and put his hands round his neck to stop the bleeding. He fell forward to the kitchen island, hands soaked with blood then just slipped across the unit and he hit the floor. Still choaking he looked up at Scarlett who had a cold look on her face. She knelt next to him and smiled “nobody threatens my mum and dad” she said “you deserve this, it’s karma”. The man took his last gasp of air and went quiet. His eyes wide open yet the soul was dead. Scarlett picked up his gun, she was ready to take the final guy down, but she wanted fun with this one.

Scarlett headed towards the livingroom quietly, she could see the main guy, he was pacing the room, clearly starting to worry. Tony and Taylor where so scared, both tied up, tears in their eyes. This made Scarlett so angry seeing them this way. She wasn’t going to let him get off so easy. She pulled out her secret weapon, her syringe, that would knock him out cold then she could have fun and make him suffer.

Taylor looked up and caught a glimps of Scarlett, she mouthed “get away, run” but Scarlett had other ideas. Scarlett put her finger to her mouth and gestured ssh. Taylor was now even more terrified knowing her daughter wasn’t safe. Tony and Taylor where only getting through the attack because they thought Scarlett and Elizabeth where safe by the river. Little did they know how capable Scarlett was of looking after herself. Scarlett spotted her chance and snook behind the main guy while her parents watched scared, before he knew it she had jabbed him in the neck and he was on the floor out for it. Scarlett ran to Tony and Taylor “Mum, Dad, are you okay?” She said while untying them. Taylor just grabbed Scarlett and held her tight “my baby, are you okay?, did they hurt you?”. Tony came and grabbed hold of them both the pulled back “where is Elizabeth? Have they hurt her?” He said worried. Scarlett smiled and said “no she’s safe”.

Scarlett sent Tony and Taylor to where Elizabeth was told to go. She had something to deal with before she left the cabin.

Tony and Taylor had found Elizabeth by the lake crying. They where all cuddled together waiting for Scarlett to find them. Scarlett was going to be a while though, she was in the cabin sat at the dining table, the main strapped down to it, he was still out of it and Scarlett was getting impatient.

“Wakey wakey” Scarlett said as she tapped the guy on the forehead with her knife “time to wake up”. He started to come round, dazed and confused as to what was going on. Scarlett smiled as he came too, this was when she got to turn it all around, make him afraid, make him feel pain, make him suffer. “Now that wasn’t very nice what you did to my mum and dad was it?” Scarlett questioned.

The guy flinched and started to try wriggle himself free “who are you? what’s going on?” he said starting to panic “if you don’t let me go I will kill you” he threatened.

This made Scarlett laugh “oh really? and how do you plan on doing that?”. Scarlett loved watching the men screworm before she killed them, she loved seeing the fear, knowing she had made them pay for the awful things they had done, knowing they felt suffering. “It’s so funny, you play the big man, tying up my mum and dad, beating them, scaring them, but when the tables are turned you suddenly look like a scared little boy wanting his mummy. Would she be proud? Your mum? Proud of the pathetic piece of shit her son has turned into, or was you brought up that way?” Scarlett angrily asked as she walked around the table gently running the knife over his body. Tears started to run down the guys face as the realization on what was about to happen sunk in. Before he could reply to Scarlett she shoved a tea towel in his mouth, squeezing his cheeks she came close to his face and whispered “men like you don’t deserve to live, killing you will stop you hurting other people, and don’t worry your mates got my specialist attention to”. The guy tried to pull himself free, as Scarlett laughed at his pathetic attempts of escaping. Very amused to see him desperately panicking and trying to escape Scarlett sat down in a chair next to the table with a smirk on her face “you actually think you will escape don’t you, your pathetic, you can give it but you can’t take it can you, your not a man”. Scarlett got up off the chair and picked up the petrol can she had sitting under the table, she then poured it onto his feet that where hanging over the edge of the marble table, and then walked over to the skint where she started to soak a towel in water “did you know if you put a wet towel on the ankles and set the feet alight the fire wouldn’t spread any further? It would just keep the feet burning and melting away, fascinating isn’t it? Let’s try it shall we?” She said as she wrapped the wet towel around his ankles. Then she got the matches from the side next to the cooker. The guy was frantically trying escape and scream, tears streaming, the fear taking over. Scarlett walks over to his face and strikes a match for him to see, she laughed and slowly moved it down to his feet. His feet set alight so easy. He screamed in pain trying to move while Scarlett learned in next to his face laughing, watching the pain in his eyes. She felt good, relieved, like she was doing her duty to punish the violent nasty monsters that darkened the doorways of the innocent.

After a couple of minutes of watching him suffer she started filling the washing up bowl with cold water. As the water was running she looked up out of the window and in the distance she could see Elizabeth walking towards the cabin pulling something. She didn’t want Elizabeth to see this side of her, she wouldn’t understand. Scarlett quickly grabs the washing up bowl and runs over too the table and pours it over his feet putting out the fire. He was crying in agony still trying to escape. Scarlett gripped his face “be quiet and don’t move” she said sarcastically then headed to the front door. She walked out and she could see what Elizabeth was dragging, it was a body and she was covered in blood. Scarlett ran to her “what’s happened where’s mum and dad?” she said frantically. Elizabeth just looked at her and said “He killed them, he was hiding in the woods, I tried to help them but it was to late, I heard the screams and ran but I wasn’t fast enough to get there in time….. I just saw red, he was stood there laughing at what he had done, next thing I knew I had hit him over the head with a rock and I was dragging him back here, I don’t even know why?”.

Scarlett was now angrier than ever “come inside I need to show you something” she said grabbing the body with Elizabeth to get him into the house. They got the body into the kitchen and that’s where Elizabeth saw Scarlett’s handy work. Scarlett looked at Elizabeth and said “please don’t be scared, he needs punishing for what he did to mum and dad, and that’s what I’m doing giving him his punishment, it’s better than any punishment the police will give, and this guy” she looked down at the body they dragged in “he deserves it too”. Scarlett was worried, she knew Elizabeth would take some convincing that this was the best punishment. What happened though….. she didn’t expect. Elizabeth took off her blooded jacket, looked at Scarlett and said “okay where do I start?”. Scarlett was shocked, she never expected a reaction like this “Elizabeth are you okay, I mean are you okay with this?” she says in a panicked voice. Very calmly Elizabeth looks at her “sis I know what you have been doing, I have known for awhile…. I also know why you do it. At first I didn’t get it but then when I was out once with Sarah, her boyfriend had followed us to the pub and he grabbed her outside and beat her up because she had said she was leaving him, the police just gave him a warning. That’s when I realized, your doing it because these women need justice. Now mum and dad need justice and I’m going to help you”. Scarlett was shocked, she thought nobody knew and certainly didn’t think anyone would understand. She hugged Elizabeth and whispered “I love you, we will make this right for mum and dad”.

They tied up the second guy and began clearing up after the other bodies, chopping off the fingertips and dumping the bodies in the lake. While clearing up they found a bunch of documents, Tony had bought the cabin, it was a surprise, he was planning on telling the family at the end of the holiday, he wanted it to be a place they could all keep coming back to together. He had wanted to build memories there. Now it was tainted and it only made Scarlett more angry. She knew she couldn’t fix this and bring her parents back but she could make them suffer for what they did, make them pay, pay in the house that should of been filled with happiness. Elizabeth had just come back into the cabin from taking out the last bit evidence the gang of monsters where there, all apart from the two monsters strapped up in the kitchen. “What do we do now” said Elizabeth. “Now we make them pay, make them pay for a long long time” replied Scarlett handing over the paperwork she had found “the cabin’ ours, so we take them to the basement and we make them pay, make them pay for along as their pathetic bodies last”.

“HELP HELP” shouting came from the basement, shouting that would never be heard. “Please please I can’t take no more please we’re sorry” pleaded one while the other man sobbed strapped to one of tables, he was unable to scream or plead since Scarlett was sowing his mouth shut. “Your turn” said Elizabeth to the other man who was still pleading.

3 months later…..

Both men were strapped to a table, mouths sown shut, fingers chopped off and force fed via a tube. No way was Scarlett and Elizabeth going to let them get off easy. They had many plans for many years of pain and suffering ahead for the monsters who took away there family. Both girls quit their jobs and sold the family home, with that and the inheritance from the parents they had enough money to survive without a worry. They moved to the cabin and cut off all contact with what life they had. They buried Tony and Taylor by the cabin and visited them everyday.

“Cheers” said Scarlett holding out her glass, “cheers” replied Elizabeth tapping her glass on Scarlett’s. They sat by the lake watching the sunset happy, happy because they knew they were getting justice, justice for their parents.

The two men locked away in the basement knew that’s where they would spend the rest of their lives, there in pain suffering more and more each day until one day it will just stop….. and they would be gone.