Later on the same day,

Iliana forwarded a message to Abel through Eluya.

"Bring the woman who I paid to impersonate Alisa." said Eluya, copying Iliana's message from word to word.

So Abel drove the car to the Black Market, where he picked up the woman who was impersonating Iliana as per her instructions.

'In the end, she is still hurt..' Abel thought to himself as he stopped the car once they reached the agency. He got out of the car with the woman impersonating Alisa and walked into the EIA agency.

Upon entering, he noticed that Iliana was seated on the couch and Eluya had already prepared tea for her and the woman.

"Ah, Chloe.. Welcome." Iliana welcomed the woman, whose first name was known to her. And it seemed that she was still ignoring Abel for the time being, making him sigh as he went upstairs to freshen up.

Chloe, having already picked up this new development didn't try to point it out, as she sat down in front of Iliana before removing her mask.

"Hello.. I hope this won't take much of my time. I need to work so I can pay off my loans quickly." Chloe said with a light laugh and seeing no reaction from either Iliana or Eluya, she stopped.

"I'll pay you for the inconvenience. Now, you just need to stay in this house until 6 in the evening. Hand me the mask and cloak that you're wearing." Iliana said with a calm yet serious tone. Even though the judgement had been passed and Alisa was no longer considered a fugitive, Iliana can never reveal her identity as Alisa.

"I-I see." Chloe said calmly as she removed her cloak, which was covering her body in its entirety and handed it and the mask to Iliana.

"Good.. Now stay here with Eluya." Iliana said calmly as she picked up the cloak and the mask.

Just as Iliana was putting them on, Abel walked down the stairs, ready to drive Iliana to the graveyard.

"Take care, you two." Eluya said calmly, waving her hands at Abel and Iliana.

Abel and Iliana returned the wave before they exited through the front door and walked upto the car before entering it.

"How much.. How much did it hurt you to bring Chloe here?" Iliana said calmly as she sat in the back seat. Chloe was the one Iliana had impersonated as Alisa for almost 3 years now and even though it was by Iliana's choice, it was still breaking some laws so Abel must have suffered a bit as he brought Chloe.

"Not much.. It was like being Slapped but the pain was spread over the period of the drive." Abel said honestly, seeing no good things coming out of speaking lies.

"And how much did it hurt you over these three years.. How much did you suffer while helping me collect evidence while continuously knowing that we were breaking a few minor laws.." Iliana spoke, having no intention to look Abel in the eyes, knowing that she had hurt him unknowingly.

"It was like being stabbed.. but over the period of three years, it didn't hurt much." Abel spoke honestly as he drove to the Graveyard in the Western District.

"Spinach, Bell Pepper, Olives, Artichokes, Red Onion, Sweet Corn, Mozzarella. I think you know what I want." Iliana said calmly, before looking out the window.

"Yes, ma'am. That'll be what you'll have for dinner." Abel said calmly, taking notes of what Iliana wanted on her pizza. Most of the ingredients were in the house but he'll have to visit the Central District's food market for Artichokes and Fresh Mozzarella.

The rest of the drive remained uneventful despite the fact that they were being followed by Private Detectives, who were most probably hired by the families of the people who paid the fine. But this was the exact situation why Iliana made Abel drive to the Black Market and pick up Chloe.

"I'm sorry.." Iliana broke the silence as Abel pulled the car into the parking lot of the graveyard.

"Why?" Abel asked as he took off his seatbelt and waited for Iliana's reply before opening the door.

"I was aware that bringing Chloe will hurt you yet I still asked you to go there." Iliana spoke, feeling remorse for sending him there.

"Relax.. It's better than sending either you or Eluya there. You can't drive and Eluya is.. let's just say 'problematic'. And the pain was like a slap at best, I've suffered worse." Abel spoke calmly, not putting much emphasis on 'worse'.

"I will ask Eluya to explain what that 'worse' is." Iliana said calmly before she exited the car with Abel following close behind after he locked the car.

Inside the graveyard, the Grave Keeper was waiting for Alisa to arrive. Upon seeing her, the Old Grave Keeper smiled. "Miss Alisa, I got your message yesterday. We've prepared the graves as you asked us to. Please follow me." Then the grave keeper started walking.

"Mister Abel, May I ask of you to give some space." said Iliana before she followed the Grave Keeper, who showed her the way to the graves of her family before walking away.

Iliana's tears started streaming down her cheeks, as she knelt in front of their grave and cried her heart out.

The memories she made with them.. eating ice cream with her parents on a random Tuesday, playing Doll House with her little sister and their maids. The dinners in fancy restaurants, the ball houses, visiting their grandparents.. Each and every sweet and sour memory resurfaced in her mind, each followed by a loud wail as the realisation that her parents, her sister, her beloved caretaker.. the people she considered her family weren't in this world anymore.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She could no longer talk to her sister, have her hair braided by her mother, take driving lessons from her father, try to cook and burn the ingredients with her maid.

All the things she wanted to do during her late Teen years.. remained unfulfilled. Only because.. some people were greedy.

yEs, GReeD. GrEEd.. onE oF thE seVeN SiNs tHat hUmanS pOssEsS iN aBunDaNcE.

"Mama.. Papa.. Sister.. Iliana.. I wish I was strong enough to protect you." Alisa spoke her hearts out, as tears flowed down the mask like a waterfall.

"Justice.. Mama, Papa.. I secured Justice for you all.. But I am still unable to forgive them. I still hate it here." Alisa spoke as she reminisced about her family.

........

"Catch me if you can, Big Sis."

"Little Ari, you will be tickled once I catch you."

The two girls were playing and laughing in the garden. Running, catching and tickling each other for hours..

"Girls, come for snacks!" shouted the maid, Iliana, waving two packets of crunchy chocolate bar.

"Thank you!" The two girls said in unison as they ran upto Iliana and took the packets from her hand before sitting down on the grass.

"Arianna, Alisa. Eat slowly or it'll get stuck in your throat." Iliana said as she knelt down patting the head of the girls.

Just then, the other maid, who eventually sold out Arianna during the mob raid, walked in the garden behind Mr and Mrs. Ranberr.

To Alisa, that was heaven.

........

During the raid,

"Alisa! ALISA! Don't worry about me and your mother.. We'll escape and meet up soon, okay? Follow Iliana and don't separate yourself from her, okay? Your sister is safe, we've sent her out with the other maid."

But no one other than Alisa managed to escape in the end. The other maid, sold out the positions of the rest of the members.

The screams of agony that day were the source of Alisa's nightmare for months.

........

"In the end, I couldn't forgive them. I still hate every single one of them.. But my subjects of hate are no longer alive or reachable. I can only do so much." Alisa said as she raised her head, looking at the gravestone of her parents before putting on a smile, though all of it was hidden behind her mask.

"I will live.. I will live, Mama.. Papa.. Little Ari.. Iliana. I will live." Alisa said before standing up. Just then, the grave keeper came back with four bouquets of white lilies in his arms.

"Thank you." Alisa said with a smile as he carefully took the bouquets from the grave keeper's hands and gently put them on the gravestone of her family.

"Thank you, Grave Keeper." Alisa said calmly before she turned to leave the graveyard.

6th of August. This day will forever be engraved in Iliana's mind.

Abel, who was still waiting for Iliana, was standing outside the car and scrolling on his phone. His facial expressions were blank as if he didn't have a single thought inside his head.

"Abel.. Let's go." Iliana spoke as she approached the car.

Abel nodded as he saw Iliana approaching, unlocking the car. Once he and Iliana were seated and put their seatbelts on, he started driving back to their agency.

Throughout the drive back home, Abel remained silent and even though he did make attempts to try to talk, he just didn't know what to say to initiate a conversation.

A lot of factors contributed to creating a silent zone between him and Iliana. This silence was mentally painful for Abel, and it was clear that Iliana wasn't fond of it either. However, she needed to stay angry with Abel for hiding the reason he often fell sick.

The silence between them stretched until they arrived at the agency and entered. Inside, Chloe was seated on the couch with Eluya, both of them were playing chess.

Eluya looked to be in a pretty comfortable position while Chloe's situation on the board was very tricky.

"Hmm hmm.. Chloe, you were the one who suggested we play chess, why are you in a tough situation?" Eluya spoke, teasing Chloe.

"Please keep quiet.. Let me think." Chloe said, grabbing her head before shouting in annoyance. "I surrender! I can't win against you."

Eluya chuckled at Chloe before her gaze met Abel and Iliana. "Oh, you two are back."

Iliana nodded as she removed the mask and cloak, putting it beside Chloe before she quietly went upstairs. And Abel just quietly sat beside Eluya, looking at the current position of the chess board and thinking.

Iliana came down moments later with a thick letter and handed it to Chloe. "Here, this should be the end of your debt as well."

Chloe looked at the letter wide-eyed before speaking in a rushed tone. "W-what? But our contract wasn't enough to.." She stopped mid-sentence when Iliana shushed her with a smile.

"This was for being a good person and not disclosing my secret despite having a lot of people actually approach you." Iliana said with a smile. "Use this money to pay off your debt, procure an ID and live without a worry."

Chloe was taken aback by Iliana's kindness, after all, the only reason she took the job of impersonating Alisa was money. But what Iliana paid was much more than they agreed upon in the beginning.

"But.. won't this amount hold you back?" Chloe said with tears held back as she gripped the letter tightly.

"No.. The money I, or should I say Alisa, obtained from the civil case is a lot. Most of it is gonna go to charity. So even if I give some to you, it won't matter." Iliana said with a smile before continuing. "Now, go on, Chloe. Use this money wisely.. Make sure no one traces you back to the name Alisa or me.. You are free."

"T-thank you.. I swear I will repay this debt you have given to me." Chloe said, bowing her head down to Iliana. Originally, she had pity for Iliana but now she had respect for her. Even though this money was meant to be used to make sure that she couldn't be traced back to her life at the Black Market, it was still only due to Iliana's kindness.

"You don't need to.. But I won't stop you if that's what you want." Iliana said calmly before looking at Abel.

"Abel, drop Chloe to the Black Market." Iliana ordered Abel.

Abel nodded, getting from the seat and stretching himself while Chloe put on the mask and cloak again. After that, Abel drove her back to the Black Market, wishing her off before making his way to the Central District to pick up missing ingredients for Iliana's pizza.

Alongside the ingredients, he also purchased Pastry for the three of them.

Upon his return to the house, he quickly went to the kitchen and started preparing Pizza for dinner. Iliana wanted her Veggie Pizza while Eluya wanted her usual Olive, Pepperoni and Baby Tomato on her Pizza.

And after Abel was done cooking, they had dinner. Iliana was finally obliging Abel with a direct conversation. And as the day ended, the three of them finally returned to normal.

Though for Eluya, something worse was coming.

"Eluya.. Abel had his fill for punishments.. But what about you? Why didn't you tell me that you were suffering by lying with me?" Iliana said as she helped Abel clean plates after dinner.

Eluya froze mid-step, looking at Iliana while her wide, shimmering eyes pleaded for mercy.

"Nope.. You will sleep in your room from today. Not mine or Abel's." Iliana said with a smile, shooting Eluya with her fingers.

"Nooooooo!" Eluya fell down on her knees, looking at Abel and Iliana. But seeing no chance of mercy, she walked up the stairs, into her room.

"It hurts me to do this to both of you.. But if you two, who are at least a few centuries older than me, hide things from me.. You'll get what you deserve." Iliana said, with a sadistic smile on her face.