Charlotte's endgame
By
Charlie Clark
Chapter one
Alison's Suspicion/Mona's visit
Alison knew something was wrong. She couldn't prove it but she knew it in her gut that something was wrong. It had started a few months ago after Alex had been exposed as A.D. Her friends started acting strangely. They would meet in groups without her. Emily was cold and distant. Even Spencer her own cousin was acting strangely. She would be all bright and peppy one day and the next she's be forlorn and sad.
They kept getting phone calls and after the call they'd be jittery and nervous. It was unlike them. She asked them about the phone calls and they would come up with a stupid answer. Alison knew it was a man, the same man, on each of the calls. He wasn't exactly silent when he called. She knew his voice from each call. It always lasted 3 minutes. The girls acted nervous when they talked to him.
The voice the man had was of a military order kind. It also sounded like he was giving orders on the phone. Her friends always acted nervous when he called and just kept saying yes or no. He never got angry but Alison was still iffy about the phone calls.
Another thing that was weird was Emily, her fiancé, kept putting off planning for the wedding. Every time Alison brought it up, Emily looked at Alison with guilt in her eyes and say they'd talk about it later. It was as if Emily couldn't bear the thought of the wedding. She was still good in bed but Alison was worried. Where was the guilt coming from? She was always with Emily so she knew Emily wasn't having an affair. It was as if Emily though that she didn't deserve Alison and was keeping secrets from her. But there were no secrets. Alison spent most of the day with Emily whether at school or the house, so there were no secrets. Every time she brought up the wedding or the phone calls, Emily jumped as if Alison shocked her. Then she shot Alison's questions down.
Alison suspected that the man on the phone was probably working with Alex and this was just her way of letting the liars know that she was still watching. But Alison had doubts about that. Maybe the man wasn't working for Alex but she suspected that he as up to no good.
The man in question was in Paris now but he definably wasn't working for Alex. At this point in time, he was walking into Mona's doll shop. Mona looked up at the man. She was immediately suspicious. The man was bald, but dressed mostly in black leather. He had a goatee. His eyes were cold. He walked up to the counter. He smiled at Mona. Mona didn't smile back.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mr. Inferno. I've come to purchase two dolls you currently have in your dollhouse in the basement." He said smiling
Mona wasn't fazed in the least. She looked at him bold as she please and said, "Sorry they're not for sale."
"Ah, don't say that just yet. The company I work for is prepared to pay 2 million for them. And yes, they can back it up." Mr. Inferno said.
"I don't care if you can back it up." Mona said, "Those two bullies are dangerous. They can hurt my friends."
Mr. Inferno twitched. He reached into his coat and retrieved a yellow folder. He put it on the counter and said, "Read it"
Mona looked at him smugly. She picked up the folder and opened it. She started to read. It was surgery reports, birth records, and photos. She read through it and as she read through it the angrier she became. Part of her told herself that this isn't possible. Another part of her told her that this is exactly what Charlotte would have done, and Charlotte would have made it possible.
She looked at Mr. Inferno. "Give me two days to think it over."
Mr. Inferno smiled. "If I don't have them in two days, you'll find out why they call me Mr. Inferno. I really hope this doll shop is insured."
He walked out and left Mona. She waited until he was out and screamed in anger and frustration. She thought she has won the game, but no, Charlotte had won. And the endgame was much worse than she feared. At least she be alive to watch the world burn.