Disclaimer: see chapter 1

CHAPTER 13: The Veil is Removed

As soon as Lex closed the doors of the house, Chloe spurred into action. She couldn´t stop thinking about Moira´s diary and started to search the rooms to see if she could discover any hiding places that might have been overlooked by whoever had broken into the house. The search turned out to be fruitless downstairs so she decided to move it to the attic.

She was rummaging through the contents of an old wooden trunk when she heard the sound of a door opening.

¨Is that you, Lex? ¨she shouted from the banister. ¨Lex? ¨she repeated, climbing down the stairs apprehensively and stopping midway when she saw who was in the hall.

¨I´m sorry. I thought you weren´t at home. I should have called first. ¨

¨What are you doing here? ¨

¨I saw the police car last night and heard about the shooting. I thought there was an intruder when I saw the bedroom light was on. ¨

¨It was just me upstairs. ¨

¨I´m glad to see you´re fine. It must be hard for you being here, considering everything that´s happened. ¨

¨Yes, but I´m planning on staying. ¨

¨You weren´t so sure when you came to town. What´s made you change your mind? ¨

Chloe could here the voices ringing in her ears again. She ran along the corridor and moved stealthily into the kitchen, seeking refuge in the pantry. Through a crack she was able to see her mum struggle with her assailant. Chloe stood frozen as the rolling pin hit her mum´s skull crushing it and her body fell lifeless on the floor, a pool of blood forming around her. The assailant turned around, sensing there was somebody else in the room and a bolt of lightning illuminated the kitchen and the face of the killer was no longer in darkness. The monster that had chased Chloe in her nightmares now had a face.

A thunder pealed and Chloe was brought back to the present. She looked at the woman who had murdered her mother and realised Nell knew the memories she had repressed for so long had come back to the surface.

¨Why? ¨asked Chloe with glassy eyes. ¨Why did you kill her, Nell? ¨

¨Nothing was enough for her. She had a career, a husband who adored her and a little daughter. I had nothing, and she had to rob me of the only chance I had of getting away from this hell hole. Lionel had been mine before Lillian got pregnant with their second child and he decided to dump me. He was never going to divorce her, but I knew I would have my second chance when his youngest son died and his wife couldn´t overcome her depression. But then your mum had to spoil everything! ¨she said venomously, looking at Chloe with unseeing eyes.

A new lightning illuminated the sky and a heavy thunder made the foundations tremble. Nell blinked and noticed Chloe was retracing her steps.

¨I confronted him, ¨Nell continued speaking, ¨and he laughed at me. He said I could never challenge his intellect like Moira. I hated him then, and I realised that the only way I could make him pay for what he had done to me was by hurting those for whom he cared the most. ¨

Chloe could hear the rain falling heavily on the roof and splashing against the windows. Nell was on the verge of losing control and there was no telling what she would do to her once she realised she had confessed to the crime.

¨I came to the house and surprised her in the kitchen. We had a bitter argument... she ordered me to leave but I couldn´t... I grabbed the rolling pin which was on the kitchen table and smashed her skull with it, ¨she added, looking to the place where Moira´s body had lain. ¨I knew you were in the house, but I wasn´t sure if you´d heard or seen anything. I was about to come looking for you when I heard a knock at the front door and the noise of someone coming in. It was Lillian Luthor. I made my way to the back door and thanked God for my fortune. Knowing the tender-hearted Lillian, I was sure she´d try to do something for your mum- even though her own husband had cheated on her with Moira. Lex has got the same weakness, you know, and that was her undoing. I only had to make an anonymous phone call and plant the seeds of doubt in the minds of Smallville- a piece of cake, considering this town´s animosity towards anyone called Luthor. ¨

¨There is no diary, is there? ¨ asked Chloe chokingly.

¨Of course not. It was just the bait I needed to send you on a goose chase. But you took advantage of it. The apple doesn´t fall far from the tree. I know you´ve beguiled him just like your mum ensnared Lionel. ¨

Chloe knew the time had come for her to leave before it was too late. She bolted to the front door, but Nell reacted in time to grab her by the hair. The young reporter screamed in pain and tried to kick Nell in the shins, but the older woman- fuelled by her incensed state- dragged her to the kitchen and slammed her against a cabinet, almost knocking her unconscious. Then, she pushed Chloe into the larder and, shutting the door firmly, locked her up.

A frantic blonde tried to turn on a light but remembered the switch was in the kitchen. The past was repeating itself, and she struggled with the door to no avail. Outside she could hear Nell rummaging in the other room, opening and closing cabinets until, suddenly, a smell of thinner invaded Chloe´s nostrils and, then, the sound of ignition resonated in her ears.