CHAPTER 8

It was already ten o'clock and Maurice was still doing his chores at Henry's house. He was worried about his master and also wanted to apologize for what had happened, but the fear of being dismissed concerned him. Upstairs, Henry was at his office and his eyes could not believe what he saw.

"Dorian? Is that you? You are dead, how is this possible?"

"Hello Henry. Dead? What do you mean? I'm right in front of you."

"Why are you here?" asked Henry.

"I came to take my portrait back. I knew you would keep it for me, since I'm your best friend." said Dorian with a smile.

"All right, but I didn't expect you to come here late at this hour. Do you need anything else?"

"Well, Henry. I heard the news about Alan's disappearance and I saw that you got really angry with Maurice. What is happening?"

"I appreciate your concern, Dorian. But you don't need to worry about me, I'm fine."

"Are you sure about that? I heard from people I trust that you are behaving suspiciously. And I know you better than anyone, so why don't you tell me the truth?" insisted Dorian.

"Fine, but you can't tell anyone. Alan pretended to be my friend and he was taking advantage of me. So, I solved things myself."

"Does that mean you buried him in the garden?" asked Dorian, walking across the office towards Henry.

Henry didn't answer him. He started to wonder how Dorian got such information. Was it from Maurice? His servant was trying to deceive him?

"Hum Henry, I will understand your silence as a "yes". You were reckless, my friend. It is only a matter of time before everyone finds out the truth. It shows how different we are."

"Different? What are you saying?" said Henry indignantly "I thought you would understand me, but now I see that I was wrong about you."

"Ah Henry, you are so pathetic. Do you really think that I cared about you? You killed Alan and buried him in the garden. Who does that? I'm sure Maurice already found the body when you got angry at him. Will you trust the words of a servant?" said Dorian.

"I don't believe you!" Henry shouted. "Maurice is the most loyal servant I have ever had."

"That's the difference between us, because servants always want to take advantage of wealthy people. I think that you should kill him too and everything will be resolved." said Dorian.

"Stop Dorian, stop! You are crazy and you will not convince me to commit another crime! Take your portrait and never come back to my house. Our friendship ends now!"

Henry turned round and took Dorian's picture from behind the bookcase. At that moment, the moonlight flooded the room and the strange blurry shadow in the portrait seemed to linger there, to be more intensified even. When Henry realized something was missing, his hands started to shake and he dropped the portrait on the floor. His terror mounted and he stepped back.

"Who are you!? What do you want from me!?" Henry shouted.

"I'm your friend, Dorian Gray. What? Are you scared that I'm right in front of you and not inside my painting? Now it's too late Henry."

Meanwhile, Maurice was in the living room, but he couldn't understand why Henry was screaming upstairs, since there was no one else in the house. He carefully went to his office and knocked on the door but no one answered. After a few seconds, he decided to open the door and his master was lying on the floor. Next to him, there was a splendid portrait of a young man that Maurice recognized as Dorian Gray.

THE END