Author's Note: Here's the final chapter! It's a little different than I'd typically write something like this but I hope you like it! And um...sorry about the ending!
Charles nodded, practically vibrating in his excitement as he filled in some of the blanks CeCe had left. He bounced on his toes while somehow managing to keep the gun directed at his brother's head the whole time.
And just to make things even more confusing he chose to talk about himself in the third person.
"After Mrs. Cavanaugh's death and Bethany's subsequent breakdown Charles was given more leeway than ever. He used that, his mother's money, and CeCe's computer skills to get himself accepted to college, pre-med of course since he'd always thought himself a doctor.
It was on his way to freshman orientation that he ran into the perfect opportunity to take himself even further. That opportunity was a very nice, very naïve British man who was in America for his residency.
So Charles skipped his orientation and took Wren Kingston out for coffee. A few hours later and the Brit, an orphaned trust fund baby, was dead and Charles had a new identity. The best part? Wren had already looked so much like a DiLaurentis that Charles didn't even have to have CeCe make him a new ID.
It was surprisingly easy to pull off, the murder and becoming Wren. CeCe helped of course but Charles had that eidetic memory after all so it was easy to convince everyone that he was Oxford trained.
Getting away with murder made him wonder, how far could he take it before he got caught? That's how and why he first started up with Melissa and then Spencer. It was all part of his game.
And then he'd played therapist to Mona, CeCe helping when he needed her to. That had been fun, all the sneaking around and fake IDs it took for Charles and Wren to both be in Radley at the same time. It helped that, by then, Mrs. D. knew all about it and she vouched for "Wren." Why wouldn't she help out her son? It's not like playing doctor was worse than covering up a murdered sister.
So through his sessions with Mona he learned all about the game and then he took it from Mona and began torturing the girls in her stead. He had always loved games and Mona had started a fantastic one. And with CeCe's help with technology and Wren's medical license he'd been able to play oh so well.
Bones, blood, access to the hospital all made it so much easier to taunt the girls who had pretended to care for his sister but really hadn't. He, Charles, was supposed to be the one who knew all of Ali's secrets. He was supposed to be the one who haunted her. Not the girls the media called the Pretty Little Liars.
It was about winning the game but it was also about revenge. Sweet, sweet revenge.
It wasn't even that hard to go after them because he had accomplices. CeCe was so in love with him that she did anything and everything he asked. Melissa Hastings even helped him out a time or two after the night she drank so much that she'd admitted to covering up the fact that Spencer had killed Ali/Bethany. Of course Charles knew otherwise but it was easier to control Melissa when she thought her dirty little secret was even dirtier then it was.
Oh and there was also the blackmail of the NAT Club which had been fun while it lasted. Then Ian and Garrett got a little too nosy so he got rid of the former and CeCe took care of the latter.
And then the liars got too close to discovering the truth and Charles didn't want the game to end so he used CeCe. She became Charles and she took the fall for him."
"So why reveal it all now?" Jason asked when Charles fell silent.
"I decided that games aren't fun if you're the only one playing. I was hoping CeCe's death would get everything going again, not realizing she'd spoil it by giving you all the answers."
"Murder and incest are just a game to you?" Emily shrieked.
Spencer blanched. She hadn't even thought of that aspect but it made sense. Ali and Jason were her father's so it only stood to reason that… "Oh god, I'm going to be sick."
Charles laughed. "Oh, is that what you're so worried about? I won't deny the fact that I'm a murderer but there has been no incest committed. The timelines don't match up for me to be part Hastings. No, I'm the only legitimate DiLaurentis child there is."
Spencer couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It was still bad of course, he was a psychopathic murderer but at least he wasn't also her half brother.
"Was the game supposed to end with you getting caught?" Caleb asked. He wanted to keep Charles talking in hopes that someone would be able to figure out how to get them all out of the mess they were in.
"Yes and no. I wanted all of you to figure it out, on your own of course, which you didn't. I am so so disappointed. But by the authorities? I'm too good for that. Just ask CeCe!"
"Then maybe you should have made sure we were alone before you showed your face tonight," Spencer said just as Melissa flew down the last couple stairs and swung a baseball bat. Charles crumpled and Jason wrenched the gun from his brother's hand before it could cause any further problems.
"Oh my god, why didn't you do that earlier?" Hanna choked out.
"How long have you even been here?" Emily asked as Toby slid off the couch and approached Charles's unconscious form.
Melissa shrugged. She looked all nonchalant but was shaking so hard the bat fell from her hands. "I've been here all day but I had a headache so I didn't come down. When Spencer was upstairs looking for the flash drive I started to worry. Nothing ever ended well where CeCe was concerned so I kept my ears open."
"But to repeat what Hanna said, why didn't you hit him earlier?" Ali asked, her eyes not moving from where Toby, with Jason's help, were securing Charles's wrists with one of their belts.
"I figured we needed a full confession in front of witnesses. I can't picture him being so forthcoming with the police."
Caleb's grin was wide. "Actually, I got everything on tape."
"Then let's call those cops."
Eyes on Rosewood, A Blog
May 24th, 2017
It's the case that won't stay closed.
Rosewood was rocked once again and of course the infamous Pretty Little Liars were involved. Only this time the case will, at least officially if not in the eyes of the public, be closed for good.
Thanks to a rushed DNA scan there's proof that Charles DiLaurentis, contrary to the late Cecelia Drake's claims, is indeed alive and has been living under the assumed name of Wren Kingston. Yes, the very same Wren Kingston who Spencer Hastings was set to marry later this year.
Now how did he manage to get away with so much for so long? By using the three m's: money, manipulation, and murder!
What about those remains Ms. Drake had the Feds dig up last year? The answer lies in England where Charles, under his assumed name, was in a little accident that necessitated a few pulled teeth and a rod to replace a shattered radius. A little case of theft and smuggling later and voilia! Enough evidence in the form of teeth and bone shards to call his burial site legit. Clever, huh?
To wrap up: yes, Charles has been caught. Yes, he is a murderer and a psychopath. And yes, if you went to Radley, Rosewood High, or the hospitals in Philly or Rosewood in the last decade then you may have run into him. Just think on that when you go to bed tonight.
Post by Don'tHatethePlayer
Mona signed off the blog and shut down her computer, a wide smile blossoming across her face.
She'd taught Charles well.