Disclaimer: Still don't own it
Sorry for the late chapter but I did warn in the past that updates would be sporadic; though Happy New Year to everyone! We are definitely approaching the end of this story with the conclusion in less than maybe eight chapters with an epilogue afterword's. Also a shout out to my friend Paraddicted who has been with this story from the beginning!
Mona sipped her espresso.
As she sat at the small table a ways away where Jessica DiLaurentis was located, the teen did her best to stay invisible.
The teen had done her absolute best to dress for the occasion; trying to blend in so that she could not be seen. She was wearing a pair of black jeans, a blue t-shirt, and a blonde wig; with dark sunglasses to hide her eyes. She was also wearing tennis shoes that were pretty ugly in her opinion; something that she would never wear other than occasions such as this. Between the older woman and Mona was a dozen people as well as a few ferns; thus Jessica couldn't spot her unless she was looking for her. Mona would have opted to maybe wearing a hat of some type, but with no other women wearing them nearby it might make her look more suspicious than anything else. Plus there was an umbrella over her head which would make her hat wearing look a bit funny to be sure.
Currently, they were in a section of the oldest part of Philadelphia; each sitting across the street from one another. Jessica was sitting at a table by herself in the outside part of an Italian restaurant while Mona was at a small coffee house directly across the street. It was mild weather and not too cold with the sun bright in the sky; thus it wasn't problematic to be outside for the moment. It was a little busy out with numerous people passing by; mostly tourists as well as people going about their lives; walking along the cobbled streets and focused on their own lives so to speak. Though there was a chance that she might spot someone she knew given that the city was rather close to Rosewood, Mona doubted it given that her peers never really ventured to this part of Philadelphia; preferring head to the various malls and other lively locations.
The teen was alone; with Spencer spending the day with her family at the Club. Her grandparents were in town for the weekend so the taller teen was occupied and could not be here for the grand show that Mona had arranged. It was the first time in a while that the two had been apart from one another and the teen really missed her girlfriend; though she could understand the reason why that was the case. Technically, Mona was supposed to be in the city to do some errands for her mother; the older woman being home sick. It was nothing serious and a simple cold; though the teen had volunteered to help Leona out with them. It allowed her the excuse to be in the city in the first place for this event and though she had already completed most of the things on the list; leaving early in the morning to start right away. Leona had suggested that her daughter use the day to take some time for herself; which she planned to all along.
This was her day of vengeance and Mona did not want to miss it for anything.
As Jessica checked her watch, Mona did the same and noted the time. The teen had arrived here first ahead of the woman, knowing the itinerary, and waited for Jessica to show up. The teen knew for a fact on whom the woman was here to meet; having cloned her phone a little while ago. It had not been easy to do and required Mona to get rather close to the older woman that she would have liked. It was lucky that bother her mother and Jessica had been at a Town Council meeting together which Mona had gone to; having been her mother's ride. Even though they had been a few chairs away, it was still close enough for the teen to infiltrate the phone and add it to the long list of devices she could monitor. Through that phone, which had been pretty encrypted, Mona was able to learn quite a lot about the woman. Apparently she was in regular contact with Charlotte and was meeting her today to give her the medicine that Mona had sabotaged a few days ago. This meant that the teen would be able to watch what was to come; thus bringing a smile to her face.
It was another minute before Charlotte appeared on the scene; bustling in and taking her seat across from the woman. Through Jessica's phone, Mona was able to learn that the mother and daughter often had lunch here; meeting at least once a week. Kenneth did not know that his wife was providing money to the daughter; sneaking it though her various charity organizations as well as her property business. In turn, Charlotte invested the money and had become rather wealthy, no longer really needing to rely on her mother; possibly gaining even more wealth than her parents combined. Mona thought about digging into whatever little setup Charlotte had created to see how elaborate it was; deciding to hold off until after everything with Alison had been resolved. The last thing she needed to do was stir the pot in case the older blonde had some rather intense security features she had shared with her mother. If everything went according to plan today, Jessica would soon be out for blood.
Charlotte, which Mona now called her by her real name and no longer Cece, was in a flashy blue dress that looked rather pricy; along with the white heels she was sporting on her feet. It seemed that the blonde could now easily afford all the best styles and Mona was rather envious since she was on a budget of sorts. Though her family was wealthy, Mona was still kind of restricted when it came to what she could purchase; having to save up for the most expensive things that she wanted. The teen narrowed her eyes at the purse that Charlotte had and recognized it for something that had just came on the market and available for general purchase; causing Mona to be slightly jealous. As she watched both Jessica and her daughter order some food as well as having wine brought to the table, Mona could now fully see that Charlotte was indeed a DiLaurentis. It amazed her that that she couldn't see it until now since all the clues had been there before now that she thought about it.
It was tempting for Mona to try and get closer; maybe even using her phone to turn Jessica's into a relay of some type. It would be interesting to hear what the mother and daughter had to talk about; wondering if the older woman knew about Alison and her troubles with A. The various texts that Mona had read between the two indicated that Jessica didn't know but there was a chance that Charlotte knew that that their conversation was being eased dropped. She was even a little paranoid that this might be all a setup and that there might be someone watching her as she watched her own targets; prompting her to maybe leave if this was the case. However, Mona was confident that this was all genuine which she would know for sure here pretty soon. All she could do now was wait and sip her drink; which was starting to get cold. She had ordered some food to go with it and hoped it would come soon given that her stomach was rumbling; having had rushed out of the house before eating a proper breakfast.
It was shortly after the waiter brought them their food when it happened.
When the waiter brought the pair their food, Jessica pulled something out of her purse and handed it to her daughter as they ate. From her vantage point, she saw that might have been a pill bottle but she couldn't be completely sure. What she could tell though was that Charlotte did not seem happy on what her mother handed her with the blonde having a frown on her face; as well as shaking her head and handing the older woman back whatever was just given to her. From the look that Jessica had however, it appeared that the blonde did not have a choice; thus she angrily opened the pilled bottle and washed it down with a glass of water that had been served along with their wine. She then said something to her mother and the two went back to their meal. The teen watched the pair closely in order to see what would happen; hoping that Charlotte took the intended medicine.
It was another few minutes when there was a sudden reaction from the blonde. She was in the middle of her pasta when she violently jumped up and grabbed her chest. She then puked out her food onto the table and collapsed onto the ground; with her mother screaming as she went to her side. Through the gathering people who were trying to help the blonde as the sounds of sirens could be heard, Mona watched as it appeared that Charlotte was convulsing with her head shaking violently; thus a waiter had to hold it from it slamming against the cement ground. Jessica looked to be in tears and screamed for someone to help her daughter, which the restaurant staff was trying to do, and Mona couldn't help but feel a little guilty; especially since Charlotte could die. When Mona had switched out her medicine, the teen had deliberately chosen something far more potent as well as designed for a different symptom; hoping that the blonde would have a negative reaction to it. Her feelings of guilt subsided though when she remembered that it was Charlotte who tried to kill her first.
Mona stayed a few more minutes; watching as an ambulance came to take the blonde away. Her mother went with her and once they were gone, the teen dispersed along with the crowd. Feeling a sense of triumph, Mona was tempted to go shopping or do something for herself; though she wished Spencer had been here to enjoy the scene. As the teen tossed a few dollars onto the table as a tip, paying in cash to better hide her paper trail, she decided to keep the wig on until she made it to her car which was in a parking garage a few blocks away. She was still pretty sure that no one was watching her though Mona stopped every now and then just in case; looking over her shoulder and seeing no one. After arriving at the large brick building, she gave the teller her ticket and promptly paid; even tipping the man for good measure. She then headed to the vehicle, getting inside and taking the wig off as well as making a quick change; going from her jeans to a skirt as well as a black blouse to go over her shirt.
Starting the car, Mona pulled out of the parking spot and headed to the exit; sliding the stub into the slow that the male teller gave her in order to leave. While she entered the street and towards the more modern section of the city, the teen felt a sense of accomplishment. With Charlotte now out of the picture, maybe permanently, this meant that Alison was now basically alone with no more allies. The blonde had lost her remaining friends and was now fighting a war all by herself; though she still didn't know it. Aria, Emily, and Hanna were still acting like Alison was still their leader as well as their friend; though behind the scenes, something else was apparent. The three were spending less and less time with the blonde; instead being with their significant other or someone who was not Alison. That was the case with Emily who was spending more of her private time with Paige though Alison had no clue; though it was mostly at practice.
As for the three thinking that Alison was A, both Mona and Spencer were starting to see the results of their little plan. Spencer on occasion had caught Hanna looking through the blonde's things when she was at Alison's house; having observed her former friend from her window in her bedroom. Mona had also seen Emily going through Alison's phone and Aria following the blonde when they parted from school; even seeing Alison meeting up with some random guy somewhere. It amused Mona to no end in seeing the shocked look upon Aria's face when the blonde acted frisky with whichever guy she was with; behavior that would get the guy arrested for sure. It was ironic that Aria would be so shocked by this since she was also dating an older guy; though they didn't act as intimate with one another. While Aria never stayed for the end of Alison's flings, Mona imagined that Aria knew full well what was going on. She wondered if the three would ever use that against their leader if they were forced to; maybe on the day they decided to ditch the bitch for good.
There was one more stop Mona needed to make before she was allowed to go home; a more personal errand than anything else. It was required for her and Spencer's plan to work for the upcoming dance; the dance which would be Alison's last. Taking a slight detour, the teen headed towards the industrial section of town where a bunch of reconstruction was taking place. The city had recently been given a Federal Grant allowing them to clean up a bunch of the rotted warehouses that were no longer being used; with them being paved over for a huge shopping mall that had just broken ground. Because of a union situation, they had yet to lay the cement which was to happen here pretty soon. Mona was going to make a quick recon to see what kind of security the project had as well as some other features; all in preparation for their big move against their blonde nemesis.
Mona pulled up the section of the city, parking her car so that she could be slightly hidden from view. Taking out her binoculars, the teen spied upon what was going on; making mental notes as she observed the scene. As expected, there was some construction going on though mostly involving tearing down the old buildings more than anything else. There were a great many holes being dug and rebar being laid in their place for the coming cement; which was gathered in piles of bags underneath a huge tarp that lay not too far from the holes themselves. The security was pretty light with only a chain link fence surrounding the perimeter; though it might be different at night. One of the holes she was eyeing had a good amount of cover and appeared to fit on the scheduled time of their filling. They were also deep enough for what Mona and Spencer intended so they didn't have to do any extra digging; which was good since they would be on a tight timetable for their overall scheme.
She watched for another few minutes before restarting her car in order to head home. The teen made sure that no one had spotted her, taking time to creep out of the area instead of fully speeding off. She had decided to use her mother's car for the day since her own vehicle was far more noticeable; something that was starting to become a slight burden. Truthfully though, Mona never thought she would be doing something like this when she first purchased the car from Jenna Marshall all those months ago; maybe even would have waited until all of this was over with. However, she really liked the look of that car and grabbed it the second that Jenna had put it on the market; though she never understood why the blind teen never gave it to Shauna to begin with. Maybe the dark-skinned teen wasn't into old fashioned vehicles like her girlfriend was so that was why she got rid of it; though Mona was just speculating at this point.
The drive home went well and there was very little traffic on the way; though Mona did have to stop to use the bathroom even though it was a short distance. As she stopped at a light, the teen whipped out her phone to text her mother on if she wanted anything from The Brew before she arrived home; getting a reply that indicated that the woman wanted her usual. The older woman also asked for some sweets since she didn't get a chance to do any baking today; which her daughter understood though stuff purchased never could compared to Leona's. Entering Rosewood proper, Mona drove downtown and found a parking spot directly across the street from her destination. Smiling at the incredible amount of luck she was having today, especially given the time of the day, the teen turned off the engine of her vehicle and crossed the street in a hurry; there being light traffic. Noting the sparse people outside, the teen shrugged her shoulders and went inside.
Upon entering the building, Mona spotted Alison with Aria and Hanna seated at a small table in the corner. They had yet to spot her and Mona wanted to get her order done so she could leave before they could spot her. Normally, the shorter teen would have taken the opportunity to spend a bit of time to spy on the small group; maybe even going through their phones to see what was going on. Presently, they looked like they were doing their homework, given the schoolbooks lying about, which wasn't really normal. Then again, the school had clamped down on students who were behind and had threatened to bar anyone from the dance who were up to speed on their grades. Given that Alison had thrown out the brain of the group, this meant that the entire posse had to do their own schoolwork on their own; no longer being able to rely on Spencer to carry them. Secretly, Mona hoped that Alison wasn't that behind since her and Spencer's entire plan was to have the blonde attend the dance in the first place.
Not paying attention, Mona had to be called upon; only to encounter Emily behind the counter.
Please Read and Review!