Chapter 2

Elise's pov:

"Are you sure it's him?" Lizzy asked, handing me a water bottle. "Is it really the one who shot him?" she asked as she leaned forward.

Still thinking about what happened back there, I nodded and sipped from the bottle.

Lizzy, "Didn't you say he's a wealthy and rich person?" "But the guy who shot him doesn't look like that…"

I showed her a picture of Maxton Alarcon on my phone as she was talking. She snatched my phone and zoomed in and out on his image, exclaiming, "It's really him." "Why did he shoot him?" she wondered.

"Like I knew the reason." "I'm already in a shock after seeing something like that." "I don't know what to do next."

"Elise, you should tell your parents about this otherwise-"

"No!" "No. They should not be aware of this. I'm not going to tell them anything.” "Nor do you."

"What are you saying?" “How are we going to keep something like this from them? They should know about him before-"

"We didn't see a movie to give a review to my parents, Liz," I interrupted her. “We had just witnessed a murder. That indicates we are a witness to the murder and are in danger right now. How can I tell my parents and put them in this situation? First, we must figure out how to get out of this situation-"

My phone began to ring. I was terrified when I saw the name on the display.

"Who is that?"

When I showed her my phone, her eyes widened bigger than mine. The call cut off on its own while I was being nervous whether to attend or not.

My phone buzzed. A message from Maxton Alarcon, the murderer.

"He's on his way to meet us." I said. "How did he know we're here? I didn't tell him the location."

"There's no time to think about it. Let's get started." Lizzy grabbed her bag and my hand, adding, "Let's leave before he comes here."

When we attempted to leave the diner, the entrance door opened from the outside, and Maxton Alarcon stood in front of us, with other people in suits standing behind him. The same crew that was with him just moments ago when he viciously murdered the guy. Mr. Alarcon took off his sunglasses and inquired, "Where are you going?"

When I couldn't speak, Lizzy held my hand for support so I could tell him, "T-The diner is not to your level, so we thought of going to a different place."

"It looks fine." He remarked this as he walked by us into the diner.

"Come on, let's run away from here before he notices," Lizzy said into my ears.

"Are you serious? He noticed us. We have no choice but to go along. Come on.”

"But he's a murderer-"

"Shhhhhh." I shut her mouth and muttered, "Let's go inside for now."

The individuals who accompanied him stood outside while the three of us sat inside. Lizzy and I sat next to each other, and Mr Alarcon sat across from us. Mr. Alarcon was wearing a different shirt from earlier. He must have changed it because of the blood stains.

"Where are you looking?" Lizzy asked into my ears.

"He changed the shirt," I said back.

"What?"

When I noticed Mr Alarcon staring at us, I cleared my throat and pointed to Lizzy, saying, "This is my friend, Lizzy." I came to a halt there since I didn't want to say anything about her to him.

"Yes, yes," Lizzy says. “I'm her close friend. Elise mentioned that you're quite busy at work. It's good to meet you here despite your hectic schedule..." She carried on as if nothing had happened. I was curious as to how she did it.

He nodded and said, "Good." He then ordered meals for all of us and began discussing business. Lizzy and I pretended to be interested, but our thoughts were elsewhere. When I looked around at the faces of my friend Lizzy, her expressions showed the same worry and fear that I felt. I attempted to relax and think of a solution out of this situation but my mind went blank.

A man in a suit came in and whispered something into Mr Alarcon's ear while we were talking. "I'm sorry, ladies," he murmured, nodding his head. "I have an important business meeting to attend to." Mr. Alarcon turned to face me, his face filled with grief but also assurance. "I will be unable to accompany you any further at this time," he remarked calmly and measuredly. "My associates will accompany you and be with you till the end of the process."

I acknowledged his words as I considered its consequences. Many thoughts formed in my mind about the reasons for his announced departure and what changes it would eventually bring. However, for the time being, I had little alternative but to take Mr. Alarcon's words at face value and return my attention to the task at hand alongside those he had assigned.

Before I could object, the men in suits led us out of the diner and into a waiting black sedan.

Lizzy was concerned as I climbed into the backseat of the enormous black vehicle. The men blocked the doorway as Lizzy wanted to join me.

"I'm sorry ma'am, our instructions are to bring Ms. Carroll alone," said one of the men.

"But I'm her friend, I should come along too," Lizzy insisted. She didn't appreciate the way these men had arrived unannounced.

"Our orders are clear, only Ms. Carroll," the other man replied firmly.

Lizzy looked at me with concern. "At least let me talk to her for a moment before you go."

The men exchanged glances before the first man took a quick step aside. Lizzy leaned into the car and spoke to me quietly but urgently. "Please contact me if anything appears to be amiss or if you require assistance. I don't trust the situation; if you don't return soon, I'll call the cops."

I nodded, appearing apprehensive with the arrangement as well. But suddenly the man shut the car door, cutting off our conversation.

After what seemed like an eternity, the car came to a halt in front of a large estate. The suit-clad men opened the car doors and led me inside. I was escorted to a lavish living room and left alone. Is this Mr Alarcon's house? Why did he order his men to bring me here? My mind was racing with various scenarios, none of which ended well.

A man entered, identifying himself as an organiser who had been tasked with organising my wedding with Maxton Alarcon. As he was talking, a flash of images invaded my mind upon recalling that he's a murderer. I had to keep my cool since I didn't want him to know what was going on in my head.

As the wedding planner walked away, a maid entered with a tray of tea and cookies. I could tell she understood who we were dealing with by the way she looked at me and her pity-filled eyes. I decided to follow the wedding planner to his room after sipping my tea and nibbling on some biscuits. I had no choice but to act because the situation was worse than I had anticipated.

For a few hours it was dead quiet, but after that it became crazy. Different people came and went, taking photos, measurements, asking me about the wedding, and so on. It was like they came inside just to scare me. One of them mentioned that Mr Alarcon and I are getting married tomorrow and they already have the wedding dress and accessories ready. Tomorrow???

The men that drove me to that place left me off at my house an hour later. When I asked my parents about the wedding, they told me that the groom's father was leaving town and wanted the wedding to take place as soon as possible. They also stated that they told our relatives and my pals. Even though I was the one who wanted to hide it from them, I felt compelled to tell them. But their cheerful faces wouldn't let me inform them about him.

I couldn't shake the dread that was hanging heavy on my chest as I lay in bed. I needed to find a way out, but I had no idea how. My phone abruptly rang, forcing me to jump in surprise. I answered the phone and heard Lizzy's terrified voice on the other end.

"Your folks informed me that you are getting married tomorrow. What exactly is going on over there? What's the rush about? You must inform your folks about the murderer!!" "Why aren't you saying anything!" "Elise!!!" I hung up and switched off my phone.

~The next morning, I awoke to the sound of a knock on my door. When I opened it, my mother informed me that I needed to get ready for the wedding and that I just had a few hours. It was impossible for me to believe. I was about to marry a killer and there was nothing I could do about it. I attempted to think of a way out of this scenario as I prepared, but nothing came to mind. My father, mother and I went to the wedding avenue.

The wedding planner came up to my room and assisted me in putting on my dress and accessories. He informed me that Mr Alarcon was waiting for me outside and that I needed to go down immediately. I checked my reflection in the mirror after he had gone. I was dressed in a white bridal gown and accessories which went well with them. But there wasn't a tiny bit of smile on my face.

As I gazed out the window, the sun shone brightly, a particularly vivid memory suddenly flashed before my eyes. I saw Maxton Alarcon standing before me, his face contorted with rage as he screamed at the man cowering on the ground. I'll never forget the look of death that came over the man's face as his life slowly drained away. Or the cold, empty expression on Maxton's face as he calmly wiped the blood off his face. As if he hadn't just brutally taken another human's life right before my eyes.

Yet the next moment I saw Maxton, he acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He greeted me with a smile, "Where are you leaving?" as if we were just casual acquaintances who hadn't seen each other in a while. As if he hadn't committed murder in cold blood just the day before. It was chilling, the way he could so easily flip the switch from a raging killer to a polite person. I'll never understand how someone could be capable of such darkness, yet hide it so well from the rest of the world.

That memory has haunted me ever since that day, a reminder of how deceiving appearances can be and how you never truly know what lies beneath the surface.

"Elise!" yelled Lizzy as she stormed through the door. She noticed me standing in front of the mirror, inspecting my dress. Lizzy came to a halt as she took in my attire, a flowing white gown with lace trimming. Her eyes widened.

"Elise, is that…” “Are you wearing a wedding dress?" In disbelief, she inquired. She said, "You're getting married?" "Elise, are you going to marry that murderer?"

Lizzy took a step towards me, frightened about her eyes watering up. "Did you forget about it already? Regarding what he did... "