Charles smiled to himself. He had gotten a weapon. A weapon he could use when facing tricky, and witty people. He was going to use it sparingly, and make sure it did not go to waste. He wasn't about to go through all that trouble, and use the gift he got stupidly. Then he noticed Vera looking out the window, with her face pulled in a frown. She looked like a lot was going on in her head. "Vera," he called, but she didn't reply. She was still lost in thoughts."Vera," he called a second time, and her shoulders jumped. She turned to him slowly. "I'm sorry. I was…" "I think you should tell me what happened. I don't want you keeping it in, and being scared of people trying to get close to you. This has the capability to traumatize you." He said, and her lashes fell, as she picked at her nails. "What's there to talk about? You saw it all on your laptop." She said, still picking at her nails. "We couldn't hear well. After being rough handled, we were lucky to see things clearly, but even with that, she kept going in and out of the camera view. I'll like to hear it first hand from you, and how scared you were." He said, and she sighed. "Well," she cleared her throat, and gave a sigh. * * *FLASHBACK* * * After she had seen the tumble of red hair that belonged to Layla, Vera couldn't explain the immeasurable fear that had raced through her chest. It had felt cold, like chills spreading in her chest, and she had been unable to stop staring at Layla, who looked too delighted to be revealing herself to her in that moment. Vera's mind began to go over all the things Layla had done. She had clung to her endlessly, smiled at her, and acted like she loved her dearly. Layla had been as sweet as a baby. It was then it rang in Vera's head that Kent wasn't the only one smelling like apples. Layla also smelled like them. "The fun part of it all was running when Elise screamed. It was like a video game. I ruffled my hair, and wore my clothes roughly, so you all wouldn't notice, and no one did." Layla had said, and clapped, as she laughed. "I was a great actress. Fooled you all. Cursing at the culprit, who was actually me, calling the cops, and getting interrogated happily… oh, Vera, you should clap, too." She continued, still laughing. "Oh, I'm sorry. Your wrists are tied. I'm deeply sorry. So, so sorry." She had said, and continued clapping.Then the sense of betrayal filled Vera. Thinking of how innocently she had liked Layla. "How could you do such? How can you fool someone, and still laugh? I tried so hard, thinking you were scared and alone. Was everything really funny to you?" She asked, with her eyes shining with tears. Vera wasn't one to trust or open her heart easily, but Layla had managed to strike the motherly instinct in her, by acting scared, and childish. "Oh, you have no idea how much I struggled not to laugh whenever you held me. There was a time I was laughing with tears pouring down my face. I thought I was busted, but you looked me with such moving pity that I couldn't help but burst into more real laughter and fake tears." Layla and burst into laughter again. Strangely, her laughter sounded a lot like crying. It was no wonder as to how she could easily pull off laughing and crying without anyone noticing. "You were so easy to fool, but I wanted to save you as my last target. A pity I had to take you soon, and now I know you and your tall man were bluffing. Seeing your shock, I guess your suspect is someone other than me?" She had asked, and Vera's only comfort was the chip she hoped had not fallen off. Then Layla had unknowingly blocked the camera, when she tried to force Vera baby food. "It's time for me to be the mother." She squealed, bunching up Vera's flesh between her fingers painfully. Vera screamed, and Layla practically shoved the spoon down her throat, making Vera gag and cough uncontrollably. In all of that, Layla sang kids' rhymes as she tortured Vera by deliberately sticking the food down her throat. Sarah, and Katie began to cry quietly, but stopped abruptly each time Layla turned back to look at them. The drops of formula dropped down Vera's clothes, and turned brown with the stain. Vera began to cry, and Layla dropped the plate she had emptied into Vera's mouth. Vera continued to cough out flecks of formula, and her eyes became red. Then Layla moved towards a shelf in the corner opposite Sarah and Katie, and began to bring out knives, axes, daggers, and harmful objects. "I plan to step up my game, and… and kill you all one after the other. Then, I'd leave this place. So fifty years later, skeletons will be discovered, and from where I am, I'll watch with pride. I used to know those ladies. You know what? Fifty years later, I'd be too old to do much, so maybe five years later, I'd deliberately send someone to this place, make them find the attic, and then, find you, so I'll probably see you in five years." "Why are you doing this?" Vera had asked, feeling all of her tremble violently. She knew Charles was watching, but what if she died before he arrived? "Because they unfairly locked me up in a psychiatric hospital. Damn those fools. I'm perfectly sane." Vera's fear had skyrocketed when she heard Layla had once been a mental patient. It explained her reckless behavior, and confirmed that none of them were safe. Fortunately, Layla had gotten a text, and had cursed heavily, before getting to her feet, and storming away from them. "Y'all have one more day to live." She said, and had retraced her steps towards Vera to knock her out. It had indeed been traumatic.