Shinhye woke up early that morning; she went down the grand staircase to the dining area.

“Good morning, Miss Shinhye”, the servants greeted her with smiles on their faces before they bowed politely.

“Good morning”, Shinhye greeted back. “Is my sister up already?”

“She already left a while ago, miss, but she told us to prepare coffee for you at the poolside”, one of the servants answered.

Shinhye smiled and nodded. Chae Won was such a sweet person…her elder sister knew how much she enjoyed the morning air while taking her coffee by the poolside.

“I’ll be at the poolside to wait for my coffee”, Shinhye said. She was wearing her two piece violet bathing suit inside her blue floral robe. Her white terry cloth towel comfortably hung on her left shoulder.

“Yes, miss”, the servant replied.

Shinhye went to the poolside. She took off her robe and left it with her towel on one of the reclined white wooden chairs. She then dived to the pool. The water was refreshing and she swam from the other side of the pool and back. It was a form of morning exercise for her.

“Miss, your coffee; I also placed some toasted bread with strawberry jelly for you”, the servant politely informed her.

“Just live it there”, Shinhye replied as she took one more lap at the water before she came out. She took her towel and wiped herself dry before wearing her robe again.

“Caffeine…caffeine”, Shinhye murmured to herself as she inhaled the scent of freshly brewed coffee before she sipped it letting the taste lingered in .

She was already eating her breakfast with relish when her phone rang.

“Hello, Chae Won”, Shinhye answered happily.

“Hi, dearest, how are you? I’m sorry I wasn’t able to join you for breakfast and morning swimming. I have to be at the bank for an important transaction”, Chae Won said in her sweet voice.

“It’s okay…by the way thanks for the coffee and the toasted bread with strawberry jam”, Shinhye lovingly told her elder sister.

“Oh…that…sure…anything for you, dearest”, Chae Won replied with a soft laugh.

“Are you going to consult with Dr. Park Min Young today?” Chae Won then asked.

“Maybe…but I still have to finish the classes at the pre-school today. I have a lot of activities prepared for everyone and I heard from my head mistress at the school that a new student from New York will be coming today to join my class”, Shinhye replied lengthily.

“That’s good…I’ll see you around then tonight. Let’s have dinner together”, Chae Won said.

“Sure…bye…take care”, Shinhye replied.

“Bye…take care, too”, Chae Won said before she ended the call.

Shinhye continued to munch on her breakfast while looking at the poolside garden planted with flowers like roses, tulips, violets and birds of paradise. She had started living with Chae Won after she decided to sell Park Mansion after the death of her father and after she…killed her aunt. She invested half of the money to enlarge Park Shipping Company and to enlarge Moon Mansion which she and Chae Won were fondly calling as ChaeShin Palace after her and Chae Won’s names. She smiled before she dialed a familiar number.

“Hello”, the woman at the other line answered.

“Hello, this is Park Shinhye. I wish to schedule an appointment with Dr. Park Min Young”, Shinhye said.

“Yes, miss, I’ll schedule you”, the woman replied politely.

Dr. Park Min Young was a psychologist who handled her recovery therapy after her debacle with her Aunt and the court trial she had been through years ago. She was a psychologist known for her excellence in the field as well as in keeping the secrets of her clients which she and Chae Won badly needed for their cases.

After she finished her breakfast, she left the poolside and went upstairs to her room to prepare to go for her classes as a pre-school teacher.

“Good morning, Teacher Shinhye”, the little girls along the corridor greeted her with sweet smiles and waves of their hands before they politely bowed.

“Good morning, children”, Shinhye greeted back. She was wearing a short sleeve white polo paired with her below the knees pencil cut black skirt and high heeled close shoes. She tied her long, wavy light brown hair in a ponytail.

“Good morning, Teacher Shinhye”, Jong Hyun also greeted her. Lee Jong Hyun was also a teacher at the school handling kindergarten I.

“Good morning, Teacher Jong Hyun”, Shinhye greeted back.

“The head mistress wants to see you at her office”, Jong Hyun informed her before he bowed shallowly and went on his way.

“Thank you”, Shinhye said as she went on her way to the head mistress’ office.

She knocked at the door….

“Enter”, Shinhye heard the familiar voice of the head mistress.

“Hi, Madam, good morning”, Shinhye said with a smile before she bowed.

“Hi, take your seat, Ms. Park”, the head mistress said as she motioned at one of the chairs in front of the desk.

“I’m here to remind you that the new student from New York will come tomorrow with his father; but, they sent the child’s profile in advance so that you’ll know what to expect from her”, the head mistress said as she handed Shinhye a brown envelope containing the files.

“Okay, Madam, I’ll peruse this during my break time”, Shinhye said.

“Okay, Ms. Park, you may proceed to your class. Thank you”, the head mistress said smiling at her.

“Madam Shin, I would like to use this opportunity to thank you”, Shinhye said.

“For what, Ms. Park?” the head mistress asked in surprise.

“Thank you for taking me on in this position as a teacher here…despite the fact that some people strongly opposed my appointment here because they are calling me the Angel of Death saying I murdered my aunt, my father and another two despite the fact that I was not convicted by the court”, Shinhye explained in a gentle voice.

“Ms. Park, I know that you did not kill anybody. I know that your aunt was murdered by the triad and those other two were shot by your aunt before she succumbed to her death. As for your father, everyone even the autopsy reports said that he died of heart attack so what’s left to accuse you of? Your innocent…just because you inherited your entire father’s wealth doesn’t mean that you killed him or anyone, okay? So don’t mind those narrow-minded people and just do your best”, the head mistress encouragingly said.

“Thank you so much, head mistress”, Shinhye said as she bowed politely and went out of the office. “How terribly wrong you are, Madam Shin, I killed them…I murdered them…except for my father…I murdered them all”, Shinhye silently told herself as she proceed to her kindergarten II class.

“Good morning, children”, Shinhye greeted the children with a smile.

“Good morning, Teacher Shinhye”, the children replied loudly and happily.

“Before we start our drawing lesson let’s sing a song first to energize us”, Shinhye said.

“Teacher, let’s sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”, one of the young girls suggested.

“Okay…let’s sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. One, two, three…start…” Shinhye said as she too sang the song with the children making some cute actions about the song.

After her class, Shinhye went to her cubicle at the facult office to read the files given by the head mistress.

“Jung Ga In, 5 years old, came from a day care center in New York, interested in drawing, singing and playing the piano and guitar”, Shinhye read silently…she smiled to herself because the new student seemed talented for her age.

“Parents…mother…Seo Hyun…father…Jung Yonghwa…mother’s occupation interior designer…father’s occupation…criminal investigator”, Shinhye continued reading silently. The name of the father gave her the alarm and his occupation alarmed her more.

“Heavens! Jung Yonghwa had come back and he’s a criminal investigator…”Shinhye whispered to herself. She felt herself sweating…her hand turned clamy…her stomach was heaving in nervousness. She and Chae Won had aversion in dealing with criminal investigators and police officers after the hell they had been through. Shinhye let go of the papers on her table as if they burned her hands. She stood and went out of the faculty room to the comfort room reserved for female teachers. She was shaking and she was sweating profusely….as the memories flooded back.

Shinhye was in her sixth year in high school…that day she went home early because the teachers had an emergency meeting…she arrived at the Park Mansion…the house was eerie…there were no servants…the hallways were dark. She felt that something was wrong so she took off her shoes and walked silently. She heard voices from the library.

“What’s the meaning of this Park Si Yeon?” it was her father. He was angrily asking her aunt.

“I didn’t do anything, Oppa”, Si Yeon said in a broken voice.

“You didn’t do anything? You liar! The evidences here pointed to you as one of the perpetrators of the crime. You are dealing illegal drugs and selling young girls and women to China and you’re doing it with the help of the triad!” her father angrily shouted.

“I didn’t do it…I swear…Senator Jung is lying”, Si Yeon continued to defend herself.

“Park Si Yeon, how dare you call me a liar? Admit it! You’re in cahoots with the triad in doing these horrendous crimes!” Senator Jung accused angrily.

“Oppa, please, I didn’t do it! Please, believe me…are you going to take the word of Senator Jung over mine? I’m your younger sister…I’d been with you forever…I won’t do anything to betray you”, Si Yeon pleadingly said as she knelt at the center of the library rubbing her hands in supplication.

“I can’t do anything for you now, Si Yeon, you committed these crimes and you even used Park Shipping Company to secretly do you transactions for the triad. The evidences here had your name written on them and you’ll still deny your involvement in these crimes?” Shinhye’s father said in a mocking tone.

“I’ll have you arrested tomorrow, Si Yeon; and you will be tried at the court. If what you were saying was true that you didn’t do anything…you’d be cleared but if the court proved you as a member of the triad…you might be sentenced to lifetime imprisonment or worst death”, Senator Jung said in a formal voice.

“You won’t do this to me! You won’t do this to me!” Si Yeon shouted…her beautiful face contorted with rage…gone was the pleading woman…it was replaced with a woman filled with extreme hate.

“I’ll be going now, Chairman Park”, Senator Jung said as he bowed to Shinhye’s father.

“Thank you, Senator Jung, Si Yeon is my younger sister but I won’t allow her to destroy lives the way she is doing now”, Chairman Park replied as he shook hands with Senator Jung before he too bowed. They were not able to see Si Yeon pulling a small 9 mm gun from her coat pocket.

“You can’t do this to me! You can’t do this to me! I hate you! I hate you!” Si Yeon shouted as she shot Senator Jung four times at the back. The bullets hit vital organs…the Senator fell on the floor face down.

“S…Si Yeon, what have you done?” Shinhye’s father asked in a horrified voice while looking at his sister.

“I begged you, Oppa, but you didn’t listen. I have to kill the good senator, oppa”, Si Yeon said in a surprisingly gentle voice devoid of emotion…her eyes became blank…deranged…

“Si Yeon, stop this at ones”, Shinhye’s father commanded.

“No, Oppa, you have to die, too, so that no one will bring me to court anymore. Then, I’ll have all of these…the mansion…the shipping lines…the money”, Si Yeon said as she approached her brother.

“Shinhye won’t allow you to have all of these. In my last will and testament, I left everything to Shinhye”, Shinhye’s father said.

“That’s too bad, brother, don’t worry I won’t kill Shinhye…I’ll just include her as the payment for the illegal drug deal that you and Senator Jung interrupted. Shinhye will be sold in ion den in China specializing in , discipline and sadistic practice…hahaha!” Si Yeon laughed maniacally.

“Y…Y…You…b…b…!” Shinhye’s father said as he was clutching his chest.

“Oppa, I put some heart attack inducing drug to your drink. Don’t worry…it’s something that can’t be traced in an autopsy so they won’t have my head for your death”, Si Yeon said to her already dead brother.

Shinhye bit her lips to prevent herself from making a noise…she just heard her aunt killed her father and Senator Jung cold-bloodedly…she had to escape…she had to inform the police but whom should she trust with the secret? She had to tell her sister, Chae Won…she had to tell her sister…

“Who killed who, dearest?” Chae Won asked in surprise…they were inside Chae Won’s room inside the Moon Mansion that night.

“Aunt Si Yeon killed my father and Senator Jung”, Shinhye repeated.

“H…how did that happen and why?” Chae Won asked.

Shinhye told her sister the things she found out about Si Yeon…she was shaking and tears were running down her eyes…her voice was broken from her tears.

“What do you plan to do now?” Chae Won asked worriedly.

“I’m going back there”, Shinhye replied.

“Are you out of your mind? She’d hand you to the triad in a heartbeat and you’re going back there!” Chae Won said in a rising voice.

“I have to…because she would readily conclude that I had heard everything if I didn’t come home tonight. Besides, I have to get the evidences against her”, Shinhye said.

“She might already burn those evidences”, Chae Won pointed out.

“But how about my dad? He’ll need me there”, Shinhye insisted.

“Okay, we’ll go together”, Chae Won said.

“No…I’ll go alone…just stay here and wait for my call or my signal”, Shinhye insisted.

“Okay…so there’s no stopping you now, huh? Just be careful…call me the minute you encounter a problem”, Chae Won said as she kissed Shinhye’s forehead.

“I will…I promise”, Shinhye said as she went out of the Moon Mansion and drove on her way to the Park Mansion.

The Park Mansion was still dark when she arrived…she entered the main door. She walked silently towards her father’s office. The office was clean…the blood on the floor was already gone. Her father’s and Senator Jung’s body were missing.

“Hi, Shinhye, are you looking for the blood from Senator Jung’s body? Si Yeon asked from the doorway of the library.

“H…How did you know?” Shinhye asked.

“I checked the cctv and saw that you entered the gate so I concluded that you must have heard and seen what happened. Are you nervous?” Si Yeon said as she was looking at her 9 mm gun.

“Where did you put their bodies?” Shinhye asked. She was trying not to sound frightened when the truth…she was feeling faint and her knees wanted to give up from fear.

“I dispose Senator Jung’s body in an area far from the city and then I went back here to delete the contents of the cctv camera in front of the gate. I called the emergency and hysterically told them that I found my brother dead because of heart attack”, Si Yeon explained nonchalantly.

“Don’t you have any conscience at all?” Shinhye asked angrily.

“I don’t…conscience is such a baggage. So for tonight…we’re going somewhere…we’re going to sell you at the Chinese triad”, Si Yeon said as she went for Shinhye.

Shinhye grabbed the vase near her father’s table and threw it at Si Yeon’s direction. The vase shattered and some of the particles splattered to Si Yeon’s direction momentarily distracting her while Shinhye ran towards the door…to the stairs. She dialed Chae Won’s number.

“Chae Won help me…help me”, Shinhye shouted before her phone fell on the floor and crashed.

“You won’t escape me, Shinhye”, Si Yeon said as she grabbed Shinhye by her hair and pulled her towards the car. Shinhye struggled but her aunt hit her with the gun causing her to lose her consciousness.

Shinhye was sitting on the cold floor of the comfort room. She was crying earnestly…her mascara already ruined…her sweat was falling from her brows. The memories always left her severely beaten everytime she recalled them but once opened; she was unable to seal them back…

After Si Yeon died, Shinhye felt weakened by her wound. She was still alone…her phone broke at the house before she was able to tell Chae Won where she was. She was cold…her coat and mittens were bloodied.

“There you are!” one of the men wearing a black suit emerged from a car.

“I see you already taken care of the job for us”, the second one said amazed.

“You look so pretty, sweety. C’mon…give the gun to us”, the first one said.

“No…stay where you are or I’ll shoot!” Shinhye said…she was trembling from cold, fear and her wound.

“Shoot? But you’re afraid, sweety”, the second one mockingly said as he continued to approach her.

Shinhye knew that the two were sent by the triad to kill her aunt and possibly to get her.

“Come now…we won’t hurt you”, the first one said.

“Why don’t I believe you?” Shinhye asked sarcastically.

“I said come here”, the second one tried to grab her but she immediately fired the gun close range and it hit the second one at the chest. Shinhye fired another shot and it hit above the stomach.

“! You killed him! You murderess!” the first one said angrily.

“Come near and I’ll kill you, too”, Shinhye muttered…her eyes fiece.

“Okay…I’ll go…I’ll go”, the first one said but Shinhye knew that the moment she let go of her guard…she would be dead.

“I’ve changed my mind…I’ll just shoot you and get it over with”, Shinhye muttered as she fired two shots which killed the first one.

“Shinhye, Shinhye!” it was Chae Won running towards her.

After hearing her elder sister’s voice, Shinhye’s hold on the gun relaxed and the gun fell on the ground.

“I killed them! I killed them!” Shinhye wailed as she embraced her sister.

“Shusssh”, Chae Won consoled her sister.

“Shinhye, you’re wounded…we have to take you to the hospital”, Chae Won said.

“What about them? What if someone found out that I killed them? I’ll be imprisoned”, Shinhye wailed.

Chae Won took a deep breath and she thought for a moment before she arrived with a plan.

“Give me your mittens”, Chae Won said as she pulled Shinhye’s mittens from her fingers.

“Shinhye, dearest, I’ll slap you more and hurt you so that they’ll believe that you’re a victim of these people”, Chae Won said as she slapped and bruised Shinhye a little more. Chae Won then grabbed the gun with her hand covered with mittens and put it on Si Yeon’s hand.

“Lie on the ground”, Chae Won said. Shinhye laid herself on the ground.

“I’ll leave you here and make an anonymous call somewhere”, Chae Won said. Shinhye understood her sister’s purpose.

Fifteen minutes later, the police officers arrived…with the ambulance and took her to the hospital and the dead to the morgue. She lost a lot of blood and was ordered for transfusion.

“Chae Won, Chae Won”, Shinhye called the next day when she awakened…she felt a stabbing pain from her bullet wound.

“Shinhye, dearest, just lay down”, Chae Won said in a worried voice.

“What happened?” Shinhye asked.

“They were all taken to the morgue”, Chae Won replied.

“My father? Senator Jung?” Shinhye asked.

“I secretly went to Park Mansion and cleared everything…I even burned your mittens. I also looked for evidences against Si Yeon…sad to say…she managed to burn evidences which pointed to her and her crimes”, Chae Won said.

“Senator Jung?” Shinhye asked.

“His body was already found outside the city. Since Si Yeon erased every record of Senator Jung’s visits to your father no one can link his name with you and your father or to your aunt. As far as everyone is concerned, he was ambushed by a political enemy”, Chae Won replied.

“I pity Senator Jung but most of all I pity Yonghwa…he’s all alone now in the world”, Shinhye said as tears fell from her eyes.

“I know, Shinhye, do you want to tell him the truth, dearest?” Chae Won asked as she embraced her sister.

“No…no…what if he won’t believe me and thinks that I’m accomplice to my aunt’s death? Chae Won, we have to keep this. We have to keep this…please…I don’t want to go to jail”, Shinhye said as she was crying earnestly.

“Yes, dearest, we’ll keep this as a secret until the day we die”, Chae Won promised as they sealed their promises with their pinkies the way they did when they were young.

“Thank you, Chae Won”, Shinhye said in a weak voice.

“It’s okay, dearest”, Chae Won replied.

“I’ll live with you from now on”, Shinhye said pleadingly to her sister.

“Yes, we’ll be together from now on”, Chae Won agreed as she kissed her younger sister’s forehead. Shinhye slept knowing that her sister and I kept a terrible secret…

Shinhye cried some more…she was feeling weak…she had to see her psychologist…she had to stay calm or else someone was bound to see her as a mess and conclude that she did something wrong. She grabbed her purse and took out a small bottle of valium. She took a half tablet and went outside the cubicle and get water from the vendo machine outside the comfort room. She popped the half tablet in and drank the bottled water. She then combed her hair and washed her face clean of smudges from her mascara.

“You didn’t do anything bad, Shinhye. It’s all in the past now”, Shinhye said to herself as she inhaled-exhaled and wait for the valium to take effect.

Shinhye felt herself calming down…she then washed her hands vigorously a habit she acquired after she killed her aunt and the two members of the triad. Afterwards, she went outside.

“Hi, Teacher Shinhye”, a little girl and a little boy waved at her smiling innocently.

“Hi, children”, Shinhye replied waving at them before she placed her foot at the first step down the stairs but she was not able to see that her foot missed the step.

“Ahhh”, Shinhye shouted expecting to fall from the stairs when she was grabbed and lifted towards a strong…athletic body.

“You should be careful with your steps, Teacher Shinhye”, the man said gently near her ear.

“T…Thank you”, Shinhye said…she knew that voice but her heart and her mind tried to deny it.

She wanted to run…to hide…because when she lifted her face…her eyes encountered the face of the man whom she was not expecting to see and truth to tell she would not want to see.

“Jung Yonghwa”, Shinhye called in a low voice and her eyes widened in a mixture of feelings for it seemed fate had brought the two of them together and she was not prepared on how to face the man whose father she witnessed being killed by her aunt…the criminal investigator who could point out to her as a murderess….

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all your support. To my readers and subscribers, thank you so much. Please feel free to leave your comments because they inspire me more in writing my story...Thank you so much...love you all...