05 Ashes To Ashes

"Why did you do it?!" Ashley asked in a fury. "Was it even worth it? I have already been reinstated as Chairperson!"

Scarlet laughed hysterically, pointing at her stepsister.

"You ask why? Because Dad always loved his firstborn daughter more! I had to live under your shadow! All my life, I received hand-me-downs. Always second priority! Arthur always favored his previous princess, Ashley!"

"You never deserved or earned the happy life you lived! Did you think I would torture myself, watching you have a loving husband? Or let you become the Chairperson of Palmer Industries? There's no way I'd let any of that happen! So I destroyed everything!"

Scarlet's eyes were wild and flaring as if she was possessed.

"You need a psychiatrist, Scarlet," Ashley said, deeply disturbed by her sister's outburst. "But first, you will go to prison!"

"What is going on?" a voice asked from the door. Ashley turned to see Mary Palmer, Arthur's second wife and mother of Scarlet. 

Mary was in her forties but had the looks of a much younger woman. Dressed in a red satin robe, she looked the part of the billionaire's wife. "Ashley, my dear, what happened?" she asked again innocently.

"You will be shocked to know that your husband didn't die in a car crash!" the young Palmer replied. She was high on adrenaline and didn't bother to soften the blow to her stepmother.

Mary's eyes widened, and she looked severely disturbed. "What are you talking about, dear?" 

"Dad was killed by a cold-blooded murderer!"

"Who did it? Did the cops contact you?"

Ashley pointed at her stepsister. "Your daughter, Scarlet! She killed Dad! She ruined my life! All to take over the Palmer company!"

Mary shook her head in denial. "It must be a misunderstanding! You're mistaken!"

Ashley scoffed. "I wish that were the case." She opened her email and played the video for her. Mary looked horrified after she watched the entire video.

"My flesh and blood!" she hollered at Scarlet. "How could you do this?! Didn't it bother you to make your mother a widow?!" 

Scarlet stayed silent, her flaring eyes trained on the floor. Mary grabbed Ashley and led her away from the room. "Come, dear. We will call the police. I hope you have secured all the evidence. We will need it for the trial."

"I have the only copy in my email."

"Let me keep it safe for you," her stepmother said, taking her phone. "This news shouldn't be released to the media before we inform the police. Let us get you fed and well-rested first."

Ashley nodded, hanging onto Mary for support. The day had been enormously draining: a divorce followed by brutal revelations. She was glad someone cared about her. The young woman was desperate for any form of affection. 

Mary led Ashley down the third-floor corridor towards the master bedroom. On the right side were doors, and on the left, a wooden handrail. Mary stopped and tried to comfort the vulnerable Ashley. 

"Don't worry, dear. I will take care of everything. Scarlet will face judgment, and you'll be reinstated as Chairperson. I welcome the court's verdict. I know things haven't been easy, but you can trust me unconditionally. You're the daughter I never had."

Ashley nodded and turned to hug her stepmother. However, to her utter shock, Mary grabbed her shoulders and violently shoved her towards the handrail.

Ashley crashed against the wooden rail, which splintered and broke. The young woman tumbled back into empty space and plummeted down from the third floor.

Ashley's thoughts were suspended in those confusing moments. She could see the floors passing her as she fell. Mary was staring down at her from above with a disturbing smile. 

'What just happened?' Ashley wondered, her mind as blank as a canvas. 

Did Mary push her off the third floor? Or was it an accident? Why would she do it consciously? Did she want to protect Scarlet? Or was she involved in Arthur's murder?

Before Ashley could figure it out, she hit the bottom floor hard. Her body twisted into a jigsaw puzzle with the impact. The woman's skull hit the concrete with a splat. A warm liquid spread under her, which she figured was her own blood. 

Ashley groaned and tried to get up but could not move a muscle. The fall had shattered her spine. She tried calling for help, but her lips wouldn't move. 

Several hours passed by. Or were they merely a few minutes? Seconds? Her measure of time no longer worked.

"Ashley!" It was Jake's voice. The young woman thought even if her ex-husband were a rotten guy, he wouldn't let her die. Scarlet and Mary were criminals, and he'd bring them to justice.

She heard Jake's voice again from a distance. "What's going on here?" he asked in confusion. But nobody answered him. Ashley wanted to warn him of the two vixens, but she had no voice.

Scarlet and Mary's faces also popped in. "Anytime now…" Scarlet said, grinning ear to ear. The butler Levi also made an appearance.

"Die already!" Mary urged the body lying on the floor.

A tear escaped Ashley's eye. So, all of them were complicit in Arthur's murder. And now they had killed her to hide the truth. Why wasn't Jake saying anything? Did they attack him too?

Levi left for a few seconds and returned with a baseball bat. "Let's finish this quickly," he said to the grinning women.

"Bash her face in!" Scarlet urged him with a devilish cackle.

Ashley already felt something tugging at her to let go. She could hear someone singing. A distant voice. A fond memory. A lullaby that her mom used to sing to her when she was a child. 

'Mom?'

'It's alright, sweetie… Let go…' her mother's voice said. 'This is not the end...'

'God, please, don't let me die! Please, God, please!' the poor girl begged. 

However, her consciousness started fading. She felt cold creeping on her, tightening its grip on her soul.

Ashley lingered for a moment, hanging in limbo. And then, Levi, with a cold grin, brought the baseball bat swinging down at her head. The world turned black. 

Ashley Palmer was gone.