The birthday song played on repeat, the small phone lying on the table providing the only light in the dark room.
"Aaahh!" she screams. "I'm going to make them pay for anything they did to me!" she repeats it like a rhythmic chant, shaking with hatred burning in her veins.
"Just another tool that thinks that she has what it takes to bring us down," Mia said, her eyes fixed on the glowing screen.
"Why haven't you discarded her?," asked the man by her side. You aren't one to keep someone who has long been drained of her usefulness.
"I still need her to teach someone not to overstep their boundaries, that's the only reason she is still alive till now, " she said, sparing one last glance at the screen before turning to walk out of the room.
"Should we leave her now," he called after her.
"We can't have others thinking we are weak, do we?," she asked with a sharp smile to her lips, stepping out of the room.
He signed, knowing exactly what she meant, he started to put the plan in action to deal with her.
"Mmm, okay I have heard, I will tell her and get back to you," Leslie told the person in the line.
"Who are you speaking to?," Mia asked as she entered the apartment, tossing her shoe and keys to the side.
"It was James, he said Queenie was found dead in her room from suicide but he thinks there is evidence of foul play, he's wondering if he has your permission to investigate," Leslie said, staring intently at Mia to see if her expression would shift.
"Tell him he has my permission to investigate but keep me updated if anything surfaces," Mia replied as she walked into the kitchen to find something to eat.
"Are you so cool-hearted that you don't care that an employee of yours was murdered?" Leslie exclaimed. The air in the room felt thick with unspoken guilt.
Leaning against the kitchen counter, Mia stared intently at Leslie before she spoke. "She is dead. What am I supposed to do about it? A new girl will replace her," she said, her voice devoid of any emotion. One might think she was talking about the weather and not a human being.
Promise me that you didn't have a hand in her death, Leslie begged, unshed tears shimmering in her eyes. Promise me that you are not as heartless as you appear to be to the outside world.
"What if I am? And what if I also had a hand in her death? What would you do then?" Mia snapped at her. "You think the world is pure, " she laughed mockingly. "With everything that has happened to us and what we have done to others, you still have that childish mindset. Grow up, Les. We are too far gone for you to still behave like that."
Mia's eyes narrowed suddenly, "Why do you care? What are you not telling me,"
A chill ran down her spine when she heard the question, she knew for a fact that Mia would kill her with her bare hands if she found out what she did. Deciding to save her skin, she scrambled for a cover.
"Nothing," she blurted, uttering the first thing that came to mind and hurriedly fleeing to her room.
"Coward," Mia muttered.
Sitting comfortably with her legs on the table eating Chinese food, the TV volume was on full blast, loud enough to wake the dead from their everlasting sleep. Thank God for the soundproof or we would have had a visit from the police, Mia whispered to herself.
"It's deafening in here! my ears are ringing already," Nora shouted as she walked in.
Turning the volume down, she flung herself into the couch, letting out a long theatrical sigh.
"Where is Leslie?" Nora inquired, her eyes narrowing.
"Upstairs, crying her eyes out," Mia answered, her voice flat.
Nora countered coolly, "A fault of yours, I presume?"
Mia didn't flinch. "I didn't tell her to make that mistake. I couldn't let the girl live if it meant our death, we have to sacrifice one for the greater good," she retorted, the words cold and final.
"Did she...?" Nora's voice trailed off, the question hanging heavy in the air.
"Yes, she did," Mia confirmed, her eyes flashing with a hidden, jagged truth.
Recognizing the answer in Mia's gaze, Nora didn't ask anything further. The silence between them said more than words ever could.