Chasing The Vengeful Villainous Heiress-Chapter 55: I call the shots around here

"Hey, it’s me. I’m coming in." It was Tiana’s voice and Valerie sat up.

Tiana opened the door and walked in, smiling broadly.

"I finally found ya, little one." She said and approached. "Oh my, this is definitely Regina’s doing." She said, scanning Valerie’s face. "She roughed up your pretty face so badly and..."

She flinched as she finally saw Valerie’s eyes. Those eyes... They reminded her of someone. A long-time friend. Her face was very fresh in her mind and this was definitely not her. Talk about the age difference and the difference in their appearance... It was just her eyes were so familiar and warm.

Well, it could be a coincidence. The world was vast.

"That girl needs to know how to be gentle." Tiana said, returning to her carefree manner. "Well, it’s better than the doctors coming over themselves. Those guys can be crazily brutal."

Valerie watched as she spoke about things she did not understand. She got the Regina part but what was it about the doctors? Anyway, how did she get in here? Regina had definitely locked the door.

"How did you get in here?" Valerie asked and Tiana shook the bundle of keys in her hand. "Those keys, how...?"

"Calm down honey, I basically call the shots around here among the patients, so I have the keys to every room." She said. "It looks fun, right?"

"You have all the keys?" Valerie asked, surprised.

"You bet."

Valerie was silent as she watched Tiana sit next to her on the bed.

This lady... She was able to see her more clearly now, though not entirely clear. She was a middle-aged woman and if they were talking about age, she looked like she was old enough to be her mother.

And it looked like the person who landed her in this place had honestly done it for her own good and with good intentions, seeing as she was living a free life in this hospital that was filled with crazies.

The hospital did not want to get on their bad side, she assumed.

"I figured they might not let you out of your room since there’s someone calling the shots from outside, so I came to your rescue." She said and brought out the bread she had saved from her own meal. "You can thank me now."

Valerie looked at the bread. Even if it looked good and she was very hungry, she couldn’t blindly trust this woman just because she seemed nice and friendly.

"Come on, don’t be so weary. We’ve got forever in this hospital, you and me. So let’s help each other out."

"How can I help you?" Valerie asked. "I don’t even know where I am."

"Well, you can start by being my talking partner. It gets so lonely here and all the other kids get annoying when they start talking about wanting to escape and run away to somewhere no one would recognize them." She said and looked up at the dark ceiling. "And then start a new life." She dropped her head and laughed. "It’s a load of bullshit, don’t you think?"

"What if I wish to run away as well." Valerie asked and Tiana went silent. Her expression turned calm as she asked,

"Do you want to run because you’re scared?" She asked but Valerie shook her head and said,

"I’d be a fool to do that." She showed her fist. "Haven’t you heard the saying, ’an eye for an eye’? I’ll give them back what they gave to me. I’ll rain upon them the blessing of my revenge. They shall all perish by my hands." She stated.

Tiana blinked twice, stunned. And then she laughed.

"Haha, I knew you were a different kinda girl." She roughly patted Valerie’s back. "If I had a daughter, she’d definitely be like you." She said but paused. "Hm, I think I did have a daughter but I can’t really tell how old she is now." She said a bit too carefreely and Valerie nodded her head. "Ah, revenge... The most interesting thing to do. I hold no resentment so that shit’s not for me." She said and Valerie finally concluded that she was indeed put in her with good intentions.

But why such a corrupted hospital?

"Ah, I know that look." Tiana said. "You’re probably wondering why such a hospital, right? Well, this asylum was one of the best at giving mental care seven years ago. It wasn’t like this where innocent people were getting dragged in but now it is what it is."

"Don’t you want to get out?" Valerie asked. "You seem to be better now."

Tiana went silent and lowered her head. Getting out, huh? She never thought about it.

She kept counting years, months, weeks, days, and even hours. And it wasn’t because she was hoping to get out someday, it was because she wanted to keep track of her son’s age.

Funny, right? Well, she gave up on seeing his face again after she realized the gravity of her actions and the possibility that she might’ve ended up killing him with that type of ’goodwill’.

She shook her head and looked up with a smile.

"Forget it. I’m used to this life. Besides, I’m dead to him now."

"You mean..." She nodded.

"Yeah, he thinks I’m dead." The air became heavy and they went silent but she immediately changed the topic and said,

"So, Frankie, revenge is very brutal, and won’t pity the weak."

Her eyes suddenly turned glazed and she added,

"Do you think you can handle it?" She asked and got close to Valerie. "It won’t be easy."

"I can’t back down just because it looks difficult. As long as it’s not impossible, I’ll take a go at it." Valerie said and finally took the bread from her. "And if I were to fall," she smirked. "I’ll make sure they fall with me."

Tiana was impressed and once again, she roughly patted Valerie’s back. It felt like a hammer hitting her spinal cord but she endured and managed to smile.

"Atta girl." Tiana said. "I’m rooting for you."

"Thank you."