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I walk into the cell. There is a guard waiting by the door, so that is reassuring. The lawyer leaves and then it’s just us. Me and Nan.
“Callie, dear.” Her voice is smaller.
“Nan.”
“Please sit, love.” Why is she being so nice?
“I’ll stay standing, thanks.”
“Come on now, I can’t stand for too long and I don’t want to be craning my neck.” I suppose that makes sense. I sit on the bench a few feet away.
“I am sorry, Callie. I never meant for all this to happen. Please forgive me?” She opens her arms. Is she actually crazy? I’m not hugging her for fuck’s sake. “Please, love. Just one last cuddle with your nan. I doubt I’ll be seeing you again.” I study her for a little while. Her face seems genuine.
“I’m sorry, Nan but no. I hate that this has happened, that you dragged us all through the shit. You ruined our lives. My own mother, your daughter, fled to get away. I had to do the same. There is no sorry big enough.”
“Okay, dear, I understand.”
This feels wrong, why is she being so passive? I scan her face one more time before getting up. “Bye, Nan.” That was the right thing to do, I think. I said my piece, and now I can go live my life. I stand and turn to the door. One step later and I feel burning in my back. Shit, there it is again and again. Pain explodes inside my body. I fall to the floor. Everything is going black. A weight shifts over me and I feel warm breath on my face.
“Did you really think you could walk away from this, Callie?”
And that’s when I realise that Betty has stabbed me, repeatedly. That’s when I know I’ve lost. Betty Compton never loses. Never.
Epilogue
Daisy
It’s five years to the day since Callie Compton died. I still can’t wrap my head around everything that happened that day. The mistakes made by the people who were in charge of keeping Betty from hurting anyone ever again are unforgivable in my eyes.
I’m here at her grave, laying flowers down like I do every year on the anniversary. I look over to see Ben, my three-year-old son, running around the graveyard squealing because uncle Chris is pretending to be a monster. Ben doesn’t understand why we are here, he doesn’t know how to behave in a churchyard. To him, it’s another bit of land to make his playground. I’m thankful to Chris for keeping him entertained.
Arms snake round my waist and I feel my wife Jess rest her chin on my shoulder. How I wish I could turn back the hands of time and save us all from this reality. I close my eyes and take a deep lungful of air. This is the only time of year that I return to Yorkshire. I hate that we buried Callie here. It feels like a betrayal to her memory but I wasn’t left a choice.
Jess
I’m just going to jump in here and save you from my wife’s dramatic ramblings. Yes, Callie Compton is dead but guess what… I’m not physically gone. Daisy should have mentioned that straight off the bat.
After Betty’s attempt on my life, I was in a bad way. Over all she’d stabbed me seven times in the back and side. I think I was clinically dead for a few minutes, but by a miracle the doctors were able to save me. The police officers that dealt with the situation agreed that for my future safety, it would be better if Betty and anyone associated with her believed I had died. So Callie Compton kicked the bucket and Jessica Harlow was born.
I have to say, watching your own funeral is all kinds of weird. Daisy argued with me until we were blue in the face about my burial site. The detective in charge of my disappearance from this earth wanted the grave to be close to home. Daisy did not. She really fucking hates this place! I really couldn’t have given a shit, considering they were putting an empty box in the ground. It was all for show.
The police spent the next few months rounding up Betty’s contacts and acquaintances. Maybe killing off Callie was rash, but I don’t think it will ever be safe to take back my name. There’s no guarantee they got everyone, and I really fucked up their lives. Criminals aren’t very forgiving.
As well as my name, I changed my appearance. Not like physically, we’re not in a Bond film. I changed my hair. Daisy acted like I was having a limb removed when I had it all chopped off and bleached. I think I rock a pixie cut wonderfully. Frankly, I look hot as fuck. And even if Daisy won’t admit it out loud, she loves it too.
We moved to the outskirts of Edinburgh. Actually, Janet gave us her massive house. After everything had chilled out and we were out of danger, my mum announced that she was retiring from her company to travel with Janet. Their lives had been consumed by Betty for twenty years, they wanted to start living again and I was delighted for them.
Daisy continued to do whatever the hell it is she does. To this day I’m still not allowed to know which I think is stupid.
Daisy
My turn to interrupt before Jess gets on her high horse. She’s not allowed to know, and that’s the end of it!
As she was saying, we moved to the big house. Jess decided to go to university. I couldn’t have been more proud when she graduated with a degree in creative writing. It took a while for her to figure out what she wanted to do, and finally she settled on writing. Let’s be honest, she has enough material to last her a lifetime.
We married within six months, and I was pregnant not too long after that. Jess told me about the life she had envisioned for us, and I wanted it all. I wanted to give Jess everything she ever dreamed of. It still feels strange referring to her as Jess. It took a good few months for me to stop slipping up and calling her Callie.
Ben has never known her as anyone other than Jess. He has no clue about our misadventures across Europe. No clue as to themanywomen still pining over his mummy. It tickles me to wind her up about it, especially when we go on holiday.
Chris found us a few months after the trial was over. Well, he found me and was almost apoplectic when he saw that Callie was, in fact, not dead. He’s been with us every day. Derek and Meryl are like parents to us now and definitely grandparents to Ben. We met their son and have become close friends.
I suppose you want to know what happened to the old bag? Well, she’s still locked up. Her access to the outside world is severely limited, and that’s the way it will be until she dies. My brother and dad are serving twenty years for their participation in Queen B’s nefarious dealings. They deserve it. I try not to think of them too much, my life is full and glorious with the woman I’ve loved since I could remember. We have a son with another on the way.
The only place Betty, my father, and brother belong is in the past. Now we look only forward and thank the universe that we made it.
