Page 52 of One Last Regret

The demon opens its mouth and releases a scream so powerful it seems to course through me rather than at me. I stare it straight in the eye and repeat, “That’s enough, Gabriel. Stop playing this instant.”

She opens those empty eyes, and flame shoots through them. She points at me, and my body trembles uncontrollably.

But I don’t move. I step closer and lay a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. My hand passes through the specter’s hand, and I say, “Gabriel, it’s all right. She isn’t here. You’re safe.”

The specter snarls in impotent rage, but I ignore it and use my other hand to caress Gabriel’s cheek. “Your sister loves you, Gabriel. Don’t leave her like this.”

The music stops. The specter vanishes. Gabriel blinks, and when his eyes open, his irises are back where they should be. He looks down in confusion at the piano where his finger presses hard against the final note ofVie Apres a la Morts.

It doesn’t play. The key has jammed.

“Gabriel!” Amelia cries.

Gabriel and I both look to see her limping down the aisle toward him. His face changes, and he leaps from the bench and rushes toward her. They meet in the middle of the aisle and collapse to their knees, holding each other close. Gabriel’s shoulders begin to shake, and he weeps loudly and bitterly, for the first time allowing himself to release the grief that has nearly driven him insane.

I collapse to the floor, breathing heavily, exhausted and still shaking from my battle with the demon that has plagued both of us. The doors to the auditorium burst open, and Josephine andEtienne rush in, followed by a dozen police officers. The Lacroixs drop to their knees and wrap their children in a tight embrace, sheltering them and sharing in their grief and their relief.

They’re a family again. I’ve done it. I’ve helped them find each other.

The officers spread out throughout the auditorium, sharing looks of confusion as they try to figure out exactly why they were called here. One of them approaches me, and I recognize Officer Nathan from Mardi Gras night.

“What happened, Mary? Are you all right?”

I nod. “Yes. Everything’s all right. It’s over now.”

“Got something in the piano,” another officer says. “Underneath one of the hammers. Looks like a note.”

My eyebrows lift. I get to my feet and take the note from him. The officer frowns and moves to take it back, but Nathan waves him off.

I open the note and read.

To any who care to read but especially to Gabriel and Amelia,

I am so sorry. I have hurt you more deeply than anyone has a right. I have taken a loved one from you because of my own selfish bitterness. I am a horrible, mean woman, and I’ll never forgive myself for hurting you like this. I won’t ask you to forgive me because I don’t deserve to be forgiven. I’ll only ask you to forget me because you deserve a better memory than the one I’m leaving you.

I killed my husband. I killed Claude. I hated him, but what I really hated was myself for marrying a man I didn’t love just for money. I loved Etienne Lacroix, but he had no interest in me, and I hated Claude because I wore his ring and couldn’t express to Etienne how desperately I wanted him.

So I poisoned him. A little at a time, I put blood coagulants into his coffee so I could choke his heart. It wasn’t until I sawhim die that I realized what a terrible and unforgivable mistake I’d made. I killed a good man who loved me and loved music and didn’t care at all that he’d lost some bullshit competition with the Lacroixs that never mattered in the first place.

I poisoned him, and when he died, I saw how much it hurt Gabriel and Amelia, and I realized finally what a worthless piece of shit I was. I tried to go on, but I can’t. I can’t. If you find this note, then you’ve probably found me already. Just know that I deserved it. Don’t feel bad for me. Feel bad for yourselves for having to endure the hate of a pathetic and bitter woman who killed the best thing that ever happened to her because she couldn’t understand when she had it better than she deserved.

Goodbye. I’m so, so sorry.

Audrey Fontaine (I don’t deserve Claude’s last name).

I fold the note and look at the piano. It’s a nice instrument, but not nearly as nice as the one Amelia accidentally destroyed. It's just an ordinary piano in an ordinary music club. There is no demon. There is no curse. There never was. The only specter terrorizing this family was that of a bitter and remorseful woman who couldn't cope with the loss of her dreams and the mundanity that comes with time and age.

“What is it?” Nathan asks. “What does it say?”

I hand him the note. “See for yourself. It says this is over.”

I leave the stage and return to the family. The children have dried their tears and stand with their arms around each other, twins now in every way that matters. Etienne and Josephine stand on either side of them, their faces filled with love and relief and no trace of the selfishness and insanity that plagues them ever since I first meet them.

They smile at me, and Josephine says, “Thank you, Mary. Thank you for not giving up on us.”

“It wasn’t me who saved Gabriel today,” I reply. “It was Amelia. So thankyou, Amelia, for not giving up on me.”

She and Gabriel both smile, and Amelia says, “I knew you could do it.”

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