Having seen enough of the portrait, Lex's eyes turned towards the library tucked away behind the ornate door, the shelf itself being very beautifully designed, with all the books spread around it kept in tip-top condition. As he walked towards it, he could feel the heat of the battle taking place outside.
Reaching the shelf, he touched it, and the moment he did, the shelf itself moved easily, the ornate door being pulled forward as a hallway appeared in front of Lex, his eyes meeting the open path that seemed to lead forward through the closed walking path.
The sides of the wall were adorned with small, intricate lights that were guiding the person towards the central path, and seeing the open door, Lex's eyes started to shine.
'Jackpot.'
Lex thought with a smile, his eyes shining, seeing the path in front of him. This was the small part of the plan that Lex knew would happen 70%, a chance that is only taking place due to the very fact that his mother's mind is fully distracted and broken.
The extra pressure within her mind gives Lex an open leeway into this path that his mother would normally fully close behind her. As a very meticulous person, she wouldn't leave such a thing to chance, even if she knows that no one can enter the room with Sandra outside.
If Lex wanted his chance meeting to work, he needed to enter this place more by chance. After all, for his following plans to take place, he needs a certain play that needs to take place, and it can't happen with him entering the room using the code to this place.
Though in the off chance that it would be closed, Lex had his plan B in place to deal with it. In the end, no matter what, his mother is already boxed in, her mental state to the limit, her being like a cornered rat, with a high chance of her losing her whole family and earning the hate of her children.
Not to mention the madness in her due to her obsession problem, all of this meant that Lex has already won 50%, the rest depends on his acting and the reactions that he will be receiving from his mother.
'Well, better get to it.'
With such a thought, Lex started to walk through the room, his small stance not acting against the high-ceilinged room, the whole situation itself being a bit spooky with the hallways leading forward with just small lights being kept on the walls.
The tapping of Lex's footsteps across the ground kept echoing out, and the closer he kept getting, the louder the echo.
And it's within this walk that a crazed laughter started to fill his ears, the voice of his mother now being the echo in the room.
'Guess I am getting closer.'
Already knowing what's inside the place, Lex's steps got calmer, him standing in his place for a moment, taking deep breaths as he started to get his shit together. From now on, everything would fall into his acting and how his mother would respond.
In need of that, he needs to get every expression of his rights. His acting must be impeccable; his mother, Serena, might not notice anything now due to the madness taking over her mind, but once everything is settled, his smart, ruthless self will return to her.
And along with that, her intelligence. If there is even a small mistake on his part, then things might get rough down the road. So slowly, Lex started to get full control of his body, his heart slowly starting to beat faster, him encompassing on his adrenaline surging, thus starting to make him sweat more.
His pupils are getting enlarged a bit, while his heart rate has now increased a lot. Overall, it's the beginning of a slightly panicked look now fully running in adrenaline, the sweat had started to fill his head, while Lex flexed his expression to look hesitant and worried, filled with conviction, a very unfitting look for a 9-year-old kid, but it would do for now.
And thus, now being ready, he restarted his walk, the chilling laughter of his mother now getting clearer, and along with it, her murmurs started to hit him, her words cold, hating, and yet at the same time twisting into love and caring, a mixture of mismatching calls coming from her voice.
"WHY??..... WHY DID YOU DO IT?!....."
"I LOVED YOU I LOVED YOU I LOVED YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU...."
'I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU....."
"PL-PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!...PLEASE!....PLEASE!...PLEASE!....."
'DIE….DIE….DIE FOR ME YOU CHEATER!...YOU LET ME ALONE!...DIE!.....DIE!....DIE!"
"I'M SORRY…I'M SORRY…I'M SORRY…..I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!...."
"YES…..YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD!"
One does not need to hear more to understand that Serena is going through a shit of complex emotions, ones getting worse and worse, sometimes her words getting light, while at other times her words turning into a sharp reign of anger, sadness, then love.
'Looks like it worked.'
From the memories that Lex had read from his mother in the 'past', he had seen that she had never reached such a level of madness. This is a whole new level of madness and loss, and it would only work better for the plan that Lex wants to implement.
'Guess it's now or never.'
With such a thought, Lex started to walk closer, his footsteps getting louder and louder, yet his Serena seems to be lost to even hear anything happening besides her. Thus, with that breathing room, a bright light started to hurt from the end of the tunnel, and soon Lex entered a room, the very room not so much good to look at.
'Looks crazy as ever.'
Lex thought as he looked around the room he came into, one that can only be found in the bunkers of crazy people, one chilling enough to take a person's breath away, the huge room spread all around with the portraits of Lex's deceased father.
From the highest ceilings to the lowest floors, the walls of every room are filled with the portraits of his father, each and every scene in the photos being different. In which some are photos, some are paintings, each representing his father in different expressions and situations. That would have been more than enough to get a normal person running, but what makes it worse is that the current pictures all around are now scratched, torn, or half ripped apart, either with fingernails, knives, or more, some with their eyes ripped out, others their mouth, nose, and more.
And that's just the beginning of the craziness in the room, several shelves spread around and each of them containing different collections with neatly named items, at least they were neatly named, the current ones look broken or destroyed.
And from the remains, everything of his father can be seen, some of his hair, his nails, the tissue he might have used, the bedsheet on which his parents had their first time and more. The more you look, the more dangerous the things stored up start to see.
Taking his eyes off it, he saw another shelf filled with things called memories, the tapes and recordings fully ripped out all around, some of them looking fresh, the things only get worse with even more shelves, some filled with strands of hair, others with pieces of clothing, and one even contained a jar labelled "Essence." The chilling aura of the room intensified as Lex took in the grotesque displays of obsession.
The room itself seemed to breathe with the madness that had consumed Serena. Unsettling whispers echoed through the air, each portrait on the wall seeming to come alive with tormented expressions. The temperature dropped as Lex ventured further into the room, the air thick with a mixture of despair and obsession.
As he moved, Lex caught glimpses of handwritten notes scattered across the floor. They were fragmented messages of love, hatred, longing, and despair. Some were addressed to Lex, others to his father, creating a disturbing narrative of a mind unravelling in the throes of obsession.
And within that room lay the maddened Serena.