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Chapter Text

Grace's POV

She hates the night. More than anything, more than the media, the rumors, the fallout, Grace hates the night. The night reminds her of that night, her wedding night. 

Sleep is especially hard. At least when she's awake, Grace can try to keep her mind away from what's happened, even if her thoughts keep creeping back there. She can distract herself before she spirals too hard. Everytime. But at night she's given no such luxury. Her goddamn subconscious keeps fucking her over.

Like tonight. 

She's back in her wedding dress, bloodied and cut up. Grace still waits for the day she can watch the damned thing burn like the Le Dumas mansion, but it's currently being held by the police as evidence. 

This is far from the first nightmare to put her back in it, but for some reason this feels less real. Or maybe more real? Like she's less in the moment, less afraid, but more aware of herself, and that this is all just some fucked up dream. It's a surreal feeling, one she doesn't quite understand.

Most women spend the months following their weddings giddy with joy, firmly relishing in the honeymoon phase. Most women have in-laws that haunt their family get togethers, not their nightmares. And most women at least have a family to lean on after a traumatic experience.

But Grace is alone, as she always has been. 

She's surrounded by darkness, like the darkness of the woods, or the darkness of the cellar. Normally in her nightmares she runs. But that's because it felt real. This does not. So Grace waits. As pathetic as it is, she waits because she's tired of being a fighter and knows that this isn't real. She fights every day just to feel normal, why should she have to fight a fucking dream?

Finally, there's an onset of light. Not a flicker in the distance as she anticipated, but an explosion of light on one side of her, illuminating the fact that Grace is in an empty, square room. There's no wall on the side that let the light in, and it seems to be connected to a much larger room.

Grace tries to walk out only to bump into something and fall on her ass. Lifting a hand, she feels that there's an invisible wall separating the two rooms. 

Scanning the other side more thoroughly, she sees her goddamn in-laws all passed out across three couches and an arm chair in front of a large screen, like from a movie theater. Alex is also there. Fuck.

Grace takes a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm as they begin to stir. It's just a dream. Just a dream. A stupid, fucking dream.

"What are you doing here?" A dark voice asks from behind her. She turns to see a man staring at her in bemusement. She thinks she recognizes him. A one second nod wasn't nearly enough to engrain in her memory, but it doesn't take much thought for Grace to know who's talking.

"I don't- I don't-"

"What's going on!?" Tony Le Dumas' voice booms out. She flinches at the sound.

"Daddy?" Emilie asks softly, as though she's suffering a headache. "Where are we?"

"I don't know, sweetie." He grits in annoyance. "That's what I'm trying to figure out!" They all take to looking around in confusion, wondering what's happening.

Grace feels her back go stiff, waiting for them to see her and inevitably try to hurt her again, but they don't. Eyes pass by her as though she isn't even there.

They don't see her.

Surprise floods through her body. She's had a lot of nightmares following her wedding night, some that end in her dead, some that end in her watching her in-laws get blown to bits, but exactly zero of them leave her completely unhurt.

"I have to get out there." Mr. Le Bail breathes past her, walking out the opening with no resistance even as Grace leans against the invisible force separating her from them.

"We have to get out of here!" Alex says frantically, the family not yet noticing the devil behind her. "Christ, it's my fucking wedding day! Whatever- whatever this is, I don't have time for it. Grace is gonna notice we're gone any minute now."

"They don't remember." Grace breathes out. "They don't remember." 

She blacks out.

XXX

Grace gasps as her eyes flicker open to see a gray ceiling. Her head is pounding, causing her to groan. She tries to remember what happened or where she is, but her mind comes up blank.

Her eyes snap to her right, where there's a room much better lit than the one she's in. She sees her future husband and family arguing around three couches and an armchair. 

Looking to her left she sees that she's in a room with much worse lighting, with only one couch that Alex's brother, Daniel sits upon, looking at her perplexed. She opens her mouth, but can't come up with a question. He says nothing either, so maybe it's a mutual feeling.

"Alex?" Grace asks in the direction of the other room, but Alex doesn't acknowledge her and neither does his family. "Alex?"

She pulls herself up, brushing at her poor wedding dress, which is luckily unharmed. She begins to walk towards the opening connecting the two rooms.

"Wait!" Daniel calls out, but Grace is already crashing into something. 

"The fuck?" Grace breathes. She pulls up a hand to feel at the empty space, only to feel a wall keeping her from going further. "What is this?"

Daniel shrugs. "Two way mirror?" 

"Alex!" She bangs on the invisible wall. "Alex!" 

"They can't hear us." Daniel tells her. "You're wasting breath."

Grace takes a deep breath and tries to listen in on the others' argument. She can hear them perfectly, no strain at all. She hears Alex, speaking in the voice he uses when he's frustrated. "How long is this gonna take?" 

He looks frustrated too. She's caused that face enough times to recognize it on him. Grace shakes her head. "Well, I can hear them." 

"Your dress..." Daniel murmurs, looking at her clothing.

"That's what you're worried about?" Grace snaps at him.

"Okay." He blinks multiple times before looking at her again. "Well, did you make it out?" 

"Of where?" She asks.

"The mansion?" Daniel replies, looking at her like she's lost her mind. "The grounds? Shit, I don't know- the family?"

"What are you talking about?" Grace demands.

"You don't remember...." Daniel murmurs. Realization sparks in his eyes. "Oh... What?"

"Daniel." She snaps her fingers in his face. "You need to start making sense, okay? Remember what?"

"I think you're about to find out." Daniel says, looking horrified.

"What does that mean!?" Grace asks. "Daniel, just tell me what's going on!"

"Right, um, you drew the bad card." She looks at him blankly. "You don't know what that means." She shakes her head. "Okay, um.... Everything is gonna come up in that thing that dude with the facial hair was talking about.

"What dude?" Grace says in exasperation. "What the fuck? I asked you to make sense!"

"Well, it's kinda hard to explain!" Daniel throws his hands up in the air. "Look, just know that you have every right to freak out, and we're all gonna watch a movie to explain it."

Grace blinks. "What?"

"Oh, uh, well I kinda just... blacked out after... what happened, and there was this guy, and you were on the floor, and he was explaining to the others that he kidnapped us all here to watch a movie."

"A movie?" Grace repeats. "Right now? You can't be serious. Why the fuck-"

"The movie is about us." Daniel tells her. "About our family. Starring our family. So like, real life."

"Are you joking?" Grace breathes out in disbelief.

"Hey, can we start now!" An annoyed man calls out. Grace has to assume that he's Alex's brother-in-law.

Daniel gestures for her to sit down at the single couch, and at loss for what to do, Grace does, but she's not over.

"I still don't know what's going on!" Grace says desperately.

"Honestly, neither do I." Daniel shakes his head. "But at this point, it's just... Just roll with it, okay? Only thing left to do."

"Okay..." Grace murmurs, kind of numbly. This is supposed to be her fucking wedding day, and this is what happens. Maybe this is supposed to be some sort of weird wedding prank, but what the fuck?

There's a giant movie theater screen that Grace can see perfectly, even from way back in the room they're in. It's black at first, but then all the normal lights begin to dim, as the sound of thunder fills the room. It turns on to the face of some smug looking picture. She hears Daniel take a deep breath at the sight.

The shot pans across different games, and knowing that Alex's family got so rich from gaming, this is actually one of the only things making any sense at all. 

Then the music drops and two kids in pajamas are running in the hallway. "Alex, this way!"

Alex. Grace perks up. Wow... When he took her back to his childhood home, she was expecting to see baby pictures she could tease him about. This was not what she meant.

"Oh, is this-?" A woman, Alex's sister probably, gasps loud enough for Grace to hear. No one answers her. Grace glances at Daniel to see he's stiff as a board and she knows who the other kid is.

They run, a panting man stumbling behind them. She wants to ask Daniel who that is, but just looking at him is enough to know this is not a happy memory, so she stays quiet.

They keep running until they reach a dresser, where Child Daniel hides Alex in, closing the door before he's caught by that man who was chasing them, begging for help. Grace gasps as she sees that there's an arrow lodged in his stomach. Who- what-

"He's in here!"

Grace's jaw drops as she turns to her future brother-in-law in shock. He doesn't meet her eyes, looking like he's trying to hold himself together. She gets that he's not exactly responsible for something he did as a child, but seriously though, what the fuck? What the actual fuck?

People in cloaks and masks crowd in on the man, and a woman in a wedding dress comes in, begging and pleading, but he's just shot with another arrow.

"Oh my god." Grace shudders in horror.

"Helene-" Becky, her fiancé's fucking mom murmurs in sympathy.

"It was the way!" Alex's creepy Aunt Helene bites, angry and cold, even as the woman who must have been her at some point cries, and begs, and is held back.

Child Daniel watches terrified as close ups of those freaks are shown. Charles is dragged away with Helene cries is name. And finally one of the members takes off the mask and hood, kneeling next to the kid.

"Daniel, I'm so proud of you."

She knows that voice from somewhere. From-

"Jesus Mom, way to fuck up your kid." Alex says spitefully. Grace thinks he might even be rolling his eyes.

"Daniel, what the fuck?" Grace spits in a low voice. 

He just sighs, shaking his head as they take away the man, Helene following after in seeming resignation not even crying anymore, closing the door on little Daniel, their last name written on the door.

"Pause the movie!" Aunt Helene roars, practically seething. It does.

"Wow, no wonder Daniel's... Daniel." Charity says, barely even sounding sympathetic.

Daniel glares in the direction of his wife, but then buries his head in his hands. "Daniel." Grace says insistently. At least she's away from the rest of the family, even if she's also away from Alex. She can tell Daniel regrets it at least, and is fucking affected by what he's just seen.

Sighing heavily, Daniel looks at her. "It's a ritual. A long time ago some ancestor made a deal with a demon to make us all rich, except there was a death clause. We'd have to sacrifice an in-law once in awhile, or we'd all die."

".... WHAT!?"

There- That's not- No fucking- What-

"We were kids, Mom!" Alex scolds his parents. "He just watched someone get shot, of course he's traumatized."

It hits her.

"Your family just murdered someone." Grace says in shock. "And my fiancé is not surprised."

"True." Daniel nods solemnly. "That's very true." 

"Because of a satanic ritual?"

He just shrugs. "Wasn't my idea."

"What the fuck!?" Grace shrieks. "WHAT THE FUCK!?"

Daniel leans back, looking desperate for a drink. "Worst wedding night ever."

Chapter Text

Daniel's POV

"It's true!"  Daniel says defensively as Grace sends him a dirty look. Though she probably thinks he's talking about the night they just witnessed and not her own wedding night, which just keeps getting more and more... surprising.

He expects her to say something nasty or ask more questions, but then Aunt Helene is commanding, "Turn it back on!" 

Daniel flinches. She's gotten quite good at scaring the shit out of them in the years following that night. Why the fuck did they have to watch that beforehand? 

It turns back on, the words '30 years later' appear on the black screen, and Grace practices her wedding vows, going off book and starts talking about their family, while smoking. She mostly says negative things. Fair enough, Daniel did at least try to scare her off, though he's pretty sure Dad was just being an ass. But she ends it on a positive note.

"I honestly can't wait to be a part of your moderately functional family."

Daniel can't help it. He snorts. Grace looks at him in bemusement for a second, he shrugs, and to his amusement, she snorts too. But only for a second, and then she looks like she's back to her state of spiraling out of control. Daniel counts it as a small win. 

"It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!" Emilie whines as Alex compliments Grace in the movie on her appearance. 

He hears Alex scoff at their little sister. Though to be fair, Daniel didn't see Charity before the wedding and she didn't draw the murder card.

Goddamnit, if all of this is because Alex just had to see Grace before the ceremony.

At least they seem to be happy, in the moment. Sharing a smoke, making fun of Dad, Grace snorting when she laughs. They banter until Alex lets his mask slip. "Who cares what they think? They're horrible people."

"Alex, that's really not necessary." Mom says, as though trying to implore him. If the someone who isn't the girl freaking out next to him could hear him, Daniel would say that that's pretty on the nose, though.

They flirt until him from this afternoon comes in to get them and tease his brother. He also tries to talk Grace into backing out, but not enough. He didn't want to step on Alex's toes, but now he regrets not doing more to save both their lives.

"You can warn me better than that!" Grace glares at him. "You should have told me."

"I know." Daniel sighs. He really should have, and then maybe this could have all been avoided. "For what it's worth, I wanted to. I just figured it was Alex's to tell you."

"Fair enough." Grace admits, still looking pissed. "He should've told me, too."

"Yeah." Daniel nods. He loves the guy, but he's a fucking idiot if he thought he was gonna get away with lying to her for long.

Daniel leaves, and he shakes his head looking at his own saddened expression as he does. He always knew Grace deserved better than all of this. And maybe he got into Alex's head too, because then he responds to Grace's gushing with a thinly veiled warning of his own.

Next to him, Grace shakes her head.

But her movie self refuses to see the red flags. "You ready for this?" "Fuck no."

And then there's a title card, using a hide and seek phrase of all things. Yeah... Fuck no.

They take their wedding photos, with Dad being himself, their soon to be dead maids watching on like catalog models, and Daniel mocking Charity after Grace is unnerved by Aunt Helene.

"Charity." Grace murmurs in realization. "You didn't kill her."

"No." Thank god. Even if she was completely willing, Daniel would still hate to cause the death of someone he brought in to this stupid family. "It all depends on a card. She didn't draw it."

"But I do?" Grace says bitterly, ironically as Charity makes a dig at Grace about not belonging.

"Yes." He nods unhappily.

She looks exasperated even as Daniel's past self reminds everyone that Grace has a soul. "But she knows?" 

"Of course she does." Daniel answers. Attempted murder aside, she still deserved to know before she drew a card. Even if it was just chess. Maybe things would be different if he actually loved Charity, but he can't imagine betraying someone he loves like that.

Dad and Alex talk about Emilie and Fitch.

"He's useless, but he's one of us. Is Grace?"

"No!" Grace says firmly, even though her eyes show fear as she does so.

"Good." Daniel smiles, attempting to reassure her, though he's probably fucking that up too.

Mom meets Grace by one of their many fountains, pulling out a cigarette case. Grace lies about being smoker even though Mom is clearly one herself. That's something Daniel noticed before all this, how nervous Grace seems to get over impressing the family. That's probably not an issue anymore though. For obvious reasons.

Mom can tell that about her too, an offers her some words of wisdom, wife to wife. "Stand tall and fuck em!"

Well, Daniel thinks back to how frustrated Dad got after she survived as long as she did, Grace clearly takes her advice. 

XXX

Becky's POV

Alex and his new wife kiss several times before parting to meet a standing applause.

"Wait, all that was before the ceremony?" Emilie asks, looking at her brother like he's crazy.

"Emilie, stop." Becky says. "Let him enjoy this while he still can."

They make it to one of their guest rooms, bantering the entire time. Tony rolls his eyes, so Becky nudges him. Can't he see how happy Alex is? Happy is good. Happy will bring him back to them.

Still, she doesn't have much interest in seeing him like this, with Grace on top on him, talking about pants as he finally decides to tell her about the game. But then the girl sees Helene and panics. Not the most polite of ways to fetch a duo, but oh well.

"She has boundary issues."

Becky throws her sister-in-law a nervous glance. Helene's stare intensifies. They've all tried to be patient with her in the aftermath of Charles' death, but it doesn't seem to have done her any favors. Becky tries not to think about Alex growing to be like her, because she doubts that this happening right before his wedding is just a coincidence.

Grace asks about the secret doors, and Alex finally begins to tell her about the game. Becky frowns in disapproval. She can't imagine how betrayed she'd feel if Tony waited until after they were married to tell her about the game.

"That's it?" "Yeah, that's it."

"Alex." Becky implores him. "You aren't being fair to her. You see that, right?"

"She'll leave if she knows!" Alex says desperately. Becky wants to tell him that that's why it's unfair, but she takes pity on her sweet boy. She doesn't want to pick a fight. This movie could be a great family bonding experience after all.

Grace agrees, having no idea what she's agreeing to. Becky's heart aches for her. She seems so sweet, trying to make a joke out of the whole ritual. At least she's not wracked with fear the way Becky was when she married in.

Alex leaves after giving her directions, and she sits at the mirror, and for brief moment she seems almost unsure. But it's over before they can dwell on it.

Tony finds Alex in the game room, and asks him about Grace as she explores the house. "Tomorrow we're gone."

Becky frowns, but tells herself that they can change his mind. Even as Tony asks what happens if Grace pulls the card and he doesn't answer. She shakes her head. He's not completely lost to them, otherwise he wouldn't have come for the wedding at all, but she doubts Grace pulling the card will help the cause very much.

Grace makes it to the music room while Becky is calling for Emilie to be home in time for the game. What is Emilie doing in the meantime, and why is it more important than her brother's wedding?

She happily greets Grace, mentioning that she grew up in foster care. She listens to Grace's story in interest, genuinely feeling for the girl. Such a touching background for Alex's bride.

"He really understood... How important it was for me to... finally a- a real, permanent family."

Oh how Becky wishes they could give her that. To have her and Alex and little grandchildren at all their family events. But if she draws the card then she draws the card, her hands are tied. And just when one of her kids finally brought home a good one.

She ignores Fitch and Charity for the moment.

Becky begs Grace to bring Alex back to them, and Grace promises. Alex shakes his head. "Mom." He shoots her a look.

"Please, Alex!" 

Her son just shakes his head again.

In the movie, he steals the bride away from her. Becky smiles at Grace's compliment, but it's dampened by his paranoia. Grace can tell something's wrong, but time is running out and he still doesn't tell her.

That's when her grandsons come running in, one of them wearing those odd masks her father-in-law made them wear years ago. Daniel has a particularly bad reaction, but Fitch tells George to keep playing. 

To prove something to Alex, and partially because Fitch just annoys her, she joins in looking at him in disapproval. 

"What? I didn't know!" Fitch says defensively. She rolls her eyes. "I didn't know!"

He also annoys her by seeming to flirt with Grace, and then continuing to talk. Luckily, Emilie interrupts him as always, and is hyperactive as always.

Becky sighs in disappointment, murmuring to Tony. "I think it's safe to say Daniel wasn't left out for addiction related purposes." Tony's frustration flares in his expression. Something Alex inherited.

"Brown-haired niece. You continue to exist."

Helene could at least stand to work on her greetings.

Chapter Text

Alex's POV

Stevens announces that it's time for the game entirely too soon. But this is perfectly as planned. Grace will draw a card, they'll play whatever silly game it says, and he and Grace will leave the next day to live happily ever after.

He ignores the somber looks on everyone's faces.

Grace observes the game room in awe. Daniel looks especially sick as they all pile in, but Alex doubts anyone could feel worse than him. He wishes his brother were here though. At least he'd have someone on his side who sees what he's struggling here to do.

Grace looks at the photo of his great great grandfather, the firearm that he wields. Alex has to look away. There's no reason to ever have to associate someone as pure and innocent as Grace with guns.

Dad goes in on his speech, starting with their ancestors and how they've grown their companies. Alex bites his lip, knowing that Dad intends to leave him with the company despite only being the second born, seeing Daniel as unworthy.

Then Dad passes around the damned game box, explaining great great grandfather's whole meeting and deal with Mr. Le Bail. Dad places the card in the box and sets it next to Grace. Both his siblings' spouses tell her about their games and Alex tries to ease up.

Surely, the movie must be about something else. 

She won't pull Hide and Seek. She won't. Fitch didn't, Charity didn't, and neither will Grace. There are plenty of cards in that box. He hates to acknowledge something Fitch said, but even a game like Old Maid is in there. There are countless games she could get. Like checkers, or hopscotch, or-

His face on screen is not happy or relieved at all, but maybe it's because she pulled something like strip poker?

"It says hide and seek. Are we really gonna play that?"

His heart drops. No, not Grace. Not Grace. 

Looking around, he sees the others avoiding his gaze. Only Mom takes his hand in sympathy. "It'll be alright, dear."

Yeah, okay. Uh... He can stop this. He can convince her not to go through with this wedding... somehow. Though he doesn't see he can do that without scaring her off. After all, Grace was the one adamant about getting married.

Maybe that he knows she'll pick the bad card he can make preparations, so that she can escape when the time comes. 

He can almost hear Grace crying. Hear her sobbing.

Alex tries to tell her to meet him, but Grace has no idea what's in store for her. She even offers a toast to Mr. Le Bail. Dad takes her aside to explain the rules and traditions of the game, minus the one part Alex has been so desperate to keep from her.

"Grace... Good luck."

This is the most polite he thinks his father's ever been to Grace, and it's only when he thinks she's going to die. But Alex won't let that happen. He can protect her, he knows he can. He has to.

The hide and seek song plays on the record. 

Grace leaves to find a hiding spot, taking her shoes off to walk better and finding a spot in the dumbwaiter, all the while his father hands each and every one of his family members some sort of weapon for them to slaughter his wife with. 

As she closes the entrance, his family lines up with their weapons. No one looks happy to be there, except maybe Aunt Helene, though it's very hard to tell with her when it comes to emotions, but it doesn't matter because that's not going stop anyone... Except maybe Daniel. Alex holds onto that.

"Ready or not... Here I come."

They begin to pile out. 

Only he remains, looking stunned. Alex never dreamed that Grace would pull that card. Almost no one does, and he knew that if she didn't pick a card at all she'd die anyway. This is his worst nightmare realized. 

Mom comes to sit next to him, but the only words of comfort she offers him is the suggestion to stay put. 

Fucking Charity is applying makeup in the mirror. How is it that Le Bail gave her the chess card, while Grace gets the bad card? Daniel can barely stand the woman he chose to marry, while Alex can't live without Grace and yet he has to watch her get hunted by his family.

No. No, he will save her. They will get the happy life together that they deserve. Away from this fucking family. He can do it. For them.

Grace is talking to herself, not good, might draw attention. But maybe it will get his attention? And he can get her out of there under his family's noses. She's complaining about how their wedding night is going. It's not how Alex was hoping for either

Finally, Alex makes his move to get to her. He just wishes this didn't have to be in front of his family, though he assumes they'll want to change things far sooner in this timeline. So does Alex, but only in a way to make sure he doesn't lose Grace in the process. 

He leaves through the servant's door. It was how he'd always get around the house without running into anyone else as a kid, but as far as he knows the only other person who uses that entry way is Aunt Helene, but Alex prays she'll stick to hallways for now. 

"Boy..." She says in a warning tone.

"It won't matter now, Helene." Dad tells her.

His other family members search for Grace, who looks increasingly bored as she sits in the dumbwaiter. Charity is still hyper focused on looking in the mirror after all that time, only now entering the room that he's in as though trying to seduce him.

He gives her the side glare. After he just learned his wife's life is on the line? Daniel sure knows how to pick em.

"Oh fuck me..."

Though that's just because she noticed he was gone.

Both Grace and Fitch show their impatience, but Alex just hopes that they can make it until sunrise. Mom tries to answer Fitch's questions best she can before her annoyance takes her over, even though she has to direct his weapon away from her, which should be basic common sense, but ultimately fails and insults him.

Grace's impatience though... Shit. She leaves the dumbwaiter, only to get her dress stuck and ripped. He cringes at the sound, it could potentially get someone's attention, or get her stuck when someone is trying to attack her.

He prays she doesn't run into anyone or that anyone hears her. The only person who seems to though is one of the maids they hired in his absence, Clara. But she's more worried about the kid who must've snuck away when she was sleeping.

"Georgie?" Emilie asks, looking terrified.

"Nobody's gonna hurt him sweetheart." Dad reassures her. "Least of all the girl."

"Least of all me!" Emilie corrects, though she does look mildly comforted.

Grace hides from Clara, not out of fear but for a child's game. But Alex grabs her from behind and takes her into the room, the room they were supposed to spend their wedding night in. He's about to explain what's going on, but Clara's voice gets closer and he hides them behind the bed.

Clara looks around the room, not looking for her, looking for Georgie. There's a mirror right there, if she walks to a certain angle away from it she'll see them. She'll see them and she'll get the others. 

But there's a crash, and Clara walks towards the door, only to get shot. With Grace right there.

Chapter Text

Grace's POV

Grace yelps at the sound of a gunshot. Daniel looks at her in concern, but like he doesn't know how to comfort her. 

Her movie self looks at the dying servant in horror as a grotesque shot of her gurgling out blood appears. Alex pulls her back before they can see her.

Emilie sounds so happy though. So happy to have supposedly shot Grace, only showing regret when she sees it's not Grace. And the others are pissed because it's not Grace.

"Does she look like she's wearing a giant white wedding dress, Emilie?"

Grace looks at Daniel in betrayal and more than a little fear as her movie self gives the same look to Alex.

"I'm sorry." He murmurs. "Would you believe me if I said I was more pissed with my sister than annoyed we didn't catch you?"

"I guess." She whispers. What choice does she have? 

Daniel is odd. He says he never wanted to hurt her, only let it happen because he couldn't let his family die, but apparently changed his mind and helped her anyways in the future. She's not sure if she believes that he's really from the future or not, but it's not exactly the craziest thing that's happened to her. 

At least she can say she feels safer alone with him than she would if she was with the rest of the family. Though she'd probably prefer Alex, lies aside. Still, Daniel not only hasn't hurt her so for, he seems genuinely apologetic and like he wants to help her.

"Well, if she dies does it count?" "Of course it does not count."

Daniel sighs. "I was just upset that more people had to die than..."

"Necessary." She finishes for him, crossing her arms protectively over herself.

Grace watches her own eyes as she listens to the family discuss how they need to murder her. The horror, fear, devastation, betrayal. All things no one should have to feel on their fucking wedding night. It all comes rushing back to her like she's feeling it for the first time.

So much for happiest day of her life.

They all get out one by one. First Daniel taking Emilie for a walk to calm her down, then the older generation moving the body to make sure Grace doesn't see. Alex gets up to do... stuff. But she just has to look away from the screen. From her sorrowful stare.

Alex finally tells her the truth.

They leave, just before Emilie comes back, getting so fucking pumped up in order to kill her. Taking drugs too.

"Emilie." Becky sighs in disappointment. "I thought you were getting clean."

This is what her killers care about.

She's rightfully upset but all Alex cares about right now is that she put on her fucking shoes. He explains what Daniel explained, and when she gets even more upset he just tries to defend himself. 

Their arguing flows through the vents and gets the attention of Emilie's husband, Fitch. Grace made sure she learned everyone's names before even meeting them. But he's distracted by a YouTube video... about how to use his weapon.

"Goddamit, Fitch. Do something right for once!" Tony growls loudly.

Alex explains what happens if they didn't play the game... Daniel's back straightens next to her, as though being reminded of the consequences. Grace inches away from him. It's her or his family, even if he claims he made his choice.

"You said your family was... fucked up, but you didn't say psycho killers. You- you brought me here, you didn't warn me." "You wanted to get married."

She remembers Alex's outburst. 'She'll leave if she knows.'

And losing her this way is better?

He says something similar. It's such a weird position to be in. She'd probably think he was a liar or just crazy if he told her, but maybe if he explained that it was his family, that the only way they could be together without being endangered was to never get married, as many dreams as that would've crushed.

Not until after she already picked the bad card, completely ignorant about what's about to happen. It hurt, seeing her innocent, happy face when she picked her card. Even as she watched through the tears.

Alex should have... should have said something. Anything. Anything would have been better than this. At least say that his family is crazy and murderous, and that bad things will happen if they got married. She's a foster kid, she knows what it's like to not have a real, loving family.

He promises to get her out at least, maybe that makes up for it. She guesses. He gives her instructions, but he has to fucking leave to in order to get her out. Grace can't help it, she starts crying again.

She feels a hesitant pat on her back. Daniel. Grace looks at him and he retracts his touch. But she needs someone to ground her right now, so she sighs and takes his hand in her, squeezing it so hard it probably hurts. 

They kiss goodbye with last two, 'I love you's before he's leaves Grace to pull herself together and go. Her dress starts snagging as she walks, probably messed up already from the dumbwaiter, so she rips it apart herself before continuing, reaching the place Alex told her to go. 

There are two fucking doors.

"Damnit!" Alex curses loudly as the rest of the family scoffs and rolls their eyes. It puts a bad feeling in her stomach.

Daniel and Tony are carrying the poor servant's body, and Grace retracts her hand, remembering that Daniel has still helped in some fucked up shit. Aunt Helene is frustrated at not finding her. And then Grace walks out behind them.

"Wrong door." Daniel sighs. "Found her."

Tony drops the body to get his gun as Emilie comes up behind her and shoots, but thankfully misses her despite the lack of distance, giving her time to run as the others and then her dad scolds her.

"I don't know what I'm doing!"

"Neither do I." Grace mutters.

Daniel shrugs. "Eh, no one does. For what it's worth... You did a lot better than them when it comes to improvising."

XXX

Charity's POV

The little bitch runs into the study, running around, trying to get out through the windows and failing miserably. The phones won't help her, and when she picks up a chair to smash the windows (which would obviously make a lot of noise), she hears footsteps.

Charity feels a flood of relief she's trapped now. She won't have to watch herself die.

Blondie tries to hide away from the open door, but Daniel just walks in through the door she's next to. They stare at each other. Alex audibly lets go of the breath he holding.

"I just came to get a drink."

"Goddamnit!" Tony says angrily. "I have an incompetent daughter, an insolent son, and another son that's both! You know, the last time did not take this long! It was quick and easy."

Becky clears her throat, butting her head in Aunt Helene's direction, and he quiets down, though he's still visibly seething.

Fitch tries to comfort Emilie half-heartedly, but Charity just rolls her eyes. Especially as Daniel pours another drink (But what's new?) and tells Blondie he has to call the others. She tries to convince him not to, sounding utterly pathetic as she does so.

Daniel knows what has to happen though, but he's too weak to do it himself. And then he offers her a fucking drink.

Sometimes Charity wonders how it is that Daniel was the one born to this family when she's so clearly the real Le Dumas. Daniel never had to prove that he belonged. As much as he tries to prove that he doesn't, he does. But Charity is the gold digging whore.

Speaking of gold digging whores, the blonde is begging for mercy. Honestly, if she was in her position she'd do the same. Trying to seduce the wildcard. And Charity's not blind, she knows when her husband is conflicted about something. 

"It's true what they say: The rich really are different."

At the very, very least, Charity's glad he's not here in person so she'd have to listen to his commentary the entire movie. And then he offers the bitch a head start.

There are veins in both Alex and Tony's foreheads. She wouldn't be surprised if there's one in hers as well. (He does this on purpose.) Daniel won't even look at the slut, and when she realizes she won't be getting in his pants anytime soon she runs.

Daniel begins to count. Very slowly. She's long gone by the time he yells out her previous location as though she's still there, getting everyone's attention.

Charity gets there first, though she seems to have some semblance of expectations for Daniel. (Heaven knows why.) And she chastises him for letting her go as if that wasn't just what the smug bastard wanted.

And then he starts comparing her that little whore in white.

Look, they're both having affairs. Charity honest to god does not care if he gets a boner for his sister-in-law. But she does not appreciate being compared to a soon-to-be dead slut.

"You didn't fucking blink. I mean, you couldn't wait to sign your soul away."

She worked so fucking hard just to be good enough to be a maid for this family, it's a goddamn miracle one of them was depressed enough to marry such an obvious gold digger. He was even her age. 

Lucky enough, his parents were pressuring him to get married, after a three-year courtship of course, and Charity did most of the work for him while he just went along with it. The chances of finding that elsewhere... unimaginable. So of course she still wanted to go through with it.

Death would be better than losing this life.

Chapter Text

Tony's POV

They thankfully don't have to focus on Daniel's marital problems for much longer, because then he and Helene are coming in. But they are only met with bad news and Daniel's insufferable attitude. Not to mention Emilie's incompetence. That is his little girl though, so Tony is inclined to comfort her.

She kills another maid on accident though, but at least this time she wasn't intending to kill the bride, so that only serves to upset her more.

"I'm so sorry!" Emilie cries as her future self becomes extremely distressed. He pouts and opens his arms for her to hug him.

In the movie, Fitch takes her out for a walk like Daniel did earlier while Charity asks that one question from earlier. To Helene's annoyance. Though to be fair, tradition only-

Their maid, Tina gasps and wheezes.

- only says that-

Tina makes more odd noises, and this time Helene has enough and beheads her. Thankfully offscreen as everyone winces at the sound and Emilie only starts crying again.

-that a human sacrifice must be given before sunrise. Technically it says nothing about it being the bride or groom who pulled the blasted card. But Helene's right, they can't risk it.

Getting the bride seems like an impossible task, his sons have made sure of that. Tony has to glare at Alex since Daniel has been left out of all this. Becky's smart for suggesting they use the cameras, no matter what his sister says.

"It's not tradition that he was born before cameras, that's- that's stupid!"

Charity agrees with him, though she wants to use her own weapons. No, the cameras are one thing, they shouldn't push it.

"Okay being born before handguns is tradition but cameras aren't?" She argues.

"Both go against tradition!" Helene hisses. Not for the first time Tony wishes his sister could just be as.... passive as she was before the last hunt. Using the security cameras would really make this whole thing go a lot smoother, and they wouldn't need fucking Daniel to give away the location every time.

His firstborn isn't wrong about those masks though... Dad had a really fucked up sense of humor.

But the most important thing is that they find her before dawn. His Becky is the one to get them to pull their heads out of their asses, as always. She gives the orders for them to get things done. Tony smiles assuredly at his wife.

The girl is running, making it to the very area where they caught Charles way back, opening the door they dragged him through and grabbing the rifle and ammo from the wall. Thank god it's all fake though, otherwise Grace might be doing something at her benefit. For now, she's only wasting time.

Fitch whistles as they see her in the mirror, earning glares from everyone including Tony.

Alex makes it to the room with all the security cameras, but at least Tony is heading there himself. Meanwhile, his wife makes it to the kitchen like he told her. Tony doesn't like how much of Alex's plan has come to fruition already. Even if they will have to change events, he'd hate to think an outsider could get the upperhand on his entire family.

The door is still locked and she attempts to make due on her own with the rifle, but it clearly won't do her any favors without real ammo. Besides, she likely doesn't know how to use that thing anyways.

She hears Stevens whistle and crouches behind the kitchen island. Stevens doesn't show any sign that she knows she's there to Tony's bemusement. Normally his senses never fail, but now as she crawls around the island, he doesn't notice.

Alex gets the cameras working for them, Grace seems to be considering her options, and Tony is complaining to Daniel when the latter notices the camera. "Alex."

"What are you trying to accomplish, son?" Tony has to ask. "You realize you'll be killing yourself as well as your mother and I. Not to mention your brother and sister."

"And my kids!" Emilie nods along. 

"Look that's- How do we really know a demon is going to kill us all?" Alex demands, causing scoffs from Tony and Becky and growls from Helene. 

"You truly doubt His power?" Helene demands.

"Okay, that's enough!" Becky says firmly. "Alex, don't be ridiculous, you know the proof. Hopefully watching more of this movie will remind you of that. Now let's continue."

She's right. Of course. Even though the deaths of the Van Horn family and all the Le Domas' who didn't play should be enough for Alex to know not to mess around with Mister Le Bail. Alex will only see sense as this goes on.

Come on... Come on. Grace keeps making noise with her gun, and Stevens keeps not finding her and focusing on making tea at a time like this. He even starts singing. 

Tony knows Stevens is loyal, unlike Alex who gets the doors automatically unlocked. The silly girl thinks she can threaten Stevens with that thing. But she's nothing against him. Tony realizes he was playing her the entire time.

Ah! Stevens. He should have known. There's truly no better servant that he could have asked for. Loyal to a fault, and sure to bring the girl to them. No way she can outmatch him.

She throws the tea kettle into his face.

Tony begins banging for Alex to open the door as Stevens tries to slash at her with a knife. She runs away and Alex destroys the cameras before he can get in there.

"Dammit!" 

He's a mix of angry and frustrated, because it really shouldn't take this long. He sure it's only worse for his movie self, because then he and Alex get into an altercation that leads to his own son choking him.

"Boys!" Becky scolds. 

Daniel gets in there, but instead of pulling his brother off of Tony, he takes his sweet time by using his words to get Alex off of him. If that girl isn't the death of him, they will be. 

Emilie fucking coos. "This is actually sweet." He looks at his daughter with exasperation as Alex begins begging for Daniel's help.

"We'll get her out."

Oh, fucking- Did Tony and Becky spoil them too much? Not make sure they were grateful enough to Mister Le Bail? Is there a reason why all of his children manage to be a hinderance to him one way or another in his time of need?

Tony knocks him out and is rightfully upset with Daniel, who just acts like he was distracting Alex. Fine, whatever, so long as he's not actually trying to hurt their cause. Plus he takes the heavy side, and he can't exactly carry a body by himself anymore.

The girl is running, but hears them coming. Tony barely lets himself hope they'll catch her this time. She tries to hide in that dumbwaiter again, but the maid that Emilie hasn't killed yet, Dora's already beat her to it.

Oh right, she's new. Not as accustomed to their traditions, like Tina or Stevens. And now she's terrified. 

"I'm not even a maid. Mr. Le Domas just likes the way I dance."

Becky glowers at him. Tony shrugs in defense. "Must be talking about Daniel."

The girl tries to be nice, but she's stupid enough to let it slip that his family only needs to kill Grace, not another maid. "She's over here!"

For once, he wishes Daniel were here so that he can use Dora as an example for what to...

Oh no. Her hand slips on the controls, closing the dumbwaiter entrance. There was a reason the kids weren't allowed to play on that thing growing up. Great grandfather didn't let anything go cheap when he had this mansion built. So when something's supposed to close, it closes.

Right through Dora's body. They all wince or groan at the sound of the door going through her body. Except for Helene. Even the girl she just betrayed is horrified in the movie, and hesitates to leave her. 

His favorite dancer... 

How is it that they've lost all maids on duty, and yet the girl is still alive. Not to mention half of Stevens face, as they see when their butler finds Dora's body.

"Tony, what are you doing? We're trying to bring him back to us!"

Well, he's very sorry that making sure Le Bail doesn't murder their family is putting a damper on reconnecting. Even Alex scoffs in the present.

Stevens gives even more bad news. So in the past ten minutes or so of this movie they have gone through failure after failure and the girl is still not even on their radar. Becky tells him to calm down, and once again, is more effective in giving orders than Tony.

He starts to leave, but Helene stops him.

His sister blames him for letting Alex get out of hand, something that would usual get on his temper, but in real time Tony is distracted by the shot revealing Grace just outside, listening in through the window. Damnit.

Tony tries to argue in the movie, but Helene stands firm on her stance that Alex is one of them.

"No. He's simply afraid of who he truly is. Like I was."

In the present, Alex looks ready for an argument but then they are all reminded of Helene's wedding, only now does she have the stance that it was right. That she should have been the one to kill Charles. 

But now she claims that it's Alex's turn, and Alex who should be the family's leader.

"No." Alex says, tears in his eyes. "No, you're wrong. I'm different. Better. The Good Son." Oh, yeah. That's why he's okay with helping her.

Helene shakes her head. "You can tell yourself that all you wish. Deep down you're just as Le Domas as the rest of us."

Alex stands up abruptly. Tony does the same, giving him a warning look to sit back down.

Helene brings up Alex imagining Le Bail when he was a kid, convinced it really happened. And if it actually happened, Tony really doesn't see how it matters now. At the very most it seems to be spooking the bride. Maybe that'll do some good later on. 

They both leave, sadly never catching wind that their prey is just outside the window.

Chapter Text

Daniel's POV

Grace and Daniel exchange looks during Aunt Helene's little anecdote.

"Ignore her." Daniel tells her. "Aunt Helene is just bitter and she puts to much faith in Le Bail."

"Her husband did die for this." Grace murmurs, and Daniel knows Aunt Helene will go off if Grace survives when her own husband didn't. Whether the family lives past sunrise or not. 

"Alex isn't anything like Aunt Helene." Daniel say confidently. "You mean the world to him, remember that. He's... The Good Son."

Grace looks at him curiously.

"It's a part of family legend." Daniel explains. "Dad always called it horse shit though. Basically, if some heroic, kindhearted Le Domas son, or daughter too probably, helped someone who picked Hide and Seek live past dawn, they'd live as well."

"Really?" Grace asks, fittingly as Dad brings it up in the movie.

"It's not real." Daniel quickly corrects, not wanting her to get her hopes up. "Just something my great great grandmother made up so the kids could rest easy. We all knew it was made up. Dad was just saying that to mock him.

"You help me eventually, right?" Grace reminds him. "Would that make you-"

"It's not real." He repeats. "Besides, I think you missed the 'heroic' and kindhearted' parts." 

Daniel; The Good Son. He almost scoffs. It took him too long to get his head out of his ass to help an innocent woman, and even then he did it knowing it would kill his entire family. He's been doing a damn horrible job for either side. He's just a fuck up. No matter which way you look at it. Not like Alex, who'd deserve to live after all this.

Grace looks like she's about to say something else when Aunt Helene goes back to that one time when they were fucking kids.

"He saw Mister Le Bail?" Grace asks quietly.

"We were just kids." Daniel assures her. "Kids hear stories, their imaginations go crazy."

"Okay." Grace whispers not sounding sure at all. "Maybe cause he's the Good Son?"

"Maybe."

Grace looks down to see if she can make the jump down to the ground, and Aunt Helene leaves Alex, who's revealed to have been awake for that whole thing. Great. Fitch is on his phone... researching whether or not pacts with the devil are real.

"Fitch!" Dad yells angrily.

"He isn't sure if it's real and he's still okay with murdering me?" Grace deadpans. 

"Yeah..." Daniel nods. "It takes a real level of shit to find someone worthy of the Le Domas family." 

Fitch gets a message, and replies. "Not much... family shit." And thankfully brushes off  Grace falling past his window. They share another look of disbelief.

"You think that's why Mister Le Bail chose me?" Grace turns to him. "Because he knew I'd never be this okay with any of this?" 

Fuck. That actually makes a lot of sense. Keep away the people not okay with murder from the murder family by murdering them. Daniel sighs. "I don't know... Maybe..." He gets distracted by the movie. "You are right behind him, that is not a smart person."

Grace snorts. "It is pretty lucky how much I've avoided by Fitch not paying attention."

She's on the ground now, and remembers this spot from where she and Alex were fucking married. Christ. Aware of her surroundings, Grace takes off.

"Do I make it?" Grace asks him, sounding scared to her bones.

"You get past the gates somehow." Daniel answers. He hesitates, but she deserves to know. "I do find you though, but Dad was right there, I- I'm not excusing anything, but I already decided to fuck over my family, it was just smarter to fake for a little longer."

Grace frowns, but nods. "That makes sense. Do you know if I live til sunrise?"

"I only remember helping you escape. And then it's just-" Getting shot. "-waking up, here."

Grace's movie self hides from a searchlight and runs for the nearest shelter; The fucking goat pit. Someone follows her in there though and she hides. The flashlight travels around the area, passing over the cellar where Grace could or would end up eventually. Footsteps get closer and it's revealed to be;

"Georgie!?" Emilie gasps. "Georgie?"

She stand to talk to the kid like he's not a Le Domas. Daniel's ultimately reminded of himself when Charles came to him as a child, pleading for help. Grace trusts him. After all, he's just a little kid. Just a little kid like Daniel was when he snitched, and they took him away-

Georgie shoots Grace.

Holy fuck, Georgie shoots Grace. Georgie just fucking shot Grace. Which he knew, but to actually see it- There is a hole. Through the hand, but anywhere is fucking messed up.

"What the fuck!?" Fitch squeals in horror. Even the kid's dad is freaked out. 

Grace punches Georgie in the face, causing Emilie to stand. Her back is towards them but Daniel has to imagine she's pissed, something Emilie rarely ever is ever since discovering drugs. "Oh fuck you, you little-"

"Emilie, sit down." Mom orders, and Emilie's shoulders deflate accordingly. She takes her seat between their parents. Movie Grace gets spooked by a goat and falls through the cellar door. 

"How is this the first hit we've got on her!?" Dad says in frustration. "I- that's it. Georgie's my new heir. We're changing his last name. He's done better than any of us, and he's in elementary school!"

".... You know how old he is?" Emilie says happily. Meanwhile, Grace discovers how many bodies their family has hidden and vomits.

"Oh, Christ!" Grace lets out in horror.

Daniel feels sick himself. Hearing about what Georgie did was enough to convince him that killing Grace was not worth the Le Domas family. To see him do it, then see the bodies they've piled up over the years... It's just wrong.

"This is so fucked up." Grace shakes her head. She looks at him with wide eyes. With a shaky breath she says. "Thank you."

"For what?" Daniel asks. What the fuck could she possibly thank him for?

"Being honest." Grace says, shaking her head at the sight of what's clearly Charles' corpse. "There are things you didn't have to tell me, that I'd find out anyways, yet you did. You didn't- you didn't blindside me with all this."

"Don't thank me." Daniel says. "I'm just... trying. At all. Anyone would-" He stops, thinking of Alex. And god knows he's not better than Alex.

There's a ladder in the cellar, but he doubts anyone's touched that thing in decades, Grace breaks a bar on the first step. He knows she gets out of this alive, and yet his heart races at the tension of her slowly pulling herself one foot at a time. She makes it a hand to the top right before the ladder breaks, leaving her hanging.

"I make it out, right?" Grace asks.

"Yes, definitely." Daniel promises. "I-I don't know how, but you do. You're... one hell of a fighter, Grace."

"Okay." Grace nods, actually seeming to believe him. He doesn't know why she just believes him like that, but he's glad he can comfort her in some way, especially as her hand, blood soaked from cradling the other, begins to slip. 

But Daniel wasn't wrong in calling her a fighter, because then the baddass puts the hole that was just shot into her hand through a fucking nail and pulls herself up.

"Oh my god." Charity says, Daniel can just imagine her gaping at the screen.

He can't help but cheer her on as she pulls herself up, as painful as it must be. Grace smiles at him gratefully. 

"Damn." He hears Alex say, sounding kind of stunned. 

But it's not over. Because then she has to pull her hand out of the screw, and it sounds painful as fuck, elicits surprised screaming for the family, and Grace just looks relieved. Relieved she made it this far.

"First the tea kettle and now this. Where'd you learn to be so resourceful?" Daniel asks, genuinely impressed. 

Grace gives him a shaky smile, not actually happy, but he doesn't think it's fake. "I have no idea."

She pulls herself out of the fall zone and just sits and pants, pulling off her sleeve to help her wound. He sees that even now Grace looks terrified. Despite being hunted for the entire movie, this is the first beating she takes, and thinking of the car crash, he knows it won't be the last.  

"You little fucker!"

"Don't call him that!" Emilie yells.

Alex groans. "Not now, Emilie." 

Grace is up and stumbling out. Charity is smoking when she sees her from a distance and aims her gun at her. Daniel holds his breath, hoping Grace won't have to go through many more injuries, but knowing it's unlikely. For now though, Charity misses.

"Harpoon guns shoot in arcs, dear." Mom instructs.

"Why?!" Charity bitches

She tells Stevens about it, and Daniel doesn't like the slight smile that appears on his face. But Grace is staggering towards the fence. She tries to climb it but all her upper body strength has basically left her at this point. So instead she feels around the fence bars until she finds a loose one she can pull at.

"We need to get that fixed." Dad says immediately.

Grace is still struggling, but then she sees a car in the distance. She screams for help in desperation, and luckily it must spark more determination because then the bar breaks. She gets up and tries to squeeze through, still screaming, but her back gets cut on one of the metal design thingies and-

"Oh!" The crowd groans as the screen shows her go all the way throw with the cut in order to escape, but she does. Thankfully it does.

"It won't last." Dad says adamantly, unintentionally ruining his mood like always. Daniel is reminded that no, Grace isn't safe yet, and that it's partly his fault, whether or not he did eventually help her in the end. 

The car stops, but only to yell at her for getting in the middle of the road, and then drives off.

"Oh, come on!" Alex shouts angrily.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

"Wow." Daniel says as she lets out a string of insulting curses in frustration.

"What the actual fuck?!" Grace asks angrily.

"Gotta hate the rich." Daniel reminds her. "Plus, I'm pretty sure all our neighbors' families made their own deals with the devil."

"You're kidding? That's awful. Why is everything surrounding your family awful?" Daniel just shrugs.

"Fucking rich people."

Daniel nods along, pointing at the screen as if to say, 'see!'.

Alex is spluttering in the other room, clearly flabbergasted by his wife's colorful vocabulary. It causes Grace to sigh. "You know what's funny? It took me eight months to finally curse in front of him, because I was scared to give him a reason to leave me." And fuck Daniel, that makes him laugh.

Grace runs into the woods, but Stevens knows where she is already, stopping his car right behind the part of the gate she broke, a left over piece of her wedding dress caught on the bottom railing.

"You said you were the one who found me right?" Grace asks, looking for reassurance Daniel can't give her.

"Yeah." Daniel swallows. "At the scene of a car crash."

"Fucking hell."

Chapter Text

Emilie's POV

Stevens calls to tell them about Grace escaping, promising to fix everything. Daniel takes the news in a way that's sure to piss off Daddy. And he's already in a really bad mood from all that's been going, and he gets a lot more violent then he usually does when Daniel annoys him.

"Do you think this is a fucking game?!" "Yes. Hide and seek. Remember?"

Normally, Emilie'd laugh at her brother's... jokes? Jokes. But right now she just has to agree with her father about how serious this all is. She just doesn't see how anyone could question if this ritual is necessary when her children's lives are on the line.

Daddy talks about the poor Van Horn family, who didn't die in a fire like the news said. Emilie remembers hearing about it the first time, her parents using the tragedy as proof of Mister Le Bail for her and her brothers. It was so sad, though Daniel looked as bored then as he does in the movie.

But then Daddy starts ranting to the picture of her great great grandfather, and Emilie really realizes how stressed he must be after all of this. She agrees though. She thinks of her babies and agrees that the man should have found a way to get the wealth without promising their deaths.

Mom cuts him off when he starts screaming, and gives more instructions. Most of them will wait for Stevens but Emilie and Daniel have to take the maids to the goat pit.

"And pumpkin, try to kill anyone else." "Cleanup duty for the fuckups."

Emilie frowns, trying to hide how hurt that makes her feel. She looks at her mom, and sees someone so strong, giving the right orders when Daddy can't. Emilie wants to be like her, she just isn't. She just makes too many mistakes.

What if in thirty years they're put in this position and Mom and Daddy aren't around anymore? Emilie likes to think she'd do what her mom does, but the truth is she'd probably fuck that up too. 

"Hey, hey. So... at what point do we just cut and run?"

"Fitch!" Daddy scolds, eyes even more unforgiving than they are with Daniel.

Emilie holds back tears. She understands why her husband might want to leave, but she can't help but be sad the one thing Daniel did well, marry someone happy to murder for their family, she couldn't even manage to get right.

She's glad she's not a boy. If she was, she thinks Daddy'd hate her as much as Daniel. Emilie'd probably be a lot more disappointing if she was another son and not just a daughter, who can't even pass on the last name. 

Grace hides from Stevens behind a tree, and Emilie sorta just wants to push her into the light of his flashlight, and Alex screams for Daniel from where he's cuffed. The thing is, if he were here, he might. Daniel's always looked out for Alex over anyone else. Including her.

But Daniel's not here or there to help, so Alex improvises, grinding the handcuffs against wood.

"That won't work, will it?" Daddy asks worriedly.

"It better!" Alex says aggressively.

"Dammit, Alex! We will lock you in a cell if we have to-"

"Tony!" Mom yells. And then she leans in to say softer, Emilie still sitting between them, "We are trying to bring him back! Remember that."

She doesn't see how that can happen anymore now that they're trying to kill the person they were betting on being the one to bring him back. And Emilie had such high hopes for Grace, who runs when Stevens steps out of the car. 

From her Instagram she seemed so nice, but Emilie is not about to let her sons die for her. Still, she was so happy when she thought she'd finally have a sister, especially after being so disappointed by Charity and believing Alex when he said he'd never get married. Emilie believed she'd finally have a real friend in the girl both her brothers were in love with. And sisters must be so much more fun than grumpy big brothers.

"Why did she have to pull Hide and Seek? Do you think it's real?"

Daddy opens his mouth heatedly, but Aunt Helene beats him to it. "Of course it is, you insolent child!" She whimpers and bows her head, even as Daniel says he doesn't know.

Together, they throw the bodies, two-thirds of which were killed by her. She shakes her head, burying it in her father's shoulder. 

She hears herself asking about the last game, and winces, thinking of how scared her big brother looked as a child in the beginning. She doesn't want to be the one to remind him of that.

Emilie'd never admit it, but she's always loved Daniel more than Alex. The eldest brother felt like a friend, and was the only other person in the family who also likes getting high, even if he doesn't love her as much as he does their brother. Alex always seemed like he was better than her, and she could never live up to him. Maybe that's why everyone loves him the most, including Daniel. He's the one with all the stupid 'morals'. 

"He deserved a better brother. And we all deserve to die." "My kids don't."

Because no matter what, they come first. The Le Domas family deserves to live if her babies get to live as well. 

But then Georgie's little voice asks for her, and she rushes to meet him. Oh, he has a bruise on his eye. Her teeth grit remembering how Grace punched him.

He tells them what happened, and Emilie feels another rush of pride just thinking of her little boy risking himself to help their family.

"I am so proud of you."

She smiles for another moment before dread seeps in, seeing the look on Daniel's face. She used the word 'proud'. Crap. Crap. Okay, okay, but surely this isn't that bad. He was okay letting the woman he loved die before, he'll still be like that now, right? Right?

XXX

Tony's POV

God, his children drive him insane. If the kids he has with Becky are this incompetent, how can they have any chance at surviving this? And how the fuck did the spawn of Emilie and Fitch manage to be more productive than all of his children combined?

This would all be so much easier if Alex wasn't working against him. Them. At least Alex can actually do things, unlike his other two.

The girl is stumbling through the woods thanks to Alex's help, Daniel's indifference, and Emilie not being able to shoot for the life of herself. Luckily, Stevens is there to do what none of his children are capable of.

She tries running away, but anyone could see it's pointless. He gets out of the car and tackles her, and she's reduced to a frantic mess trying to get away. Tony and Becky share a satisfied grin, relieved for the moment.

But then Grace knocks the gun out of his hand. Okay, that's not good, but surely Stevens won't let her get the upper hand against him again- 

She presses her hand to the burnt side of his face. Stevens topples over in agony, and Grace rips off a part her dress and begins strangling him with it.

"Where did you find her?" Fitch asks in horror.

"A fundraiser at a library for disabled orphans." Alex answers, staring at the screen in awe, apparently unaware of the nuisance he unleashed upon his own family.

Tony could almost hear Grace's voice yell, 'Foster kids!' 

He looks back in surprise, but there's nothing but a wall behind them. He shares a look with Becky and decides to brush it off.

Holy shit, that girl is really going for it. She chokes him out until he's still on the ground and then takes his car. They're fucked, aren't they? If Stevens can't even get her, what good can Tony's useless children do?

But Stevens isn't dead yet. He faked it! There's still hope, even as she's driving away. She presses the button for the car help service. 

"Good evening, this is Justin, your call may be monitored for-""People are trying to kill me, could you please help me?"

"Huh, guess that's one way to get around the no phone rule." Emilie says.

"Shut up!" She pouts.

Justin asks follow up questions, but Grace just tells him to call the police.

The cops. Dammit. Okay, they'll just have to pay them off to keep them from asking questions, like they did when Charles' family began demanding answer like annoying little pests. At least this one doesn't have a family that'll cause to much trouble.

Then again, that's only if Justin actually manages to call the police. He seems to be wasting a lot of time talking about computers and other poor people issues.

"Ma'am, it says here the car was reported stolen. I'm sorry but I have to shut it down." "What?"

"What?" Tony breathes, not believing his own luck.

"What!?" Alex says in outrage.

"WHAT!?!" Grace's voice screams, making them all jump. But Tony shakes his head. Clearly it's just the movie, where she's currently screaming in protest.

"Wow, Stevens already called the company to report it missing?" Emilie says in awe.

"What a dedicated company." Becky says, voicing her approval as the car stops completely and Grace looks around the woods in fear.

"Is there anything else I could help you with?" "Yeah, you can go fuck yourself, Justin."

"He's just doing his job!" Emilie points out at Grace's unreasonable behavior. 

Now completely alone, Grace tries to tell herself it's okay. And it will be once she's back with them and they could properly do the ritual. Thank Le Bail for Stevens. Who startles her, as well as Fitch and Emilie. Again, their spawn was the only family member to actually do damage to her so far.

Stevens breaks the window and shoots her with a tranquilizer. "Goodnight Grace."

Tony sighs in relief. But then Grace blinks and it's Alex driving the car. He reassures her that they're leaving.

"What?" That can't be. This movie wouldn't skip over something like Alex escaping with the sacrifice. It has to be- Grace's face contorts into horror as Alex looks at her wearing the fucking mask -a dream. 

Good, she's still in their grasps. Great. But one thing doesn't make sense though. Besides when Georgie and Gabe were playing with them, when did she learn about those things?

It doesn't matter. She wakes up in the backseat of the car, with Stevens driving after he must have reported it found again. He's FaceTiming them to reassure that things are going swimmingly again. 

"Alright. We are back in business."

They just need to get her to the game room for the ritual. Stevens is clearly happy with a job well done, because he turns up Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture to high volumes, looking almost giddy. 

Meanwhile in the back Grace is coming back to herself, which isn't good. Especially as Stevens doesn't seem to notice, instead sticking his head out the window and cackling.

"Wow, he's really happy about this." Charity says bemused.

"Oh no." Grace sits up, her face filled with determination. Becky notices from the phone camera, and they try to warn him but the volume's too high for him to hear. It's too late. Grace kicks his face with tied feet as his family watches on from the safety of his study. 

Steven swerves off the road and the car crashes, even flips with Grace screaming for her life. All to the music of 1812 Overture. Tony's phone loses its connection. "Fuck!"

Chapter Text

Becky's POV

Wow. 

She picks up the remote the man (Le Bail?) left and pauses the movie, just so they could all take a moment to digest what just happened. Becky looks at her son in concern. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine, I- uh- fine." Alex stutters, clearly shocked by what he's seen. "I just- I'm relieved."

"You are?" Becky asks. Something about his expression makes her doubt that. Grace clearly isn't as sweet and pure as they'd all thought, something crushing to Becky herself, she can only imagine what Alex is going through.

"Yeah! Yeah, Grace is perfectly capable of.... overpowering.... a man.... my family hired off the black market." Alex tries to smile but it falters.

"Sometimes somebody's true nature isn't obvious at first glance and sometimes it's not as pretty as one would think." Becky says wisely, patting his knee.

Alex shoves her hand off of him, fixing a glare on her. "The woman I love is in danger and I can't help her. That's all on you. If I can't protect her, I'm glad she has that in her. She's still worth more than everyone else in this family combined." 

"Watch how you speak to your mother!" Tony glares, but Becky doesn't care. It may just be her, but Alex seems more like he's convincing himself. Her boy's still denying his own nature when even Grace is embracing the parts of herself no one thought was there. Of course it's at the expense of Becky's family, so that's unforgivable, but still.

"Fools. All of you." Helene scoffs. And for all Becky sympathizes with her sister in law, at least she's being true to herself. If Alex just stopped denying his own self things would be much easier. "Are we just going to sit here or are we going to complete the movie as He wished for us to do?"

Right.

"Poor Stevens." Emilie whimpers as they get a close-up of their loyal servant hanging upside down unconscious and with blood on half his face. Becky never knows with Stevens, but it's possible he's actually dead.

"We'll change this." She says in a soothing tone, for both her daughter and husband. "This won't happen."

Grace wakes up and crawls her way out of the car. She struggles to stand up when- "Deja vu."

Becky stiffens. Daniel. She loves her son, truly, but he's a headache and a half. And he let her go before. She wouldn't be surprised if he did it again. Under normal circumstances, she'd disapprove of Daniel encroaching on his brother's wife, but now of all times? 

"I like you, Grace." "So let me go. Okay?"

And at least when Alex pretends to hate his own family, he goes all the way. Daniel just skirts the line. It's a struggle for him, Becky can see it. If he's complicit in the game, he shouldn't just let her go. He shouldn't even think about it.

Grace is trying to appeal to the part of him that's in all the Le Domas'. That Alex tries to embrace, the rest disregard, and Daniel picks and chooses.

But to throw Alex's love in his face... And Becky thought she could've been the new her. But Daniel is still a Le Domas, unwilling to let his family die for one girl. 

Despite her pleas, her insistence that it's all fake, Daniel knocks her out. Becky smiles in relief. That can't have been easy. She can almost hear him apologizing to her. Letting go of the person you love could never be easy, that much she knows from just the first time she had to play this game. 

She's so proud of him.

He calls for Tony to come out. For a moment she thinks they were together but he's surprised Daniel knew he was there.

"We gotta move. Less than an hour till dawn and we still need to prepare her for the ritual."

She made it that far on her own? Becky doubts she'd even make it that far if she had been picked on her wedding.

Alex is still trying to break free but stops when Becky comes in to keep him company. He's cold and she's mannerly. She tries to explain her reasoning, how sacrifices have to made. 

And maybe 'like' isn't the word she would use anymore, not when she's still so worried that there's a potential future where Grace causes the deaths of all her loved ones. But Becky did like her once. It isn't easy, when one of her children threw himself into a loveless marriage while the other ended up with Fitch. She was glad to see her boy with someone who loved him. 

And Le Bail knows she'd be one hell of a matriarch if she was on the family's side for Hide and Seek. 

Alex makes an empty threat that Becky humors but then he suggests that it could all be bullshit.

"If you believed that, you wouldn't have let her draw a card at all."

That much no one can deny.

She could forgive Grace for forgetting about what he said with the relatives they lost by not playing, but Alex knows. Alex mourned with them. Alex can deny himself but not Le Bail.

Becky aches for a cigarette as she watches herself smoke and ask why Alex is still doing this to her in a pained voice. Alex just says the same old rant about normal, only this time he admits that their annual ritual felt normal to him once. 

"You'll do pretty much anything if your family says it's okay."

"And you'll do pretty much anything to assure yourself that you're better than your family when you're too selfish to tell that girl you couldn't get married." Helene retorts haughtily. Alex looks as though slapped.

"That's different!" Alex says as he describes meeting her in the movie. "I couldn't lose her!"

The thing is that he describes her as good. And that she made him feel as though he could also be good. And that's why he chooses her over them.

"I don't believe you. And I don't think that you believe that a girl that you've known for a year and a half knows you better than I do."

And it seems he doesn't know her so well either.

XXX

Charity's POV

For the record, Charity never gave two shits if Daniel's brother was at Christmas galas or not. It still annoys her how easily he's willing to give up their lifestyle. He's  never known true suffering, if it wasn't for Le Bail they'd all be groveling on the streets like she was before scoring a maid job.

At least Becky's trying to tell Emilie's little brats that. Though if they're anything like their uncles, they'll be more than willing to throw all this away for some blonde nobody.

It's a story she's heard before. First from other maids, all of whom got to old and were swiftly replaced. That was five years ago. And then from Daniel, who kept trying to repeat it thinking she didn't fully understand. But it was him who didn't understand. Didn't know poverty. If things with Daniel didn't work out, she'd probably go to Le Bail to make her own deal.

Everyone is getting ready. Aunt Helene is being herself, Fitch is being himself, Tony is praying to Le Bail, and Daniel-

He still doesn't understand. He never will. None of them will. He can look sad in some chair all he wants, he'll never know struggle.

Alex is more determined than ever to break the chains. But he'll never make it in time. It's already ready. The ritual is already set up. Goats and paintings and all. She struggles against the bindings but everyone can see it's no use,

The goat blood is passed around, still gross in Charity's opinion, but worth it. They recite the Latin, and everyone is on the edge of their seats, waiting to see if it's actually over. It's no secret that this bitch is hard to kill. But now? No way she can get out on her own.

"Hail S-"

He stops. Everything seems to stop. Even those in the movie wait to see what comes next as Tony begins gagging. And then they're all throwing up. All except for Charity's fucking husband.

"No!" Becky gasps as red, hot anger builds up in Charity. "He wouldn't-"

"He would!" Alex grins like he's won a prize or something. His movie self is still trying at the cuffs so that says something.

"I'm gonna kill him." Tony growls. "I'm gonna fucking kill him."

Daniel explains that he poisoned them as he unties Grace and helps her away from the rest of them as they retch, and meanwhile Alex finally breaks the wood and gets the handcuffs off. Charity resists the urge to murder someone for the time being. 

At least the poison wears off quickly, because then the two peop,e she wants dead the most are hiding under the stairs as the rest run after them.

"I knew you'd help me." "I didn't."

Sickening. Charity is going to die and he cares more about his brother's slut of a wife. Or maybe he's just ready to kill his whole family. 

But Charity won't let him. Not when she's the one with a handgun in her purse, or did he forget?

He just says her name. It's enough to know that he's not gonna move aside. Enough to know this one stupid girl had two spoiled rich men ready to throw their entire lives away for her.

"You really don't care if I die?"

She doesn't want to hear what he says next and she doesn't have to because the sound of a gunshot is all that comes to her ears.

Chapter Text

Daniel's POV

He's been expecting it. Of course he has. From the moment he learned about this whole movie crap and realized it's not fucking bullshit. 

"What the fuck, Charity!?" Alex, good, loyal, perfect Alex shouts at her.

"I gave him the chance to get out of the way." Charity's voice is unsympathetic, and Daniel can see her glaring up at him.

"Did you know?" Grace asks in a whimper. Daniel can't lie to her and nods. "You prepared me for everything else, but not this?" 

That surprises him though. Maybe a selfish part of him just didn't want to talk about being shot by his bitch of a wife but for the most part he just sorta thought it was irrelevant. Of course from this point on he'll be unable to help her, but now that Grace is free she probably has it from here given everything about her.

"He was committing suicide the minute he decided to turn on us! Why should we go down with him?!"

"Thank you." Grace says, her voice thick. "Thank you."

She comes closer and before he realizes what's going on they're hugging. Daniel blinks in surprise, but hugs her back. "It's fine."

"Thank you." She says again, looking up at him, staring at him with eyes filled with gratitude, determination, and sorrow. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." A moment passes, just them looking at each other with such intense eye contact Daniel could cry, and then her face drawls closer to his. And they're kissing.

And everything goes away. Just Grace, just a blonde baddass that deserves the world, and it's sweet. So sweet. Sweeter than Daniel deserves.

"He brought it on himself!"

Shit. Gently, he pulls away as realization crashes in on him. Judging by the look in her eyes, Grace isn't that far behind him. And everything comes back. Everything that Daniel's tried to push away with booze and bitter jokes is back. 

"How fucking could you!?!"

His brother is yelling at Daniel's wife for hurting him while Daniel is kissing his.

But she's so much more than that. Grace is just.... indescribable. She's kind, but also funny, and strong, and tough, and so much better than Daniel Le Domas. That's why she's marrying Alex. The brother who stands a chance at being worthy of her.

"I'm sorry." She says.

"Don't be." Daniel insists, because even if just for a moment he felt happier than he ever has in his entire life.

But only for a moment. 

But still, it's the first time Daniel's kissed someone he actually cares about, and that's just nice. Then again, this is the first time he's cared about someone other than Alex in a long time. Maybe he should do it more. Caring. If he's not dead that is.

Maybe even then.

His family finally unpauses the movie, showing Daniel falling to the ground and Alex hearing. Grace, being herself, walks towards Charity and takes the handgun he really should've been concerned about earlier. The ammo was lost from the altercation so she just rams it into her to knock her out.

This much he remembers. He couldn't see her fight with Charity, but he remembers her shaking him, saying his name, remembers himself telling her to go.

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry." She says again.

"None of that." Daniel shakes his head, looking her straight in the eye. "I wasn't gonna make it at that point. You have crazy survival instincts, you must've known that. Wasting time crying over my cor- body while my batshit family's looking for would just be a death wish."

Grace doesn't look happy, but nods. No denying leaving is the right call or pretending her movie self owes him something for finally getting off his ass, all because undying loyalty to a lost cause sounds nice. It's not pretty or noble or heroic, but it's real. Maybe that's why he cares. Daniel thinks he likes real.

"You're just another sacrifice." But she's anything but.

XXX

Alex's POV

She's just leaving him?! His brother is seriously injured helping her and she's leaving him!? He can still be helped! He can still be-

Dad comes in, insulting her, says he'll kill her there but she picks up a lantern and knocks him out in two hits. She doesn't even look that desperate anymore, just cold and angry and nothing like the woman Alex planned on spending the rest of his life with.

Daniel. In the movie Alex finds him, and tries to save his brother himself though Alex fears it's too late. Grace is running but Mom finds her, missing this time, so she goes for strangling instead- Like how Grace strangled the butler who he's known since he was a child.

And then there's him and Daniel, and his big brother is so still, more still than he's been in his entire life. "Daniel, don't go! Don't go!"

"Oh." Emilie whimpers.

His future self sits back, shocked and horrified. Something everyone in the present seems to share. He thinks he can hear the sound of Grace crying, but even if she were here why would she be crying? He's the one whose brother just died. No. This can't be happening. No. No- 

His mother takes his hand, looking sad herself. "It'll be alright, darling. We'll fix things."

Why? Why is this happening? Why did Charity shoot him? Why did he put himself in harm's way? Why didn't Grace do more to help him?

Mom chokes Grace out of breath and throws her to the ground. And at least Alex expects this from his family. At least he knows exactly what he gets when it comes to them. 

"But I'm not gonna let you hurt my family!"

Too late.

Mom is strangling the life out of her, and Alex dimly wonders if this is it for his beautiful bride, but of course it fucking isn't. She manages to get ahold of the napery and pull until it and what's on it falls next to her. The card box. Of course it is. She struggles to reach it until she headbutts Mom. 

"You don't deserve a family!" Grace hits her with box. "Fuck your family." She hits her again. And again. And again and again and again and- "Fuck your fucking family!"

"No!" Emilie screams, and Dad is crying and Dad never cries, and they're both clutching at Mom. And Alex is unsurprised. This is who Grace is. Not the perfect, force of good that could help Alex be good too. Just a woman who hurts others to survive. He ended up exactly where he started.

In the movie, Alex shows up and she drops the box. A gruesome look at exactly what she did to his mother is shown, causing everyone to flinch, even Charity and Fitch. 

Alex steps closer and he backs up. He tries to touch her and she doesn't let him, choking out apologies that aren't good enough. Not now. Not after- 

"You won't be with me after this, will you?"

Daniel died to save her and she's not gonna fucking stay with him? After all that he lost for her; his brother, his mom, and she's just gonnna up and leave him?! After all the things she did to survive, it's all for nothing?! 

No. No, it can't be. He's lost too much. Too much for her. He can't lose anymore and he's already lost her.

His future self cups her face in his hands one last time. All too quickly his grip becomes too tight. She says his name again and again as if begging. 

"You're hurting me-" "She's in here!"

Chapter Text

Grace's POV

"Fuck!" Grace shouts as she watches herself thrash around against his arms. 

She turns to Daniel, who gapes at the screen at a loss for words. She looks to Alex on the other side of the wall to see the back of his head tilted downwards. The rest of the family is looking for him, and Grace imagines that even they are surprised, that this is so out of character that they weren't even expecting this.

"I'm so proud of you." Becky says as the others run into the room, horrified to see her dead body, even heartbreaking, but there's no time. 

"Daniel." Grace whispers. He looks at her with wide eyes filled with horror and betrayal, and just shakes his head.

The sun is rising, fire eating up the curtains, and Grace's screams are muffled. Is this the end for her? All because she trusted the wrong person, someone she thought she knew and loved and loved her in return?

And all this movie has done is proven that he's willing to put her in danger for his own sake. Did she even know him at all? Or was it just that Alex was everything the lonely foster girl inside of her that ignored the red flags until they slapped her in the face with a fucking demonic death ritual.

Alex picks up the bloodied game box, some hair sticking to the thing. They're holding her down, Emilie has that crazed look in her eyes that Grace can't decipher as she shows her kids, Helene blabbing on some demonic bullshit as Alex walks to the center, where their father sat, where they were speaking in the beginning. Daniel draws a sharp breath at the sight.

"Are you okay?" Grace asks Daniel despite being the one about to die, or maybe she just needs a distraction.

"That's not him." Daniel murmurs, but then shakes his head roughly. "He's not the good son." 

Tears fall from his eyes without a push back, his breath begins heaving hard and deeply, devastation clear in his expression. Grace has to look away, but that's not okay either because they're all chanting, chanting, chanting and Alex is handed a knife.

"Hail Satan!"

She see herself beg him not to do this with her eyes. It might be her last hope, her last big chance to survive. Grace has done everything she could to live as long as she did and yet she's left to beg the man who got her into this mess in the first place.

"Hail Satan."

"NO!" Daniel screams when he lifts the knife. Awkwardness after their kiss completely forgotten, he wraps his arms around her in a hug. This can't be it! It can't be! There must be something-

In one last final fit of strength she stabs her fingers into Aunt Helene's hand causing her to yell out. Grace pushes herself out of the way just in time. He still get her shoulder, but she is writhing around on the table, pulling it out herself, getting to her feet and pointing it at the family in self defense, screaming the entire time like a wild animal. Both Grace and Daniel let out sighs of relief.

"NO!" The aunt yells as her movie counterpart pulls the curtains open to reveal the bright sun.

Emilie begins crying in real life as all of them in the movie brace for death. And brace. And brace. And brace. She and Daniel share an uneasy look. They're still bracing.

"Um... Nothing's happening. I knew it. I knew it! It was all bullshit!"

They begin easing up, trying to figure out what to do now. Alex looks at her, but she's not falling for that again. After all, she's still a sacrificial lamb now that they have to figure how to keep their fucking murder game a secret.

"I hate my family." Daniel says numbly, eyes deep with resentment. "We deserve death."

"They do." Grace corrects. If anyone in their family deserves to live besides Grace, it's him. 

Daniel looks at her hard, but then Aunt Helene pledges herself to the chair and his face turns annoyed. "Oh, come on!"

"The girl still dies!!!!"

Grace's mouth gapes open in shock. What the fuck indeed. Almost if by itself, a record begins playing. The Hide and Seek song. The song that played as they readied themselves to kill her.

Oh, this is gonna be good.

It's actually not a half bad song. At least not now. Fitch, the nonbeliever who's still willing to murder someone, finally believes. Bye. Charity, the entitled who apparently chose murder over being poor, begs to go home. Bye. Emilie runs out with her kids in terror, their blood splatters coming out from the hallway. Two of them are kids, she shouldn't... Moving on.

Grace glances at Daniel, smile fading a bit. He doesn't look happy and Grace reminds herself that sociopathy aside, this is his family. "I'm sorry." She says it more as a courtesy than regret.

"Are you crazy?" Daniel looks at her like she is. "It's nothing this family doesn't deserve." His father screaming at the empty chair about how loyalty he is definitely proves that.

He still doesn't look as overjoyed at his exploding family like her movie self does. Which she does in the present as well, though Grace doesn't want to rub it in his face. Even if a part of her wants to laugh with that snort Alex used to tell her he loved like a romcom character. 

As if reading her mind, Daniel dryly says, "You can laugh if you want to. You've earned it. God, and probably Le Bail, knows, you've earned it."

Fuck, Grace must've been blind before all this if she thought Alex was her dream man.

Even now, he has the fucking balls to try and kiss and make up with her, all so he can live. He's not the only one who likes being alive and he fucking brought her into this stupid game and stupid family.

Grace would have forgiven him. If he had sat her down and explained in no uncertain terms that his family would try to kill her if she pulled the wrong card from a box. She'd have been freaked out as all hell, possibly think he's lying to get rid of her, probably tried to call the cops on these fucking rich people, but she'd eventually get that it wasn't his choice to be in this family. Except, Alex did make a choice now. He chose wrong.

God, what did she ever see in this pathetic, beggar of a man? 

"I want a divorce."

She throws her ring at him and- Daniel does let out a pained gasp at that, and Grace doesn't feel like laughing anymore. Alex is a Le Domas through and through, someone both of them misjudged, but they both loved him. Or at least the idea of him. Even if he only loved the idea of her.

She half expects him to pull away but he doesn't. Grace rests her head on his shoulder in gratitude.

Looking at herself, converted in the blood of her husband and his family, she wonders how her life came to this. But all things considered, she might've dodged a bullet. Or well- survived a bullet wound. 

Flames go whoosh, and for a moment Mister Le Bail himself appears and nods at her. "Fuck."

"He hasn't left as yet!" Aunt Helene lifts her hands to the ceiling like the religious zealot she is. The monsters in the main room are all consoling themselves and each other and blah blah blah. Fuck them all.

The house burning down. The games, the portraits, Le Bail's wholeass gambit, all burned to the ground. As a guitar version of Here Comes the Bride plays in the background, Grace walks out of the burning building drenched in blood, some of which is definitely from injuries she'll need to get checked out, but she's alive. Holy shit. She is a baddass, isn't she?

Is that a pop version of Love Me Tender? The original was supposed to be for wedding march. But seeing herself walk down the steps leading to the very spot the vows are supposed to take place, in front of all the cordially decorated chairs, in her poor, tarnished dress as the mansion succumbs to flames, it feels fitting.

Oh hey, Justin did something right.

Fire really does roar. Grace thought it a myth. She envies her future self for the very first day time since this whole thing started, because her future self can pull out a goddamn cigarette. A police officer just out of sight tries to talk to her.

"Jesus Christ, what happened to you?" "In-laws."

Chapter Text

Alex's POV

His breaths are choppy, coming out hard and uneven. This is preventable. This is all preventable. Alex isn't really going to die.

"So you've finished the movie?" A dark voice asks behind him. They all turn, and it doesn't take much to recognize the man who they just saw give a nod to Grace.

"Le Bail." Aunt Helene gasps, falling to her knees in a bow.

"Oh my god!" Emilie says, balking. They all stand in order to bow themselves in an attempt to show their respect.

"I always believed in you!" 

"Don't talk Fitch." Mom says dismissively before turning back to Le Bail with a pleasant smile on her face. "Mr. Le Bail. We cannot thank you enough for this forewarning. We truly serve a generous master and promise not to fail again so horribly." Mom recites words straight from the family bible. Or at least something that sounds similar enough. "Hail Satan!"

"Hail Satan!" They all repeat, including Alex. It's strange, but it doesn't feel wrong. If anything, it's as though everything is completely right.

What isn't right is that Le Bail begins laughing, a cruel sound that confuses them all. They trade bemused glances with one another.

"Oh, I'm sorry? Did you think that's what this was? A warning?" Le Bail says like a jape.

"My lord?" Aunt Helene asks, not doubting him one bit. She says it more like she's waiting for her next instruction like the faithful follower that she is.

Le Bail takes a step forward but then pauses, seeming to think something over. "On that thought..." He turns towards the back wall and snaps. In only a moment, the wall disappears.

Grace... Daniel...

His bride only takes a second to look surprise before she's storming towards him. Alex barely has time to react. "Grace-!"

Without even taking a moment to say another word to him, she's right in front of him and nails him right on the nose.

"Ack!" Alex gasps, clutching it as it begins to bleed.

"Dick." Grace snaps at him and then takes off back to compartment room she was in before.

"What the fuck?" Charity asks in outrage, most likely directing it towards Daniel. Alex wants to glare at her. Tell her she doesn't get to talk to him like that after what she did. But- but- 

But he's lost that privilege, hasn't he?

Oh god-

Le Bail snaps his fingers again and it all comes rushing back to him. Everything. All the things he just watched and more. The parts of his wedding that didn't make it in the movie. All the time he spent trying to get out of those cuffs. Holy-

There was never a chance of fixing things, were there?

"You can't do this!" Dad gasps out. "You can't- I did everything right! You can't-!" 

Le Bail scoffs. "The rules state clear as day that the girl's survival meant the deaths of all family members who choose to participate. I can do whatever I wish."

This can't be happening. This can't be happening. He's the good son! He's- he-

"Daniel." Alex chokes. His brother looks at him with so much betrayal. Like just looking at Alex is like a slap in the face to Daniel. As though it physically hurts. And Alex thinks of all the jealous looks he's gotten over the years... and reveled in... and no! No! This isn't right! This isn't how it's supposed to go!

Daniel opens his mouth then closes it then opens it again, ignoring the rest of their family and only looking at him. "I am so disappointed in you."

So this is Hell.

And in an instant he feels himself blacking out again, spirited away to wait for whatever torture Le Bail decides to try on him next time.

XXX

Daniel's POV

A part of him feels a little sick after Alex and the rest of his family disappear. It's a weird mix of grief and relief. Of course, Alex made his choice just like the rest of them, but they were his family. As miserable as they were. Not that he can blame Grace for pretty much anything and he sure as hell isn't gonna be the one to bring down her guard.

Still, it's strange being the one to be disappointed. Still, it's strange to think that Alex is just like the rest of their family. Still, it's strange to not see himself deserving the same suffering as every other fucking Le Domas.

So when Le Bail turns his attention back on him and Grace, Daniel have expects to be zapped away or some shit like the rest of his family.

But before anything, Le Bail looks at Grace. His voice still sends shivers down Daniel's spine.

"Deepest apologies for whatever mixup that led to your involvement in this event. I've... consulted with a few colleagues and found that the powers I used for the deaths of the Le Domas family as well as to draw the card left a mark on you. It's fixable of course." He pulls a blade from his sleeve and Grace and Daniel both stiffen at the sight. 

"What's that for!?" Grace demands in a way only she can demand from the devil himself.

"Draw blood from this blade and this shall never happen again." Le Bail offers. He looks down at Alex's blood on Grace's fist and notes, "In Hell everyone bleeds."

"What about Daniel?" Grace asks to his surprise.

"He's not under my jurisdiction." Le Bail says. "I simply borrowed him from his own resting place for your sake."

Grace doesn't budge. "He doesn't deserve to die."

Le Bail gives a simple shrug. "The same could be said about countless who've lost their lives. Death comes for everyone regardless. And it will come for you one day."

"He told me about the lore." Grace continues to argue. Daniel feels undeniably grateful. Even Alex didn't fight that hard for Daniel leaving the family with him- Only when it served Alex did he appeal to this apparent 'goodness' that's within him. "He tried to save me. He's good."

"He is." Le Bail says. "He isn't dead for the same reasons his family is. He died a natural death. So many people are willing to trade their eternal lives for a materialistic one that's merely temporary. Everyone has the choice to be either good or bad, that's what makes either. He's not the first of his family to avoid my torment."

That catches him off guard. "What?!"

"There were members of the family who refused to play the game at all. They died of course, but they aren't spending eternity being tortured. There are members who didn't marry. Members who tried and failed to save their sacrifices. They'd all have survived the sunrise, just as you would have. However, you all died natural deaths and there's nothing else to be done."

Daniel swallows roughly and nods. It's alright, he supposes. Grace is alive and his family never has to hurt anyone else.

"Nothing?" Grace asks. She gestures for him to hand over the blade, which she looks over in interest. "So I'm still alive, right?"

"Correct. You connected with the Le Domas family through your dreams." Le Bail explains.

"My dreams?" She repeats. "So what if I was to try and do something similar... in reverse? With Daniel."

Le Bail looks at her in exasperation. "That would not be my jurisdiction nor my issue. But I have to warn that you wouldn't be able to take the blade and you'd likely find yourself in a similar situation as you did today."

"So I'd draw blood the next time." Grace counters.

"You're a stubborn one." Le Bail sighs. 

"I assume that's why you decided to have me draw the murder card, and not Fitch or someone else."

"Try if you must." 

Grace smiles and turns to Daniel. Wordlessly, they grab each other's hands and she closes her eyes. Daniel feels compelled to do the same. He falls into a dreamlike haze, dark and fuzzy. Daniel's never felt more lucid. And then-

An alarm bell rings.

Daniel gasps, eyes snapping open. He's laying on the floor on his back. He sits up with a grunt. He looks to the bed next to him. His eyes meet Grace's. She's wearing a tank top and shorts, notably not in her wedding dress anymore. His mouth opens ajar.

Grace blinks lazily. "Wanna day drink? Family get togethers are so fucking taxing."