"Edward had a stroke a couple of months ago and was hospitalized. He still hasn't fully recovered, so he needs oxygen to get by," Ella explained.
Her words left Jamie silent, processing the news.
After a long pause, Jamie spoke, his voice dry. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Edward, his father, answered weakly. "I wrote you letters, Jamie. Called you plenty of times too. But you never wrote back or picked up."
Jamie's guilt deepened, weighing on him like a stone.
Trying to ease his conscience, he brought up a childhood memory. "Dad, do you remember that poem about Mary Shaw? The one Mom used to sing to me?"
Edward's cloudy eyes dropped, as if the mention stirred something painful.
Ella jumped in. "Jamie, it's just a poem. Don't read too much into it."
Jamie's brow furrowed. Roy had already told him Mary Shaw was real, and the bizarre way his wife died backed that up. "No, there's something off about that poem. Are you guys hiding something from me?"
He fixed his gaze on Edward.
Edward's breathing quickened, almost like he was upset and struggling for air.
Ella quickly placed the oxygen mask over Edward's face, rubbing his back to calm him. "Jamie, your dad's not well. Please don't stress him out, okay?"
Seeing his father's frail state, Jamie felt another pang of guilt and dropped the subject. "Fine. If you won't tell me, whatever."
He turned to leave.
Edward's weak voice stopped him. "Jamie, stay the night, will you?"
The plea, filled with a father's longing for his estranged son, was enough to tug at anyone's heartstrings.
Jamie hesitated, torn. Seeing his father so old and sick made him feel bad, but he couldn't fully let go of his resentment.
Just as he was about to say no, Roy put a hand on his shoulder. "I think staying the night's a good idea, right, Jamie?"
Jamie didn't dare argue with Roy—the guy who could rip iron gates apart with his bare hands. He nodded awkwardly.
Edward looked relieved, and even Ella smiled warmly. "Why don't you two sit in the living room for a bit? I'll take Edward back to his room. He needs rest and can't talk for too long. I'll tidy up your rooms in a bit."
With that, Ella wheeled Edward away, leaving Roy and Jamie in the living room.
"Mr. Black, why are we—"
"Shh!" Roy gestured for silence.
Even though Ella and Edward were gone, Roy wasn't convinced the living room was safe. He'd noticed several dolls scattered around, and he could feel faint gazes watching him. Mary Shaw was likely controlling those dolls, eavesdropping on anything he and Jamie said.
"This isn't the place to talk. Save it for somewhere secure."
Jamie frowned, confused. This was his house—how could it not be safe? But since Roy insisted, he trusted him and sat quietly on the couch, waiting.
A little while later, Ella returned. "Jamie, you'll stay in your old room. It's still clean—I tidy it up regularly. As for you, Mr. Black, I'll fix up a guest room. We don't get many visitors, so some of the rooms are a bit dusty."
"Thanks, Mrs. Ashton," Roy said with a smile.
Ella led them upstairs. To be fair, Ella was impressive—beautiful, poised, and, as Roy could tell, in great shape. Even in her modest, elegant clothes, her figure was striking.
As she climbed the stairs ahead of them, her walk had an almost seductive sway, like she was teasing Roy and Jamie.
Roy's expression turned odd. Was this about to turn into some cliché plot like The Young Stepmom or My Friend's Mom?
They reached Jamie's room on the second floor, and Ella opened the door. "See? It's just like when you left."
Jamie stepped inside, his face clouding with memories. After his mother's sudden death, his father had married a young, beautiful woman. Teenage Jamie, furious with Edward, had stormed out and left home.
That was over a decade ago.
Now, in his early thirties with a wife of his own, Jamie was back. Edward hadn't even acknowledged his marriage, a rare and serious slight in Western culture. Without parental blessings, a marriage was practically elopement, severing family ties.
Edward hadn't known about Jamie's wife's death either.
"Mr. Black, I'll show you to the guest room," Ella said.
Jamie stayed in his room, lost in the past.
Roy made a quick gesture, signaling Jamie not to scream. As long as Jamie stayed quiet, Roy could save him from anything. But if he screamed and triggered Mary Shaw's powers, Roy could only avenge him, not save him.
No clue if Jamie, still dazed, caught the signal.
"Here's your room, Mr. Black. I'll tidy it up," Ella said.
She opened the windows to let in fresh air and started dusting. The room clearly hadn't been used in ages—dust was everywhere, and cobwebs clung to the corners.
After a quick cleanup, Ella grabbed bedding and pillows from a cabinet and made the bed.
Watching her bend over to smooth the sheets, Roy's mind wandered. Could a doll be… an option? His "menu" already included ghosts, demons, and female androids. Maybe it was time to try something new?
He shook his head, snapping out of it. His desires had been creeping up lately—probably because his Desire Domain had upgraded to Desire Incarnate.
"There, that should do it," Ella said, standing and wiping sweat from her brow with a bright smile.
Sunlight streamed through the window, bathing her in a soft glow, like a halo around her.
The sight was so stunning that even Roy couldn't help but stare.
Ella was no ordinary doll. Her mannerisms were perfectly human, and she even had a soul indistinguishable from a real person's. How had Mary Shaw pulled that off?
Creating a perfect doll from a human body was still within the realm of magic. But crafting a soul? That was divine territory.
Roy strongly suspected Ella's soul wasn't created by Mary Shaw but was a ghost stuffed into the doll's body.
"Thanks again, Mrs. Ashton."
"No trouble at all," she said, moving to leave.
But then Ella stumbled, falling forward—right into Roy's arms at the doorway.
Roy caught her instinctively, no ulterior motives.
Holding her soft, warm frame, Roy's expression turned skeptical. This setup was straight out of a cheesy rom-com, wasn't it?
Still, it confirmed Ella's figure was the real deal—no padding, just the kind that looked slimmer in clothes.
"Mrs. Ashton, you okay?"
"I'm fine. Probably just low blood sugar from dieting," she said.
Low blood sugar could cause dizziness after bending or standing up too fast, so her excuse checked out.
But to an outsider, it looked suspicious.
"What's going on here?" Jamie's voice cut in.
He'd wandered over and caught Roy holding Ella in what looked like an intimate moment.
Ella quickly pushed away, flustered, tucking her hair and smoothing her clothes with a shy expression. Her little gestures only made it seem like she was hiding something.
"Nothing! I almost fell, and Mr. Black caught me," she said.
Sure enough, Jamie's eyes flicked between Ella's behavior and her words, then landed on Roy with a suspicious look.
Roy was a magnetic, charismatic guy, and Ella was a lonely woman in her thirties, married to an older man who'd recently been immobilized by a stroke. It wasn't hard to imagine something happening between them.
Jamie couldn't help but think of all the movies and shows—especially those from Tokyo or the San Fernando Valley—where this exact scene played out.
So Roy cut to the chase. "Jamie, don't get the wrong idea. I was totally sneaking around with your stepmom."
"Oh, okay, it's just—wait, what? No way!"
Jamie and Ella stared at Roy, floored by his bluntness. They were completely thrown off.
"What? Isn't that what you wanted me to say? I say it, and you don't believe me!" Roy shot them a look.
Jamie caught on—Roy was messing with them. Honestly, he'd been a little suspicious of Roy and Ella, but now? He was convinced nothing was going on.
Ella wiped at nonexistent sweat, her face a mix of confusion and exasperation. Roy's cheeky comment had derailed her act, and she struggled to pick up the script.
"Uh, it's almost lunchtime. What do you guys want to eat?" she asked, pivoting awkwardly.
Jamie blinked, thrown by the sudden topic shift, but started to answer. "Just whip up any—"
Roy cut him off. "Mrs. Ashton, sorry, but Jamie and I have plans for lunch and won't be back. We'll be here for dinner, though."
With that, Roy hooked an arm around Jamie's neck and dragged him out.
"Ow! That hurts!" Jamie yelped.
"Quit whining, Jamie! Don't be such a wimp!" Roy snapped.
Under Ella's puzzled gaze, Roy and Jamie left the big house.
It wasn't until they were back in the Bumblebee car parked on the street that Jamie spoke up. "Mr. Black, why'd you make me stay the night but then drag me out before lunch?"
"Hold on," Roy said.
He activated his True Sight and checked the Billy puppet lying in the backseat, confirming Mary Shaw wasn't using it to eavesdrop. Then he answered.
"Your stepmom's got a problem."
Roy didn't mention that Jamie's father was already dead and turned into a puppet. If Jamie knew, he'd likely lose it and ruin their next steps.
Saying Ella was the issue? That, Jamie could handle.
As expected, Jamie looked shocked but kept it together. "Ella's got a problem? Like what?"
"I think Mary Shaw's controlling her. Think about it—Mary Shaw already got to your wife. Did she ever visit your dad, who's been living in Ravensfall all this time?"
It clicked for Jamie. If Mary Shaw was out for revenge against the descendants of the townsfolk who killed her, why would she spare the Ashton family, who'd been town mayors for generations? They'd be her biggest targets.
Panic crept into Jamie's voice. "What do we do? Should we save my dad first?"
Roy shook his head. He couldn't let Jamie confront Edward yet.
Right now, Roy was playing a high-stakes game with Mary Shaw and the Hook Man. Both sides knew the other's goals: Mary Shaw wanted to kill Jamie to complete her revenge, while Roy needed to recover Jennifer's soul and capture Mary Shaw.
But Mary Shaw didn't know Roy had seen the "script" and already uncovered Ella and Edward's secrets, giving him the upper hand.
Roy had to keep Mary Shaw in the dark about his knowledge to catch her. If she realized how much he knew, she'd go into hiding, and finding her would be a nightmare.
The only wildcard was the Hook Man.
He wasn't in the movie, and Roy knew little about him, only what Francisca had shared.
"Look at your dad's condition. He can't handle any stress right now. Staying put is the best move," Roy said.
Jamie gritted his teeth and nodded, convinced. "Alright, Mr. Black. What's next?"
Roy recalled the movie's plot. "Mary Shaw has a puppet theater. Let's check it out."
Ella Ashton (played by Amber Valletta, former supermodel and Leonardo DiCaprio's ex—probably gorgeous in her prime, but good pics are hard to find.)