Page 58 of Stalker

“No! Don’t you hurt my babies.”

“You fucking bitch. Did you not think I’d figure out what you did? Did you really believe you could get away with destroying my family?”

“Please, the children. Just leave us alone. Cain. You’re my husband. But you’re also a monster. You need help. We can find someone who can do that. Okay? Please.”

“You should have thought of that before. Now, you die. You die. You die!”

The paper slipped from my fingers as the echo of my mother’s scream tore through my mind. I spun in a complete circle, slapping my hands over my ears.

I could feel my pulse in my neck, stretching the already tense cords. My heart slammed against my chest, the brutal hammering echoing in my ears. Oh, God. She was dead. So much blood. The knife. I could see the horrible blade as he brought it down over and over again.

Crying.

Screaming.

Then…

Silence.

I squeezed my eyes shut, doing everything I could to block out the unwanted memory. Breathe. Count.

One. Two. Three. Four.

Can my boys hear my roar?

Five. Six. Seven. Eight.

Don’t you know I’ve sealed your fates?

Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve.

Soon you’ll learn I can’t be killed.

His voice. My father’s voice.

The echo began to fade, my mind spinning with visions.

When the heinous images began to vanish, I lifted my head.

Very slowly I bent over, snagging the piece of paper into my fingers.

At the bottom of a page was a single question.

Is it possible the Blackwell brothers are killers?

Every move methodical, practiced from years of perfecting my methods, I ensured everything I’d touched was back in its place before turning and heading in the darkness to the back door.

As I went out into the night air, a smile crossed my face.

My Lady Butterfly, the beautiful and beguiling Cassandra had become even more fascinating.

Perhaps she’d been sent to me for a reason.

A light in the dark.

A lifeboat in the storm.

A way of ending the past.

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