Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 60576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
The moment our eyes meet, I see shock cross his features.
He didn’t think it would be me, that much is clear.
The guard behind me orders me to pick up the phone and I do with shaking hands. My father sits across from me, his eyes unblinking as he stares. It takes a few minutes for him to stretch his hand out, lifting the phone. I’ve never felt anything like the painful, twisting sensation tugging at my stomach. I’m afraid I might actually be sick.
“Mera?”
His voice comes across the line, and it sounds nothing like I remember. It was always soft, kind, and warm, but now it’s scratchy and uncertain. My mouth waters as I fight to keep the contents of my stomach down. I can do this; I have to do this. It’s the only way. I know it, and yet I find the words stuck in my throat.
“Mera, I ... I never thought I’d see you again.”
If I had my way, he wouldn’t.
Come on, Mera. Speak.
My ears begin ringing, and my forehead breaks out into another round of sweat.
“Please don’t be afraid of me.”
Afraid of him? He’s a fucking murderer.
“Why?” I finally croak. “Tell me why.”
His eyes drop to the table, and he stares at it for a long moment. “I wondered if the day would come that you would ask that question, and I thought of many answers I could give.”
“I just want the truth,” I whisper, not meeting his gaze.
“I’m afraid the truth simply might not be enough.”
I look up at him. “Tell me anyway.”
His lips form a line, and then he exhales. “My mother was everything to me. I thought she was incredible, and then she left one day with another man. It broke my father, turned him into a monster, and I blamed her. It was her fault for destroying him like that. Over the years, I saw so many marriages ruined by selfish women, and when your mother stepped out on me, I snapped.”
Keep it together.
Breathe, Mera.
“I wanted them all to suffer, to understand their filthy ways were ruining lives. I couldn’t help it, Mera. You have to understand. I just ... I couldn’t stop.”
Staring at him, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen the sickness deep in his soul. The desperation in his words, the truth he is clinging to, it’s all screaming to be noticed. My father is mentally unwell, but that doesn’t excuse what he did.
“You killed innocent women.”
“They weren’t innocent,” he murmurs, low. “Your mother was going to leave me, she was going to take you from me, and she was going to destroy me the same way my mother destroyed my father. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“So you killed her.”
It’s not a question.
He doesn’t answer me, but he doesn’t need to. His eyes are all the answer I need.
“You let me live my entire life thinking you were an amazing father, and that it was me and you against the world,” my voice cracks, breaking. “But all along, it was a lie. Everything I ever knew, was a fucking lie.”
He shakes his head. “No. I loved you. You were the only thing in this world that I loved, Mera. I would never have hurt you. The bond we had, it was real.”
“You’re a fucking killer,” I scream, and the guard behind me steps closer, warning me to calm down or he will end the visit.
“I would have never hurt you. You, Mera, you were good. You were pure. I was going to make sure you stayed that way.”
God.
He’s unwell. Seriously unwell.
“Well, I hate to break it to you, father, but because of your actions, I’m anything but good.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t believe it. I can see the goodness in your eyes. I always did.”
“You took my mother from me.”
“Your mother made a choice. She took herself from you.”
God, he won’t say it, he’s smart enough not to.
The man is a fucking broken genius.
“She loved me,” I hiss.
“I love you. It was me who took care of you. Me.”
Shaking my head, a tear slips from my eye, running down my cheek. “Those women you killed, they had families.”
“They were destroying their families, they were crushing their husbands, trying to take everything from them ...”
“You truly believe what you’re saying, and that makes it all that much worse,” I say, sadly.
“One day you’ll see, you’ll see I did it all for you.”
“Do not ever put that on me. I have enough hell because of what you did. I struggle to move on with my life, I struggle with relationships, I struggle with mental health, and the entire town thinks I’m a fucking killer. Because of you. It’s all because of your mistakes. I didn’t ask for any of it.”
His eyes flash. “Someone is out there, copying me. I know who it is, Mera. I know what he wants. He wants revenge. He wants to make us suffer.”