The Perfect Family

A New Life

This is Book Three of the Stalker Series.  If you have not read the first two, please go check out She Belongs to Me and Family Ties, then come back and read this one! 💙💜

Vincent:

Four weeks have passed since I was locked inside of this dark tomb.  My lips were chapped and burning, my tongue was swollen from dehydration, and my skin was so cold that I thought I was going to die at any moment.  I often found myself praying that God would have mercy on me and take me from this terrible prison, but my prayers for sweet death remained unanswered.

What was the point in living if I was a prisoner? I would rather be back in the asylum than to be held captive by an obsessed psychopath. The sad thing is, Stella was normal when I met her. She was my only friend in the world for a while, and my abuse turned her into a completely different person. 

If I could take it all back, I would.

Pondering on my regrets was the worst thing about being locked down here. I was left with nothing but my thoughts, and all I could think about was how much I screwed things up. I should have never involved Stella in my search for Emily, and I should have never been so cruel to everyone.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had turned into my father. I was an uncaring and selfish jerk, and because of it, I lost my family.

Emily and Cora both think I'm dead.

They have no idea that I sit here and think about them every second of every day.

Was Emily as sweet as she was the day I met her?

Had Cora grown up to be as beautiful as her mother?

I would sell my soul to see them one last time.  There are so many things I need to say to them.  I want to apologize to Cora for all of the pain that I caused her, and I want to tell Emily how much she still means to me after all these years. 

I'm certain that they would be thrilled to know that I have not forgotten about them.  Cora would have her father again, and Emily would have her true love. We could still have the perfect family.

This time would be different because I have learned from my past mistakes. I would never lay a hand on Cora, and I would make sure to never lose my temper with either one of them again.

My past imperfections have molded me into the perfect father. All I had to do now was think of a way to escape this prison once and for all, then I could go back to the ones I truly cared about.

The door to the dark basement slowly opened, the sudden beam of light causing me to squint my weary eyes.  Stella stood in the doorway holding a tray of food, and behind her stood the child that we conceived in a meaningless one night stand.

Matilda.

She had beautiful red hair, like her mother, and her fair skin was decorated with numerous freckles.  She looked like the kind of child you would see on a box of cookies.  Cute as a button with a personality as sweet as chocolate pie.

But she was an abomination.

Her conception was a huge mistake, and I had no intention of starting a relationship with her. What would Cora think if she found out that I was giving my love to another daughter?

She would be crushed, and that was not a risk I was willing to take, even if I never saw her again.  She was my only daughter, as far as I was concerned.

"Hi, Daddy!" Her shrill voice sent shockwaves into my ears as she ran down the stairs. I tensed in my chair when she wrapped her arms around me. "I made you pancakes for breakfast! Mom wanted you to have oatmeal, but I told her that was gross!"