Perception

Epilogue

Six and a half months later I gave birth to Alexandra Nicole Turner. I was in labor for 26 hours until she finally decided it was time to meet her family. She was 8 lbs and 6 oz. born on August 20 at 6:57am. She's a feisty little thing and I loved her with all my heart. Wayne and I tried to live happily ever after, raising our daughter together. We even wanted to sell his house and move away to another state for a fresh start. We tried. I got to spend 11 months with my daughter. She was just learning to walk. One beautiful fall afternoon, when we were out in the yard playing with Lex and Graham the new puppy we bought so she could have him to grow up with, they showed up. Sirens were loud and broke the serenity like unwelcome lightning striking on a hot summer day. Detective Harris stepped out of his cruiser first and Detective Sanchez followed. I knew immediately that it was time for me to pay for my sins. I felt Lex grab my ankle. I looked down into her big brown eyes and tried to fight the tears. Before I knew it Detective Sanchez moved on me, a moment I knew she'd been waiting for. Wayne quickly picked Lex up and cradled her in his arms. Then he demanded to know what was going on. Ignoring him, Detective Sanchez began reading me my rights. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney." "Don't worry baby, I'm calling Graves now!" he yelled fiddling for his cell phone. Sanchez put the handcuffs on me and as I walked by Harris I heard him softly say "I'm sorry."

The next couple months were the hardest getting used to be away from my family. I was charged with double homicide. Mayor Jones and Sheila's family were in the courtroom everyday. Turns out the car rental company allowed the police to search the rental we used to kidnap Devon and they found his blood in it. The car was traced back to me because I rented it. They also found my and Wayne's fingerprints. Because of the scuffle Wayne's blood was also in the car. Wayne was arrested and charged with assault. His mother came up from Las Vegas to keep Lex while this all got sorted out. They searched the house and found the hidden room where Devon was held and where Sheila died. They also found the knife I used to stab both Sheila and Devon. There were trace amounts of blood from each victim along with my fingerprints. I became the most hated woman in Hillson. The story gained national fame. I did catch a couple lucky breaks though. I had a female judge who sympathized with me because she too was a survivor of domestic violence and an abusive husband. She didn't understand my need to torture him and was even less understanding of why I had involved Sheila. I pleaded with the judge to let me take Wayne's time. It was not his fault that I had gotten him involved in this mess. After listening to my testimony and what I'd endured at the hands of his only son, Mayor Jones was in favor of Wayne's lighter sentencing. Wayne was also a pillar in the community and because our daughter was so young he was allowed community service and six years probation. As for me, I was given thirty years to be served consecutively. I could almost hear Devon laughing from beyond the grave.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Author's thoughts: I wrote this book because I wondered how far someone would actually go if they needed to get away from someone. If you were being taunted, stalked, after enduring a painful, psychopathic relationship, how far would you go to be free? I never went into Devon's past so I can't speak to how he became the way he did. Do you think some of us are just born this way? Or, are we made this way?^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thanks for reading, I truly hope you enjoyed this book!