by Edwin Dasso
“That is what’s behind everything that’s been happening to us, isn’t it?” Belinda’s eyes lit up.
“It’s certainly where your most recent problems have originated,” Mira replied.
“I knew it!” Belinda sat back in her chair. “I told you so, John!”
“You didn’t come right out and say that, Belinda,” John corrected her. “You simply stated that it was Rachelle’s assertion that Dad probably isn’t at rest because of it.”
“So, this means that Rachelle was actually being haunted by Dad’s ghost?” Belinda asked Mira, choosing to ignore John’s defense.
“Your sister’s haunted by her own conscience,” Mira replied. “She also feels that you were a bad influence on her when it came to your father.”
Belinda seemed startled by the revelation. “She’s her own woman. She could’ve seen Dad whenever she wanted to.”
Toby and John could tell that Belinda was offended.
“So, who’s gonna buy the headstone?” Mira asked, generally.
“I was thinking that we all can chip…” Toby started.
“Who’s going to pay for the headstone?” Mira interjected, focusing solely on John and Belinda.
Belinda folded her arms and there was a brief pause before John said, “I’ll pay for it. No problem.”
“Okay—we’re getting somewhere,” Mira replied. “The quicker you can get that arranged, the better.”
“I’ll be jumping on it first thing in the morning,” John assured her.
“Good.” She nodded. “Now we can move on to the next part. I’ll start with you, John.”
John started to feel a bit anxious since he was sure Mira could see what he was hiding, and he was afraid she’d blurt it out in front of everyone.
“You owe your wife an apology,” she said, bluntly. “She’s really hurting for literally no fault of her own. If you can find it in your heart to render a sincere apology to the woman you once claimed to love, perhaps, although broken, she will forgive you and what you fear the most would not materialize.” Mira knew as far as the break up was concerned, he was worried about his assets more than anything else. “You need to come clean with her about everything even if, in the end, the marriage isn’t saved.”
“Okay.” John nodded. “I’ll do the right thing.”
Mira then turned to Belinda who was still sitting with her arms folded. “Belinda… your need to control the people you perceive as weak defines who you really are on the inside: one that is craving attention and needing to be praised, because the truth is that you don’t think so well of yourself. You believe money and fine things cause people to look up to you and you feed off of it, but I know that inside you’re really miserable. What you fail to understand is that being the giver instead of the taker all the time is what would make your existence more meaningful. You—be the bearer of the compliments, the praise and whatever else you can do to brighten someone’s day, as opposed to always wanting to be celebrated and on the receiving end. When you make that shift, you will find true happiness.”
Toby noticed the tears rolling down Belinda’s cheeks. It was the first time he’d seen her so moved since they were children. All she did was nodded slowly.
Mira then looked at Toby. She sensed his nervousness. “You have a kind heart, Toby, and a humble spirit. Right now, all I have to say to you is… continue making those doghouses and don’t worry about anything. Your wife was right—life is going to get better soon.”
He smiled and felt a huge weight leave his shoulders. “Thank you, Dr. Cullen.”
John arched his brow. He and Belinda had no idea their brother was making any doghouses. Belinda wasn’t the least bit interested anyway, as Mira’s admonishment of her was still ringing in her ears.
“Is Rachelle going to be all right?” Toby asked Mira.
“Your sister’s getting the counseling she needs where she’s at right now, so she’ll be fine,” she replied.
Mira then addressed everyone. “I don’t know what you expected when you invited me here, but I gave you what I had and I hope it makes a difference in the direction your lives are going.”
“Dr. Cullen…” John cleared his throat, “…what you’ve shared with us today has truly been enlightening and I want to thank you sincerely for taking the time to come here and do this for our family.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Mira smiled. “I guess I’d better be going now, but before I do, I would like to get each of your phone numbers, just in case something else comes to me that I feel you should know.”
“Certainly!” John replied.
Mira retrieved a small diary from her purse and wrote down the numbers that each of them provided.
Afterwards, John walked her to her car.
“You saw more about me than what you shared, didn’t you?” he said to Mira as she got into the car.
“Yes, but that’s none of our business. I did tell you though, that you should come clean to your wife. She has a right to know the truth, even if no one else does. Once you do what I suggested, your life will be on a better path.”
“Okay.” He nodded, shutting the door for her.
“Take care, John.”
“You too, Dr. Cullen.”
Ten minutes after Mira left for home, she stopped at the side of the road and dialed Toby Reed’s mobile phone.
“This is Dr. Cullen,” she said. “Are you alone?”
“Yes. I’m on my way home,” he replied, curious about her call.
“I’d like to speak with you privately at my house, if it’s okay. It’s about a twenty minute drive from your brother’s place.”
“Sure.”
She gave him the directions and in fifteen minutes, he was there.
12
“Please, come in,” Mira said to Toby at the front door of her house. She’d arrived just five minutes before he did.
Toby followed her into the living room where she invited him to sit down. She then sat directly across from him.
“This is rather awkward,” she started, “but I needed to speak with you privately.”
“Okay…” Toby was puzzled.
She looked at him intently. “Now that we’re not in the company of your siblings, it’s time that you came clean with me, Toby.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think you know.”
She waited a few moments.
“No. I don’t, Doc. You have me in the dark here,” he said.
“Because of you, Toby, this is the first time I felt compelled to hold back vital information from a client,” she asserted. “The truth is that I never sensed any paranormal activity where your Dad is concerned. It brings me to the conclusion that his soul is at peace. Nothing that happened to any of your siblings lately was the result of anything paranormal. You know that, don’t you?”
He was silent.
“It all was your handiwork, wasn’t it? You desperately wanted your Dad’s grave to have that headstone and your brother and sisters didn’t seem to care, so you thought you’d get them to care someway—somehow.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, nervously.
“But you do!” Mira insisted. “It’s because of you that your sister is in a psychiatric hospital; it’s you who planted the snakes and other creatures in Belinda’s car and home. It’s you who sabotaged your brother’s presentation by hacking into his computer and sending the wrong file to his assistant; it was you who secretly recorded him in the arms of another man. You did all those things.”
She could see the overwhelming guilt on his face.
“Why didn’t you expose me, then?” he asked softly.
“I didn’t because I could see your heart. You’re not a bad person, but you made some bad judgments because you felt your siblings were cruel toward your father.”
“Everything you said is true,” he finally admitted. “I despised them for how carelessly they treated Dad, who didn’t deserve any of that. I
didn’t have the money for the headstone or I would’ve paid for it myself, but I’m barely making ends meet now.”
“I know, Toby… I know. I realized if I came out with the truth about what you did, they’d never forgive you and God knows what else they might’ve done.”
“I appreciate that, Dr. Cullen. I’m really sorry I resorted to such means to an end.” He sighed. “I feel terrible that Rachelle is where she’s at and that she actually tried to kill herself. I never intended for that to happen. Since I’m a carpenter, I was able to get into her place easily without breaking the locks and make sounds that caught her attention. I had kept a recording I’d made of Dad when we were having a conversation about the family and I used the part of that tape where he’d mentioned Rachelle’s name to make her believe he was actually calling her, when of course, it was all just an old recording. Whatever else she claimed to hear or see, I guess, was just in her mind—maybe her conscience, like you said.”
Mira nodded.
“I put the snakes in Belinda’s car and all those creatures in her bed while she was asleep. Every time I left any of their homes, I locked the door again, so nothing would appear disturbed. And as for John…” he paused, “…everything you said was true. I didn’t think he’d lose his job, but to be honest, I didn’t care when I heard about it. Figured it served him right. I also sent his wife, Pam, a copy of the file from a private email address. She was too nice a lady for John to treat her the way he did.”
“Thanks for coming clean with me, Toby.” Mira said. “But you have to promise me you won’t resort to taking revenge anymore when things don’t go your way. You could’ve been arrested for all those things you did!”
“I know. And I promise, I’ve learned my lesson,” he assured her. “I see that getting back at them could’ve caused me to hurt myself and my family. If I go to jail, how would Jonie and the baby manage?”
“I thought about all of that,” Mira replied. “I’m glad you realize it too.”
Toby left there that day with a new mindset, thanks to Dr. Mira Cullen who never revealed his secret.
Seven months later…
Toby Reed walked across the cemetery to where his parents were buried. He was holding his two-month-old son, whom he and Jonie named Harvey.
He looked down at the beautiful headstone on his father’s grave and smiled. “Little Harvey…meet your Granddad. Dad, meet your grandson—your namesake.”
The baby was smiling.
“I told you I’d get you that headstone, Dad,” Toby said; his eyes brimming with tears. “I love you. I love you and Mom.”
Two weeks after John Reed was laid off, he was called back to work by managing director, Allen Nolan. Apparently, Allen had received an anonymous call where someone threatened to publicly expose the skeletons in his closet if he didn’t promptly rehire John. Allen quickly complied. Pam never came back, but she and John reached an amicable agreement concerning their marital assets during the divorce.
Rachelle returned home to her son, Steve, a new woman who’d finally forgiven herself for rejecting her father, and acknowledged her own self-worth. After everything that occurred, she decided not to move back to her parents’ house, as planned. She and Belinda drifted apart, much to Steve’s contentment.
Within a year, Belinda’s excessive drinking contributed to her developing a rare disease which caused a permanent deformity to her face. She rarely left her house after that.
Toby was given full-time work again with the construction company three months before little Harvey was born and his custom-built doghouses became quite popular in town. Some stores even decided to purchase them on a regular basis. Toby eventually hired an apprentice to help him out some evenings and on the weekends, and Jonie was able to be a stay-at-home mom with no worries about their finances.
Eventually, the Reed siblings sold their parents’ house.
Life was good.
To read more about Mira Cullen and The Cornelius Series, visit Tanya-r-taylor.com.
About the Author
Tanya R. Taylor is a Readers' Favorite International Award-winning Author and has wowed readers with her riveting plots and compelling themes.
She is the author of several #1 bestsellers on Amazon and published her first book titled: 'A Killing Rage' as a young adult. Having worked in the financial arena, she is also a seasoned ghostwriter. Her book 'Cornelius' climbed to #1 in the Teen & Young Adult Multigenerational Family Fiction category on Amazon and is The Readers' Favorite Silver Medal Award Winner in the Teen & Young Adult Paranormal genre. Her Supernatural, Suspense/Thrillers—'CARA' and 'INFESTATION: A Small Town Nightmare' are multiple times #1 international bestsellers.
Tanya writes in various genres including: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Thrillers, Science Fiction, Mystery and Suspense. Please feel free to email: [email protected]
Find & Follow Tanya R. Taylor
Also By Tanya R. Taylor
LUCILLE PFIFFER MYSTERY SERIES
Blind Sight
Blind Escape
Blind Justice
Blind Fury
INFESTATION
A Small Town Nightmare (The Complete Series)
THE REAL ILLUSIONS SERIES
Real Illusions: The Awakening
Real Illusions II: REBIRTH
Real Illusions III: BONE OF MY BONE
Real Illusions IV: WAR ZONE
CORNELIUS SAGA SERIES
Cornelius (Book 1 in the Cornelius saga. Each book in this series can stand-alone.)
Cornelius’ Revenge (Book 2 in the Cornelius saga)
CARA: Some Children Keep Terrible Secrets (Book 3 in the Cornelius saga)
We See No Evil (Book 4 in the Cornelius saga)
The Contract: Murder in The Bahamas (Book 5 in the Cornelius saga)
The Lost Children of Atlantis (Book 6 in the Cornelius saga)
Death of an Angel (Book 7 in the Cornelius saga)
The Groundskeeper (Book 8 in the Cornelius saga)
Cara: The Beginning - Matilda’s Story (Book 9 in the Cornelius saga)
The Disappearing House (Book 10 in the Cornelius saga)
Wicked Little Saints (Book 11 in the Cornelius saga)
A Faint Whisper (Book 12 in the Cornelius saga)
‘Til Death Do Us Part (Book 13 in the Cornelius saga)
THE NICK MYERS SERIES
Hidden Sins Revealed (A Crime Thriller - Nick Myers Series Book 1)
One Dead Politician (Nick Myers Series Book 2)
Haunted Cruise: The Shakedown
The Haunting of MERCI HOSPITAL
10 Minutes before Sleeping
Learn More
www.tanya-r-taylor.com
The Devil Inside
A Novel
By
Mark David Abbott
Contents
Author’s Content advisory
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
About the Author
Also by Mark David Abbott
Author’s Content advisory
The Devil Inside
Language intensity
Stronger profanity, with up to 5 uses of the f-word
Sexuality intensity
/>
Possible sexual references with no details
Violence intensity
Violence but no gory details.
Introduction
When Matthew Wilson first saw the woman who was to become his wife, he thought she was an angel sent down from heaven itself.
She transformed his life, bringing happiness beyond imagination.
But now he wants to kill her.
1
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, holding it in, feeling a fleeting semblance of calm, but I couldn’t hang on to it. Exhaling, I opened my eyes, forcing a smile onto my face.
“You’re right, it’s my fault. I’m sorry.” The words tasted bitter as if they didn’t belong in my mouth, but they had to be said. The alternative was much worse. However, it still wasn’t enough.
