Page 63 of Unmasked Legacy

I’m holding my breath, scared to breathe, scared about what he’s going to say next.

“He pleaded with me, told me why he was doin’ what he was doin’. I was goin’ to the cops, I was goin’ to tell them everything, but...fuck...I don’t know. He was the only person in my life that had been a solid. I needed him, more than I knew, and so I fuckin’ didn’t say anything. Pleaded with him to stop, he promised he would, and I trusted that.”

We both know he never stopped.

“Caleb found out and one night decided to follow your dad. Caleb wasn’t as trusting, and rightly so. He caught him in the act again and called the cops. But things went terribly wrong. Your father framed Caleb, making it seem like he was the one who called and that Caleb was responsible for the killings. Heeven tackled Caleb to the ground, so when the cops arrived, he appeared to be the hero.”

I’m struggling to understand what I’m hearing.

This can’t be right.

“The cops arrested him, and for a while, everyone thought Caleb was the Shadow Butcher. Surely you remember it all being over?”

I swallow. I do remember them arresting someone, but I was young and honestly, so distracted in my own world that I didn’t pay a great deal of attention. Not until I found out the truth, that is.

“Your father told me Caleb had been imitating him, that he had followed him and caught him in the act. He convinced me Caleb was in the wrong, so I did nothing to help. Caleb tried to tell the cops he was set up, but he was a young, troubled man and your father a respectable citizen of the town. Who do you think they believed? The worst part? I believed your father, thinking Caleb had taken a dark path for attention. It wasn’t until the killings continued and your father was caught that I realized the truth.”

“Did Caleb get out?”

Wolfe nods. “Yeah, but I couldn’t find him. He disappeared. Then, he got done again for possession of drugs and armed robbery and was put back in prison. I had a couple of things happen just before he went away, and I suspected he was comin’ back lookin’ for revenge, but when he got locked up, I stopped thinkin’ about it. That is until you came into town.”

“That’s why you wanted me to leave?”

“I knew you would cause a stir, and that stir would draw his attention. Didn’t know what he was capable of, but I knew that one day, he’d come lookin’ for revenge. With you and I in the same town, it was a perfect storm and as I suspected, he came hunting.”

My heart is racing as I try really hard to process this story.

Wolfe is telling me that basically, he saw my father as a role model and then my father betrayed him and Caleb in the worst possible way, now Caleb wants revenge on Wolfe for not telling the truth. How do I fit into that? Is it purely because he can’t get to my father, so he wants to get to me?

He wants a final showdown, and I’m afraid of what he might do to get it.

“WHERE IS SHE?”

My head jerks up just before I reach the store, when a woman’s voice calls out to me. I’m confused for a moment, wondering if the words are directed at me, but when I see her face, I can tell they are. I have seen enough of the news to know who she is – she is Nia’s mother. Glancing around, I see more than a few people have stopped out the front of the store to watch.

Great.

This is the last thing I need.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know,” I say, carefully, trying not to make matters worse.

The woman, with her tight blond bun and stern blue eyes, thrusts her phone in my direction, turning the screen towards me.

“Then explain to me why you were at the prison, visiting your father?”

Confusion washes over me as I stare at the screen on the phone, and see a picture of myself standing outside of the prison, looking guilty as hell. I was so nervous being there, in fear of this very thing, so of course I look worried. The caption is enough to make me recoil.Daughter of the infamous ShadowButcher caught visiting her father for the first time, amidst suspicions that she has something to do with missing local girl, Nia.

No.

This isn’t happening.

“I don’t know where your daughter is,” I say, my voice shaking. “I swear.”

“You’re a liar,” she screams, throwing her hands up. “Where is she? What have you done with her? Tell me! Tell me or so help me God, you will feel the fire of hell cast over you.”

Jesus.

She’s screaming right in my face, and I’m forced to take a step back, my palms sweating as I try to figure a way out of this. More people have gathered, and are all watching me, their phones held up high to capture the moment.

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