The Father's Sins: The Braxton Series, #1

By Neen Edwards

The last three years of Lilith Yurikai McDuggar's life have been shrouded in mystery. She's spent that time with the man that found her, Seth Kingston, seeking answers to her former life. She was starting to come to grips with the fact she may never regain her memory when she encounters a strange man who claims to be the key to unlocking her past. Now faced with finding the truth and saving the people she has come to love, she becomes entangled in an age-old war between her demonic father and the people that took her in three years ago. Her father's thirst for revenge has the fate of the world hanging in the balance and Yuri must make some hard choices which could wind up being her undoing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Neen Edwards
• Release date: Oct 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393659068

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Blood oozed from where Jeffery's eyes used to be while half of his lower jaw rested against the wall behind him. Yuri stood just inside the doorway, her mouth parted from the greeting that still hung from her lips. The rude awakening of seeing Jeffery's still warm corpse made it hard to avert her violet eyes from the scene before her and it caused a sick, growing fascination to stir inside of her.

Jeffery's kind nature gave him the demeanor of one of those old-fashioned businessmen that cared more for his employees than he did for money. It was unfathomable to think of who could have wanted to harm such a sweet, old man. Several scenarios played out in Yuri's mind, but she couldn't come up with a reasonable answer that made sense to her.

Drawers from Jeffery's filing cabinets hung open with the contents strewn across the floor mingled with slivers of oak from his desk where someone had ripped a portion of it apart. The tall bookshelf next to his desk rested against the filing cabinets with the shelves broken in half. A silver disk inside a clear case sat on the corner of Jeffery's desk, the only thing that appeared untouched and out of place.  

A startled sound escaped Yuri's throat when her cellphone went off. With a shaky hand, she fished it from the back pocket of her jeans. Yeah? she said moving a red strand of her hair that fell into her eyes. Her heart pounded against her chest and she tried to keep her hands from shaking.

What's wrong Yuri? a male voice echoed in her ear. Yuri took a deep breath and prepared to give a report to her co-worker she had left sitting outside in the vehicle they arrived in. She picked the disk up, studying the blue case. For Kingston was written in neat, silver letters across the top.

Jeffery's dead. He looks like something out of a horror movie and no one else in the building seemed to have heard anything. I waved at Natalia before walking into his office. I think whoever did it was looking for something, the office is a wreck. The only thing left untouched is the disk, she replied and walked closer to the corpse, he had a small .22 caliber hand gun in his right hand. Jesse, it looks like he was trying to protect himself, but never got the chance, she added as she slipped the disk into the inside pocket of her jacket then picked up the gun. She could feel the warmth of the grip where Jefferey was holding it and inspected the chamber which appeared to be fully loaded. Yuri laid her hand on the old man's arm, his still warm body left her with a slight paranoia that maybe the killer could still be somewhere close. Yuri stood up and ran her right hand through her hair then froze when she heard a consistent sound coming from the office across from Jeffery's. The paranoia she felt grew until the pit of her stomach started tingling, her hand gripped Jeffery's gun tighter.

Get the hell out of there, Yuri, Jesse snapped. Yuri ignored him, trying to focus more on the sound coming from Natalia's office. The feeling in the pit of her stomach grew until she had to fight down the nausea she felt. Are you even listening to me?!

Hey, Jess, let me call you back, Yuri said and hung up before Jesse could protest. With her cellphone put away, she gripped Jeffery's gun with both hands. The lady that usually occupied the office across from Jeffery's sat at her desk typing away at her computer when Yuri passed by and waved at her like she usually did when Kingston would send her to fetch stuff.

The office door stood ajar and the fluorescent lights flickered in the corridor. It grew louder this time, and sounded like a thud followed by a scrape, thud then a scrape, thud, scrape. As it drew closer and grew louder it began to send chills up and down Yuri's spine. Natalia? Yuri called out as she knocked on the door, but there was no answer aside from the thud, scrape. She opened the door enough to peer inside and then shoved it open altogether. Natalia's neck had a telephone cord wrapped around it with the other end wrapped around one of the beams above the ceiling tiles. Her throat had been slit and blood cascaded down her arms to her fingertips pooling on her mahogany desk. Her almond colored skin grew pale, her dark eyes were glassed over. The noise had been the sound of her heels tapping against the desk and then scrapping across the top as she swung back and forth. Yuri almost dropped the gun she had in her hand, but she recovered it as she went to the floor and crawled to the darkest corner of the room. It felt like it took forever to scroll through contacts to find Jesse's number with the way her hands were shaking.

I reported it. Did you find something else? Jesse asked.

Jeffery and Natalia are both dead. Jesse, she was alive when I went into Jeffery's office. The killer is still in the building and all I have is this .22 caliber with half a clip, She kept her voice low. Jesse grew quiet on the other end and she got up to inspect the other offices. If she remembered right, there should have been less than fifteen people in the building including security. It's everyone, Jess, they're all dead, Yuri said and made her way to the elevator. The mechanical doors were stuck half way open and she could see a pool of blood resting in the middle of the elevator floor.

Get the hell out of there, now! Jesse yelled. Yuri wasted no time getting to the stairway entrance across the hall from the broken elevator, but she had to catch herself from slipping on the trail of blood on each step that led down into the main lobby area. The security card she pulled from her pocket had a KM logo written in blue with a black bar code underneath it. Yuri swiped it across the mechanism by the door and it opened with a soft click.

The two security guards and the receptionist were dead, one of the guards was missing his head which now lay on the other side of the lobby. Nothing moved and the door leading outside sat wide open. Before she could get to the door, a cold wind rushed past her and slammed the door shut. No matter what she tried, she couldn't get the door to open. Shit! Jesse, I'm trapped in here, she said.

Hide somewhere until I can get you out of there, Jesse said and then the phone made a loud pop in her ear and burned her hand. She dropped it to the ground and watched as it burst into flames. Survival instincts took over and Yuri switched the safety off on the gun and readied a bullet in the chamber.

Yuri paused for a moment to glance around the lobby making sure the killer wasn't hiding somewhere obscure and to find another way out. The moment she took a step toward the stairs, a tall, thin man blocked her path. His black cloak billowed behind him, his black vest and slacks were saturated with blood. A top hat covered most of his dark curls and his eyes hid behind wire spectacles. The ensemble came complete with a black, wooden cane. He looked like a British spectator observing the Civil War.

My, my, isn't this a surprise? I haven't seen you in quite some time little one, he said in a British accent. Yuri's mouth fell open, she didn't even hear him enter the room with her. As far as she knew, he could have been there the whole time and she would have never known. The strangest part wasn't his stealth or his ridiculous outfit, he seemed very familiar to her. Her insides grew numb at the thought of this man being a part of a past she had been struggling to remember the last three years.

If you say so, she managed to say and aimed the gun at the him. He didn't seem phased in the slightest. Instead, he moved toward her with an elegant stride. Yuri fired several shots into the man, one of the bullets piercing his skull between his eyes. He kept coming, the wounds he sustained healed before Yuri's eyes. What the hell?! she yelled, the man close enough to touch her.

Yuri! She heard Jesse scream her name and she caught a glimpse of him on the other side of the door. The glass rattled against his fists as he tried to break the glass. Her current predicament left her trapped in this building with corpses and a psycho with no way of possible escape. The adrenaline she felt intensified through her body until an eerie calm settled over her.

Yuri, Yuri, Yuri, the man laughed and lunged toward her, but he somehow disappeared and reappeared on the other side of her. His hand shot toward her and she caught his wrist before he could land the punch. It felt like her entire body switched to auto-pilot and her movements came before she had time to think about it.

The man disappeared again before Yuri could land a punch. The more he moved and the more he spoke, the more familiar this man became. The sound of his voice, the way he moved, all of it seemed too familiar.

Yuri could hear sirens in the distance coming closer and her broke her concentration. The man she fought appeared next to her, one of his bony hands wrapped around her throat and lifted her off the ground while he wielded a small dagger in the other. He raised the weapon above his head, but Yuri caught his hand in her own and then kicked him as hard as she could. The grip he had on her lessened and she fell to the floor in an awkward position. The strange man disappeared again before Yuri could get her feet back under her enough to sweep his legs.

Who the hell are you?! She snarled. Laughter echoed around the room, but the man was nowhere to be seen. The tricks he used to move around the room, Yuri had seen nothing like it as far as she could remember. The silent deaths of everyone in the building started to make a lot more sense.

Yuri turned toward the glass doors again and felt a moment of relief when she saw the flashing lights of a few police cars and an ambulance. The doors still wouldn't open though and she noticed the lock had been melted. There was no way she could get out the front.

A strange sensation prickled the hairs on the back of Yuri's neck and before she had time to react, something slammed hard into her side. Her back hit the wall and knocked the breath out of her. The man had her pinned to the wall with his dagger digging into the flesh of her throat. She felt warm droplets of blood slide down her neck and she held her breath.

It's a bloody shame you don't remember anything. You used to put up more of a fight, he laughed. Something flashed across Yuri's vision and she felt the heat of her rage cause beads of sweat across her forehead. The temperature in the room grew several degrees colder, ice formed on the brim of the man's hat and he turned his head toward the doors. He pulled back the dagger enough for Yuri to follow his delighted gaze. The glass at the front of the building had frosted over. How was that even possible? It was damn near June in Georgia and it was well over ninety degrees outside.

It seems I might have awakened something in your subconscious. Your father will be so pleased, he chuckled. His amusement was short lived due to the rumbling underneath his feet. The entire building rattled enough to make a cloud of white dust fall from the ceiling then all the glass in front of the building shattered. The rays of the sun came pouring in and the flesh on the side of the man's face started to burn. He screamed in agony then vanished, dropping Yuri to the glass littered floor.

Her ears were still ringing from the loud noise of the glass shattering and she had several cuts on her hands and arms where she tried to pick herself up. Jesse was the first one at her side, police and EMTs piled into the lobby after him. Scan the area, I want that son-of-a-bitch found! growled a police officer that stood a little taller than Jesse. His shoulders were broad and he held his pistol with both hands in a readied stance. He knelt down next to Jesse and Yuri never taking his eyes off of his surroundings. Are you okay, Miss McDuggar? he asked.

I was just attacked by a lunatic, what do you think?! she snapped and sat up with Jesse's help. Shards of glass were embedded in her hand and she winced as she pulled one out. A burning pain ebbed from the cut on her throat down her arm to her bleeding palms. Sorry, I didn't mean to take my anger out on you. You're just doing your job, she sighed.

You're not the first person to snap at me and I'm sure you won't be the last, he said. Jesse helped Yuri to her feet and she almost fell. That last fall must have twisted her ankle because the pain was excruciating and made the whole right side of her body ache. One of the EMTs came over and instructed Jesse to sit Yuri back down, so he could have a look at her. Get them out of here as soon as you can, the officer instructed the EMT and walked through the debris toward a few other officers.

A few hours went by and Yuri was starting to get hungry and more irritated. She refused to go to the hospital against the EMT's wishes after he practically harassed her about it and none of the officers would tell her what was going on. Here, Jesse said and handed her a soda. It was hard with both hands bandaged, but she managed to get it open. He ran a hand through his dark blonde hair that often fell into his eyes. He normally kept it short, but it had been a few months since he last got it trimmed.

I have no idea what I'm going to tell this cop when he actually gets time to question me. I emptied Jeffery's gun into this guy, once between the eyes and he still managed to come at me. It was like I didn't even hit him, Yuri said after a few minutes. Jesse took a sip of his drink and listened to Yuri's explanation of what happened.

Maybe you just thought you hit him, Jesse suggested. Yuri shook her head. The image of the bullet piercing the strange man's skull was as vivid as one of the paintings on her boss's wall. Or, you could just leave that part out. I don't want to call Kingston back and explain why you've been locked up in some loony bin.

Yeah, that would be bad for his image, she said. The sound of gurneys being rolled across pavement made Yuri sick to her stomach and she handed the soda back to Jesse. Give me a minute, she said then got up and limped over to the bodies being hauled out of the building. She could feel Jesse following her, but she didn't stop.

I'm sorry, but you need to go back over there, one of the officer's told her. This officer was a bit shorter than the first officer that spoke to her and his hair was a few shades lighter. There were stress lines creasing his forehead which made him appear older than he probably was.

Only three bodies had been removed so far. One of them was Jeffery, his eyeless sockets made him look more surreal inside the body bag than he did sitting at his desk. The second one Yuri came to was Natalia. It was hard to think she was dead, her face now held a peaceful look except for the line of red across her throat. Yuri removed one of her dark curls from her face and felt her eyes starting to burn from the tears that welled up. Natalia was always nice to her and would often bring her treats when Jeffery would send Natalia to Kingston's office to run errands. She would also invite Yuri to tag along on shopping trips with her and Madeline, Natalia's daughter.

Her daughter turns 15 next month, Yuri said and wiped at her eyes. She zipped the bag closed and let the gurneys pass. Did you find the guy? she asked. She placed both hands on her hips while keeping all of her weight on her left leg. It was awkward as hell, but she narrowed her eyes to make herself appear more intimidating which didn't seem to go in her favor.

We've scoured the place. The only thing we found were dead bodies, he replied. Yuri didn't like the tone in his voice, his insinuating gesture that maybe she had something to do with the murders.

The first officer that arrived on the scene walked up and motioned for the other one to leave. Yuri explained everything to him from the time she arrived until the cops entered the building. She even told him about Jeffery's handgun, but she left out the detail of her shooting the murderer in the head. Jesse was right, she couldn't afford to jeopardize Kingston's reputation after all he had done for her the past several years. She damn sure didn't want to wind up in a nut house.

He wrote down every detail she could give him and then he let the both of them leave. Jesse was quiet for the most part and she thought now would be a good time to explain one more detail she had left out. He knew me, Jess. He said something about my father, she said. Jesse tensed, his grip tightening on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.

He was probably just rambling nonsense, Jesse said. The tone of his voice and the look on his face told a different story, but she decided not to press the issue.  It had been a long day and she was most likely just reading too much into it anyway. Nothing else was said between them, so she leaned her head against the cool glass of her window and closed her eyes.

SETH KINGSTON STARED at the paperwork that had been piled on his L-shaped, cherry wood desk early that morning and pushed it as far as he could without having it dump onto the floor. His eyes and his head were starting to hurt and it wasn't even lunch time yet. At this rate, he would be finished by the end of next year.

He ran a hand through his dark brown hair and watched his reflection in the monitor of his computer. After a moment of quiet contemplation, he turned it on and watched his blue eyes disappear when the image of his company's logo, a simple KM inside a circle, appeared on the desktop. If he started entering the paperwork now, he could probably be home before supper.

The phone on his desk rang. With a hint of irritation, he picked it up and answered it as civil as he possibly could. The building had better be on fire, he muttered into the phone. He listened to his partner on the other end and leaned forward in his chair with a confused look on his face. What?

His partner explained everything in detail about what had happened at his office in Atlanta. Is she okay? Kingston asked. He could feel heat rising from his chest into his face, rage from losing some good, loyal people he enjoyed having in his employment. Years of running a business let him conceal his anger and remain cool and collected.

Yeah, she's asleep. She thinks I called earlier, but the truth is I was trying to bypass the cops to find the killer. Anyway, we're about to pull in, so be prepared. She's not in a good mood, Jesse said on the other end. Kingston sat back in his seat and hung the phone up. He was hoping today wasn't going to be any more complicated.

Fifteen minutes later, the door to his office swung open and Yuri stomped into the room. She threw a disk at him and he had to juggle to keep from dropping it. He let his irritation show in his dark, blue eyes until he got a good look at her appearance. Her clothes were splattered with blood, there was a cut across her throat, and both hands were bandaged. Her red hair looked like it had seen better days and her violet eyes stared a hole right through him.

Jeffery and Natalia are dead along with eight other people that had to work this weekend. she replied and turned her eyes away from him. There was something about the way she was acting, the look on her face. It was almost like something might have sparked a memory. Kingston sat back in his chair and studied her carefully.

Jesse told me. Are you okay? he asked. Kingston had a tendency to be impatient especially with an annoyance piled on his desk which would take even longer now that he had to deal with this. Despite his impatience at finishing the paperwork, he was more interested in finding out who had killed his employees and attacked his assistant. It took him a while before he found the perfect team to man his Atlanta office, so he could spend more time with his little brother whom he had custody of since his parents' death. More than that, his employees were like family to him. He made it a point to meet each one personally and make them feel welcome in their chosen profession.

The murderer said he knew my father, Yuri said. Kingston shot Jesse a glance, his partner's face had grown a few shades too pale. He leaned against the wall with his hands in the pockets of his khakis, his blue button up was wrinkled and torn around the cuff of the sleeve. A spot of what looked like dried blood was on the collar and wondered if it were his.

Kingston thought for a moment and then glanced at Jesse again. Jesse, please get me the picture. His partner moved a strand of dark, blonde hair from his eyes and pushed himself from the wall. A few picture frames sat on top of a filing cabinet mostly depicting Kingston's younger brother Markus. Jesse took an eight by ten of Markus's first high school picture and pulled a smaller photograph from behind the original picture then handed it to Kingston.

I'm sure you've heard us talking about Lilith McDuggar. Out of curiosity, how much do you know about her? Kingston asked. Yuri's face grew into a mask of confusion as she glanced between Jesse and him.

Her family was murdered, her body was never found, and you think it's possible I might be her. I'm not sure how that is related in any way to this psycho killer claiming to know my father, she said then sat down in the chair in front of his desk. Kingston tapped the photo against the desk and looked at it one last time before handing it to Yuri. She gave him a wary look, but took it. She studied the picture for the better part of five minutes until Kingston saw something in Yuri's eyes, a spark of recognition. Yuri stood up and knocked the chair over she had been sitting in. Sorry. I'm going to leave early, so I can get cleaned up. I'll catch you guys later, she said and left in a hurry, the picture still clutched in her hand.

She remembered something, Jesse said and sat down on the edge of Kingston's desk, shoving his pile of paperwork closer to his computer.

That picture, she’s seen it a million times and never reacted to it until now. Was the killer one of your father’s? Kingston asked. He knew the answer before it was ever asked, but he wanted to hear Jesse say it. It’d been three years since Yuri first came to them with no memories. She was his best friend aside from Jesse, so he jumped on the chance to take her in.

Yeah. I sure was hoping she'd have her memory back before he started gunning for us, Jesse said and stood up. He stretched with a wide yawn then walked to the door. Seth, she's not going to be the Lilith you remember. I just want you to prepare yourself for that, man. I'll let my grandmother know what's going on then I'll catch up with you at the house, Jesse added then left Kingston alone in his office.

A few pages from his pile of paperwork slipped to the floor and he left them there. It seemed like a better idea to just go home instead of wasting all of his time fighting with numbers today. There were other preparations that needed to be made in case things went further south than he calculated. He had a strong feeling that things were about to get real interesting.

CHAPTER 2

The short drive to Ms. Winter's house was rather quiet, but the events from earlier in the day left Jesse feeling a bit on edge. He flicked his cigarette out the window before pulling into his grandmother's driveway then killed the engine as soon as the blue Expedition came to a complete stop. The murderer, he knew him alright. The thought of him made his skin crawl.

A soft tap on the window startled Jesse from his thoughts and his body jerked involuntarily, but his heart steadied when he saw the warm, violet eyes of his grandmother, Leyela Winter. She didn't look like a typical grandmotherly type lady. She never