The Devil Within

Chapter 3: A legacy of vengeance

Kornelius’s POV

I came up with an excellent plan. At least that’s what I called it.

... A few days later...

I sat on the motel bed, staring at the pictures I had taken of my daughter before leaving while slurping on my cold leftover noodles.

I didn’t bother finding justice in that neighborhood, no one would even take me seriously. People die over there every minute and no action is ever taken.

Justice had failed me and the law had failed me.

But I didn't let that stop me.

I decided to create my own justice. I wasn’t going to just find the person responsible for killing my family. I was going to make them understand what it felt like for your whole life to just come crumbling down.

I would find everyone connected to them, whether blood-related or not.

I didn’t just want to kill all of them,

No.

That would be way too merciful.

I would locate every living member.

Their family.

Their loved ones.

Every blood related member.

I would leave only one person alive.

Allowing them to carry the name forward while thriving on their own.

Letting them fall in love, they create a family believing that they had escaped me.

Then I would come back.

And I would take it all away again, generation after generation.

Just one survivor and only one new family. I wanted to make them live with the fact that they’ve been marked for as long as they can live.

I stared at the picture while fantasizing about my plan.

Then it hit me that I couldn't do it alone.

I couldn’t possibly live long enough to continue my plan.

Even if I found out who the killer was, a day would come where I would be too old to continue.

I couldn’t let my plan die just like that, I needed people to carry on my legacy.

Young ones who will also continue my legacy for generations. But the problem was who?

I had to go back into town, I couldn’t just hide forever.

I got my old job back as a lawyer, I was pardoned for leaving abruptly because everyone had heard the news. I was let off with the excuse of grief.

I barely had enough time for work, I was always busy plotting.

I started overdosing on painkillers and anti-depressants.

Alcohol became my answer to everything, I’d spend most of my time at the bar overthinking.

Then I saw my ex-wife Stacy after 6 years. She was still a bar attendant after several years.

We fell off really badly.

I cheated on her with my dead wife, Kimberly. And I proceeded to have a child with Kimberly without caring about Stacy's feelings.

I never saw a future with Stacy, even when she fell pregnant twice while we were together. I made her abort the child.

When I caught a quick glimpse of Stacy, she caught my gaze and walked towards me.

“Hey Kornelius, it’s been a while. How are you doing?”

I clearly didn’t look like I was doing great.

But I faked a smile with my overgrown grey beard.

“I am doing amazing. How are you doing?”

“I know you’re not doing as good as you’re making it seem. I heard what happened,” she said.

I froze, I didn’t know the word had spread like that.

Then she immediately laughed out and said,

“I’m kidding i’m kidding”

Then I made a silent sigh of relief.

*Stacy inhaled a cigarette*

She handed it over to me and I declined.

Then she shoves it in my hand and said,

“Kornelius, I've watched you come over to this bar for the past three weeks, besides you look like life is beating the s**t out of you. Just a few puffs won’t hurt you.”

I put it in my mouth and inhaled, while staring at a very gorgeous woman who had just walked into the bar.

Stacy turned around quickly and turned back slowly with a smile on her face.

“Wait what? Since when were you attracted to blondes?”

*I blushed*

“Since now,” I said while adjusting my shirt, because she was headed in our direction.

Stacy laughed.

“Well, good thing she’s a friend of mine,” she said.

“Alexandra! Alexandra, yo over here!”

*Stacy yelled*

I looked down fast because my heart was fluttering. She was so gorgeous.

Stacy hugged Alexandra.

“Alexandra meet Kornelius, Kornelius meet Alexandra” Stacy said.

I shook her hand and she sat next to me.

We began talking. She told me she worked as an FBI agent in an agency called “The Local True Crime Unit."

Stacy left us to talk while she went back to bartending.

..2 weeks later..

Alexandra and I became so close that we started dating.

I felt pretty guilty because I moved on almost immediately after my wife died.

Alexandra moved in with me, introduced me to most of her friends and her boss named Judge Mashlati.

I got really close with one of her friends named Jacob, a black British man.

Jacob understood me in ways no one did, I found myself opening up to him about what I had gone through. Even telling him my plan.

Funny enough, he wanted to be included in my plan, which was quite odd, but I let it happen anyway.

Alexandra was never aware of the atrocities I had planned to commit.

Jacob helped me kidnap 5 children under the age of 13, keeping them in his basement, feeding and also clothing them.

I had needed those children to carry on my legacy.

Because by the time I grow old, I would not be able to wipe generations out of my family’s killer.

They were never allowed to leave the basement, a search party was hosted in town for those kids and I joined the search party.

…2 months later…

I was at Jacob's house, watching a football game.

“Do you hear that?” Jacob said.

I was so focused on the game I didn’t respond.

I caught a quick glance at the window, I then sighted a small figure running outside.

*I ran out to check*

“Jacob!!! That’s the kid from the basement,” I shouted.

I chased her and quickly caught up to her, while she begged to be left alone.

“Please please, I won’t tell anyone. Just let me go please,” she cried out.

I aggressively held her down on the floor.

I yelled at her to lay on the concrete.

“Lay on the concrete, and bite the curb of the sidewalk,” I yelled.

She sobbed as she did what she was told to do.

Jacob watched from a distance, relieved that I would bring her back.

I then stomped on the back of her head so hard as she bit the curb.

*Jacob stared in complete disbelief.

I had so much anger in me, I needed to let it out.

“Did you just kill her?” Jacob uttered.

I laughed.

“Yes I did, with absolute pleasure.”