Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 135517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
It’s something I’ve never made mention of but had believed with all my heart all the same. I never thought it was a coincidence that after she’d overheard me cautioning Ryder about the church that we were all members of, my life had gone to hell.
I’d all but forgotten that little faux pas since she’d become overly friendly after that day, even going so far as to offer her managerial services. I guess she thought that since she’d done such a good job promoting her own offspring, I would jump at the chance, but even then, I could scent the snake in her and shied away from even having a conversation about it.
But then things started going sideways, and more often than not, her spawn was part of the mess; even though they went to great lengths to appear innocent after the fact, some of the things they did were blatantly obvious. But not once did I think that Mary had a hand in any of it or that she was, in fact, the one pulling the strings behind the scene.
At first, it had seemed too farfetched. Mary Hudson is a woman in her seventies; who would expect her to meddle in the lives of people more than half her age? Sure, she had a reputation for being ambitious and greedy, but so did half the people in this town.
It was only after I’d stopped grieving and had started putting the pieces together in my head that I revisited all of my dealings with her and her offspring and saw the signs. By then, it was too late, though, way too late.
I wasn’t kidding last time when I told Sydney that Janie’s actions were those of a Skinwalker, though thankfully, she thought it was a joke. That’s not something I want to be said out loud, not something I want to be associated with my name, or I’d end up back in the psych ward again.
But the more I thought about it on my own, alone in bed at night, the more I saw and felt that there was something dark and disturbing about the woman who had destroyed what happiness I had in life. Once I got over asking myself why and how things had gone down the way they had, I started seeing things that I’d overlooked because I had trusted Ryder.
There were whispers here and there, and I knew that Ryder had fooled around with her and the Hudson girls, or so it was rumored during the times we were on break from each other. But I never expected this level of black hat behavior, which I probably should’ve because she’s not the first to use outside interference to get what she wanted.
I just never saw Mary’s hand in the whole thing, and truth be known, I’m still not too clear on the particulars or which part she did play, but I know she had a hand in my demise. Now she was being dragged for all the world to see. The thing that was freaking me out, though, was the fact that this person seemed to be doing all this in defense of me.
I wonder how long before they claim that either I was the one behind it or that I’d hired someone to do it. Had I had these kinds of resources, I wouldn’t have waited five years to do it. Then again, had I known half of the things that had been posted, I probably wouldn’t have done anything with that knowledge because it would’ve taken me down a path I have no interest in treading.
I want no part in that kind of evil and never will. I strongly believe in letting things take their normal course and in treating others the way I wish to be treated. Does that mean that I don’t harbor thoughts of revenge every once in a while? Of course not. But I have better control than that; at least, I hope I do.
I’d made up my mind after my last health scare that I was going to live for myself and not get sucked into that hell again. I was back to steering clear of social media, and that’s why I didn’t know that this was going on, but I’m sure the phone will be ringing soon with reporters wanting a rebuttal or my take on what was going on.
The posts left a lot to unpack, from the madam allegations to the hints of more to come that would expose Mary’s part in my relationship being torn apart and some other sinister stuff involving her, Janie, and all who were involved in tearing Ryder and me apart.
I read that last one with much interest because I, too, wanted to see if there was any basis for my suspicions. And to think that someone else was doing the exposing and I had nothing to do with it made this whole thing all the sweeter.