There are far better things in life than any we leave behind.
- C.S. lewis.
After having to leave Melissa behind with a gaping hole in his heart, from being ripped away from her for the second time, Derek felt as if a piece of him had died all over again when he watched himself being thrown into the same holding cell that dwelled in the grim foreboding building with a look of utter hopelessness about it.
From that moment on he was forced to stand trial and testify about the events that took place and the murders he had been convicted of until he could prove his innocence. But his trusty companion in his pocket that had documented what took place that day, came through for him in the end.
The magistrate, prosecutor, and jury vindicated Derek of all the alleged charges against him once he presented the footage to them. He called up Melissa the same day of his release and couldn't wait to tell her that he was finally coming home to his family.
On the day of Derek's trial, everybody couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the video. Many watched on in horror and disbelief when they witnessed her on camera behind David, moments before charging him to the ground, and viciously attacking him. Others had abandoned their positions in trial and fled - too distraught to watch the shocking evidence Derek and his lawyer had shown the jury to exonerate himself with.
Even experienced paranormal investigators were stunned when they saw the documented footage, of David being viciously attacked by this creature. Priests from across the world had come from afar, to sanctify the house with holy water, trying to banish her evil presence, but all their efforts had ultimately been in vain.
After throwing in the towel with a multitude of failed attempts behind them, Albert's estate had been officially declared a place forbidden for anyone to step foot in. There was even speculation circulating amongst the community that they could very well be demolishing the house because they were convinced it possessed some kind of evil eminence; and that it had been considered a place of darkness, that brought disharmony upon a once peaceful little suburban town.
No matter what happened, nobody would ever forget that house, or Derek for a long time to come. This story not only took centre stage, but this town and the world were now calling Derek a hero among men.
They deemed the apparition responsible for the murders Derek had been accused of, but David hadn't been all that fortunate. When he eventually stood in front of the magistrate and jury, David pleaded insanity and confessed to killing Albert, the officer and his foster parents, Jane and Peter Montgomery.
The magistrate thankfully had compassion for the demented mad man David and sentenced him to a full life sentence of one hundred and twenty-four years in Shady Oakes psychiatric hospital, which wasn't too far from Albert's home - surprisingly. It was the same one Derek had been confined to while he was pending his trial hearing. Nobody had ever seen or heard of David again.
After Derek became a free man with no signs of that woman coming back to haunt him or his sociopathic brother David, interfering in their marriage, it became difficult picking up the pieces and starting his life over again from scratch. April's house had been demolished from the devastation that the tornado left behind, leaving Derek, and his family destitute for the time being. Melissa had luckily had some money saved, and they managed to find a quaint little apartment in the outskirts near her old town in Des Moines Iowa.
But before Derek left he decided it would be the right thing to do and pay a respectful visit to Rodney's wife, one last time before boarding his plane to leave and give her his condolences for the loss of her husband; a man he once considered a friend. Despite everything that happened he had been a good enough man, who didn't deserve to be another one of her victims.
Derek dried a tear away from the old woman's delicately wrinkled skin and thanked her again for all the kind hospitality she and Rodney showed him. She gave him some fresh lemon biscuits before he left and offered him a fresh cup of hot cocoa which Derek politely declined because he didn't want to be late for his flight. He swore to himself when he said goodbye to her for the last time he would leave this place and never return. He was finished with this town and swore he would put this nightmare behind him.
A few days after they moved into their new apartment, Melissa had ended up giving birth to a healthy baby boy, whom they decided to name James. He was born ten point eight Ounces at 4:am on a scorching hot summers day, in a well-established Catholic hospital, run by a ministry of nuns. It wasn't hard to miss that James shared his mothers dazzling blue eyes, and had predominantly most of Derek's distinguished features.
Everything couldn't have been more than perfect for Derek and Melissa, but finding a job in this town, had been a lot harder than they realised. The cupboards had been almost bare, and the money Melissa had saved was nearly exhausted. If things didn't change within the next few weeks, they wouldn't have a single scrap of food left to eat, much less live in this apartment, they just recently took residency in. They both came to the decision, that if things didn't pick up soon; they would be forced to have to start selling everything they owned, just to come by.
Derek had been out every day trying to get a job but to no avail. Having fired on his record made things increasingly difficult for him to get employment in this town. Things were looking bleak for them financially, until one fine day, something unexpected and extraordinary happened that changed their lives forever.
One cold rainy Saturday morning, Derek awoke from his bed, while Melissa was still lying asleep beside him when he felt something cold touch his exposed bare chest. He had been almost certain he could sense that creatures disquieting presence inviting herself into their apartment.
But unbeknownst to him, she had already come as if she were a thief in the night and vanished without a trace. Derek rose from his bed and instinctively steered towards the dining room, it was as if something told him to go there.
When he flicked on the light switch Derek couldn't believe what he discovered staring back at him on the dining room table.
There must have been close to fifty to eighty large oversized black leather stuffed bags, all singly and neatly presented on the table beside one another, as if they were left there purposefully for him.
Derek cautiously proceeded to navigate towards the table, wondering what was inside these bags and who the hell had placed them here. Nervously he grabbed the very first bag, that he was in the vicinity of and held it with trembling hands.
Taking in a deep breath as if it were his last, Derek tentatively pulled open the drawstring, frightened of what could be possibly inside waiting for him when he opened it. He let out an audible gasp at the sight of all the piles of money, that had been buried inside the bag, but he didn't stop there.
He began emptying out all the bags now, as if he were a child on Christmas Day, unwrapping all his presents once they were presented to him. He noticed they were all filled with rows and rows of dollar bills all beautifully and meticulously arranged in numerous different piles of each compartment.
His hands started shaking uncontrollably again. Derek had never seen so much money in his life, and it all been left here at his disposal to do what he wanted with it. If this was a dream he never wanted it to end.
Derek noticed one of the bags came with a small note which stated, in small illegible handwriting that there was approximately three hundred million dollars placed individually inside each of these bags altogether and that it belonged to his father Albert.
He accidentally dropped the note, along with one of the bags, he was holding in his hands on the floor and started to repeatedly, scream Melissa's name out. He wanted affirmation that he wasn't losing his mind. Within seconds she came racing through to the dining room area, where she found Derek standing there, picking up the bag full of money off of the floor.
"Honey, what's wrong? What is it! Did something happen while I was asleep?" she cried out, stumbling over to Derek, still not fully coherent at this point to comprehend what was going on.
She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the money, peeking out from one of the bags, that Derek opened. She turned and faced her husband. Derek watched her face turn whiter than the wall behind her.
"What is this?" she exclaimed. "Where did all this money come from!"
Without answering her, Derek presented her with the note by placing it in the palm of her hand. He watched her sparkling blue eyes widen in astonishment after she silently read it to herself.
"Three hundred million dollars! Oh, my God, this cannot be happening! David was right!" Melissa cried out in disbelief clamping her hands over her face as her eyes widened with the realization that their troubles were finally over. "Your father Albert truly did have a fortune of money! But the question remains, is who brought it here and why?"
Derek shook his head in bewilderment, his eyes searching the floor as if he were trying to find the answer. Even though Derek knew who it was, he had no idea what compelled her to leave him with this fortune of money behind.
It seemed so counterintuitive to Derek, especially after all the hell that woman put him through. Melissa leapt up off her feet and wrapped her arms around him now, as the tears of joy started streaming down her face. Derek had to pinch himself to make sure that this was happening.
But this was no dream nor had it been a figment of Derek's imagination. With the money they discovered that same morning, they both decided to move to Italy, and never look back. They found a beautiful villa outside Derek's hometown in Sicily, with eight full-sized bedrooms, three bathrooms and two living room areas with breathtaking scenic views of the Mediterranean sea. It was beyond anything they had ever imagined, hoped or dreamed.
Derek had put some of the money to good use and opened up his own medical practice, which was conveniently situated only two kilometres away from where they lived. Even though Derek would never have needed to work again, he always believed his vocation in life had been to save the lives of others.
Melissa sat beside Derek one early Friday morning, while she was feeding James, outside on the terrace of their luxurious Italian home with high fencing and verdant green acres of landscaped gardens surrounding them.
Derek glanced up from his crossword puzzle that he had been heavily engrossed in for the past hour. He found himself squinting his eyes up at the sun that started to rise on the dawn golden skyline like a magnificent fireball and thought to himself at how perfect his life had turned out, and most importantly he had his family by his side. He heard Melissa unexpectedly say to him, "I never believed dreams ever came true until now."
He gave his wife a warm smile as he fondly looked over at their daughter, Holly seated quietly on the dew-drenched grass, teasing her tiny fingers through her favourite dolls blonde straw-like hair.
" Mean either," Derek said truthfully." But it just goes to show you, honey. Life is full of many wonderful and unexplainable surprises..."
THE END.
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Fully Edited.✔
Word count:2112K
Thank you for reading the final chapter of The Evil Beneath Us! I am proud to say It is finished at 58,334 words in total! I think everyone can agree Derek and his family got what they deserved in the end! If you enjoyed this chapter please don't forget to vote and comment! I do have an offline bonus chapter if anyone is interested! Feel free to Dm me for the chapter. Thanks again to each and everyone who supported my book! Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.X