Chapter 16

Anxiety clawed at Nigel Johnson as he piloted the late-night train through Willowbridge. His mind was consumed with worry over his daughter, Sheila, who at barely seventeen, was about to become a mother. The identity of the father was shrouded in mystery, adding another layer of stress to Nigel’s already heavy burden.

As if his personal turmoil weren’t enough, the weather was compounding his distress. The driving rain hammered against the train’s windshield, making visibility a challenge. Through the deluge, he strained to see the tracks ahead, when suddenly, a strange figure appeared in the beam of the headlights.

It was a bald, naked girl, her pale skin stark against the dark, wet night. She was crawling onto the track, moving with an eerie, zombie-like slowness. Nigel Johnson slammed on the brakes, the train screeching in protest, but it would be too late...

Mr Johnson watched with horror as a large man then jumped onto the tracks after the girl. He saw the man grab the girl and, with a desperate effort, pulled her off the path of the oncoming train. The man then stumbled back, and before the train driver could fully process what was happening, he heard a sickening thud. The train jolted slightly as it ran over something, and Nigel’s stomach churned with dread.

Edward Pembroke’s head was later found a hundred meters away from the rest of his body. Beside his headless corpse, the train driver discovered the shaking, naked girl in the pouring rain. She was bleeding heavily, her head shaved bald, and she was cuffed at her ankles and wrists with a collar around her neck.

The resulting police investigation unleashed a massive news story, gripping the entire country. The girl, who had been saved from the tracks, identified herself as Becky Parker—the same Becky Parker who had been missing for six months and presumed dead.

The police searched Edward Pembroke’s house, which backed onto the railway line. They were astonished to find a secret stairwell, the door open, and the stairs covered in fresh blood, wine, food, and broken plates. However, it was what lay beyond a secure door, which had to be broken down, that truly shocked them.

Inside, they found a dog whining and a chubby naked woman, covered in blood and badly injured, with multiple stab wounds, but somewhat incredibly, still alive. The subterranean room appeared to be a kind of torture arena.

Becky Parker’s family were shocked to find she was alive and had been held prisoner for six months. But they were flabbergasted to find the meek and mild Mrs Pembroke had been central to her kidnapping and imprisonment.

Genevieve and Eleanour remembered all the meetings they had with her, horrified that the entire time, this woman had been torturing, and in some cases mutilating their beloved Becky.

Neighbors and colleagues of the couple expressed shock, particularly the young girls who had known Edwina and opened themselves up to her.

Becky had broken her legs when she had fallen off the wall and near the track. Coupled with the stab wound to her stomach, and all other psychological and physical trauma, it meant she had to spend several months in hospital. She tearfully admitted to her mother that it was the Pembrokes who had tried to rape and kidnap her as well, bringing her some closure as to the horrible mystery.

Sheila Johnson gave birth to a girl. She never went in for DNA testing and decided she never wanted to know who the mysterious father of her girl was. She named the girl ‘Becky’ after being inspired by the Becky Parker story, and her horror that the kindly Mrs Pembroke had been responsible.

Edward Pembroke was cremated. Edwina Pembroke survived. Her trial was a media frenzy as the evidence mounted, including video footage of torture, dog sex, and other previous sex attacks came to light. She became the UK’s most famous sex predator and was sentenced to life in prison.

Becky gradually recovered and grew to love and respect her family more. She remembered how stupid she had been, flirting with suicide and the terrible consequences of that, and grew to appreciate life more with Genevieve and Eleanour, and her father.

EPILOGUE - 15 YEARS LATER

The prison guards were pleased to see the glamorous Dr Becky Parker enter the facility. As a clinical psychiatrist, she was highly respected for her work ethic and diligence, driven by her traumatic childhood experiences. She had blossomed into a beautiful woman, equipped with an Oxbridge education, wit, and charm. Through her work, she frequently interacted with prisoners. She was getting married next month and planned to start a family with her fiancé, an international lawyer.

But before she embarked on that new chapter, she needed closure. Today, she was confronting someone she had avoided for fifteen years: Edwina Pembroke, the monstrous criminal who had wronged and abused her as a child. This encounter was momentous, a confrontation with the past that had shaped her present and would influence her future.

She now stood tall at five feet seven, with a striking presence. Her brown hair had long since grown back curly and wavy, framing her face elegantly, and her blue eyes were captivating and full of depth. Her long legs and slim, graceful figure exuded elegance. Dressed in a smart and feminine outfit, she wore a tailored pencil skirt and tights, paired with a crisp blouse and a professional jacket. Her high heels clicked confidently on the floor as she walked. Her makeup was flawless, with a touch of lipstick enhancing her natural beauty. Dr Becky Parker looked every bit the attractive and sophisticated professional she had become.

She swallowed hard as she sat in the visitor area, waiting for the dreaded meeting with the infamous Edwina Pembroke. This was her nemesis, the childhood abuser who had robbed her of so much and given her so many nightmares and so much pain.

Her heart skipped a beat as a police officer brought the prisoner in, her arms in chains and clad in a prison outfit. Edwina was now in her mid-sixties, even heavier than before. Her hair was tangled and gray, her face wrinkled with a double chin, and she wore an eyepatch over one eye with a wide scar across her face. She shuffled over and was seated opposite the screen from Becky, who flinched in disgust. This woman was repulsive, not just in appearance but in the horrific memories she invoked of the horrible things she had done.

In any normal situation, imagining this hideous woman naked would have made a nice young woman like Becky giggle or retch, but for Becky, she had to remember this woman sitting on her face, having to lick and suck every inch of her body, her bodily fluids, along with her awful husband. The dowdy face made her recall the rage, the absolute power she had wielded over her those years ago, the terror and fear she brought to her.

As Becky sat across from Edwina, she tried to maintain composure. “Hello, Edwina. It’s been a long time. I’m sorry about your eye,” she said, her voice steady despite the turmoil within her.