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Soul of a Man
THE DARK SOULS BOOK 1
JAMIE BEGLEY
Prologue
Fate stood in the corner, invisible to the three adults—a couple seeking to adopt a child and the social worker eager to find a good home for one of her charges—who entered the room filled with children of various ages.
Fate’s lip curled into a sneer.Some loving home.
The woman seeking to adopt would be no loving mother, but a monster in hiding. Although her weak husband knew the evil she hid, he sought to appease the monster and turn her viciousness toward a new victim.
“How old is this one?” Susan Greer stood over a small, delicate, blonde girl.
The social worker looked at her notes. “She is seven years old.”
Fate waved her hand, and Susan Greer frowned. “Too old.”
She moved toward a boy with blond hair quietly drawing at a small table.
“This one?” she questioned.
“Thirteen,” the social worker answered. “Sam is a quiet child. He loves attention and gets along well with the other children.
Fate again waved her hand.
“Again, too old. Don’t you have any that are younger?” Noticing the frown beginning to form on the social worker’s face, Susan Greer, a master manipulator, forced an insincere smile to her lips. “I just believe the adjustment will be much easier for a younger child.”
“I see.” Looking at her notes, the social worker walked to a dark-haired boy who was trying desperately to hide behind a toy box.
“This young man is Jericho. He is four-years-old. His father is deceased, and his mother recently signed over parental rights. She has a drug addiction and could no longer take care of him. Children services was called in for neglect.”
“How sad.” Susan reached down to touch the boy, but he shrank back farther against the wall. ”Would you like to come home with us?”
A mutinous pair of dark eyes stared back at the woman. “No! I don’t wanna go.” He turned toward the social worker, pleading, “Please, I don’t wanna go with the mean lady.”
“Now, Jericho, this nice lady and her husband want to adopt you and make a nice home for you. Wouldn’t you like a bedroom to yourself?”
“No!”
“He’s the one. I can tell he desperately needs us. Don’t you agree, Frank?”
“Whatever you want, dear.”
Susan Greer turned her beady eyes toward her husband who began to visibly shake under her attention.
“Fine. Let’s go to the office. Your paperwork has already been approved by the State. We’ll set up a visitation schedule and a home visit when Jericho knows you better.” The social worker was excited by the prospect of a potential adoption. There were so many children to place and too few people willing to adopt.
Any doubts she personally had about the Greers, she suppressed. After all, the State had approved their application after a thorough background check, and with over a hundred children to supervise, she was too busy to second-guess the State’s decision.
“That sounds wonderful. I can’t wait until we’re one big, happy family.” Susan stared down at the little boy who stared back at her with eyes that seemed to see the evil inside her. She couldn’t wait until his training began.
She bent down to the small boy. “I’ll be seeing you soon, my dear.”
As they left the room, Jericho knew the scary woman would be back for him.
Fate watched the boy as he bravely fought his frightened tears, his trembling lips firmed. She barely heard his whispered words. “She don’t scare me.”
