Chapter 15
Cade’s hands clenched into fists at his sides, a silent, furious response. Deaf in one ear. He had never known. The sheer volume of pain his beloved girl had endured was incomprehensible.
“Ms. Montgomery was diagnosed with depression even before she was pregnant. The child was the only thing that kept her going. But the constant suffering was too much for her to bear. Her depression worsened over time. ”
“There were moments when she lost all hope, when she would cut her wrists to try and end the pain. Sometimes, her despair was so deep that not even the thought of her child was enough to keep her alive.”
Cade stared at Logan, his face a mask of incredulity. He had no idea she had attempted to take her own life multiple times before.
His gaze fell to her wrist, and he saw them for the first time—a network of faint, silvery scars that told a story of unbearable pain.
A profound sense of failure washed over Cade. He had promised to spend his life protecting her, and yet, all he had ever done was cause her more suffering.
If he had only known, he would have done things so differently. But time could not be rewound. It was too late for regrets. Nothing could erase the years of pain she had suffered.
“I want a list of every single person who laid a hand on her. I will make every last one of them pay.”
A murderous glint entered Cade's bloodshot eyes. The girl he loved more than life itself had been abused and tortured for years. He would ensure her abusers suffered a fate far worse than death.
Logan, who had always followed Cade’s orders without question, did not immediately agree this time.
After a long, heavy silence, he finally found the courage to speak. His eyes were dim with a shared sorrow. “Sir, they all deserve to be punished. But the true monster is the one who was pulling the strings from the shadows.”
“Sir, it was Kendra. Ms. Yates is the one behind all of it.”
The words hit Cade with the force of a physical blow. He had never imagined the woman he had so fiercely defended was the architect of so much evil.
“Sir, Ms. Yates has done monstrous things to Ms. Montgomery. Are you going to make her pay, too?”
Logan knew he was treading on dangerous ground, questioning his superior. But he had to. He had to stand up for Aria, for the unimaginable injustice she had endured. Even as a man, he couldn't fathom surviving what she had been through.
She had only been eighteen when she was thrown into that hell. At an age when girls should be carefree, surrounded by family and friends, she was alone, facing a future that had been stolen from her.
Cade had never been challenged like this before. He had always been able to dismiss any doubts, any questions. But this time, he had no answer.
A quiet, disbelieving murmur escaped his lips. “It can’t be. It can’t be.”
He had defended Kendra for years. And in doing so, he had inflicted even more pain on Aria.
He didn't want to accept that Kendra was a malicious, manipulative woman. To do so would be to admit his own catastrophic failure of judgment. But he had to face the truth.
He had been wrong. So horribly, devastatingly wrong.
He had access to the most sophisticated information network in the city. The intel Logan had gathered would be irrefutable.
Cade sank to his haunches, burying his face in his hands, a wave of shame and remorse washing over him. He should have investigated sooner.
If he had, he could have protected her. If he had, she wouldn't be lying in this hospital bed now, clinging to life by a thread.
The cut on her wrist was deep. She must have been in a state of utter, black despair when she did it.
Kendra was a monster. But he had to admit, with a sickening certainty, that he was the one who had hurt her the most.