Chapter 50
“My name’s Laura Kader. My father is Grayson Kader, a known humanitarian, a banker, and a recent candidate for president.
“As far back as I can remember, he took his anger out on my mother, redirecting to me upon her passing. He has routinely beaten me, withheld nourishment, and locked me away for days on end.
“I ran from home and changed my name because I couldn’t see any other way out.
Though I was scared for this to come to light, I knew it had to.
Without my father’s knowledge, I planted a camera in my room and documented a conversation between Noah Riley and my father.
In exchange for Noah’s financial support in my father’s run for presidency, he agreed that Noah could use me as he wanted, and my body to be returned for a funeral.
“This has brought to light numerous other things that were unbeknownst to me, including human trafficking involving Grayson and Noah, as well as other abuse victims who have bravely stepped forward.
“At this time, that is all I want to say. I ask that you respect my privacy and give me the space I need to deal with the fallout.”
This is my official statement to the press upon several things happening:
Noah is arrested, as well as Amelia.
Women come forward with detailed accounts of abuse they endured at the hands of my father, dating back decades before I was even born. Others come forward regarding Noah.
Investigators uncover videos that Grayson recorded of the beatings he gave my mother, other women, and recent ones of me that he shared with Noah Riley.
Clips of those videos hit the news. I receive an outpouring of support, as do all the victims. The media coverage is overwhelming. I talk to so many official people, I can’t even keep track.
I knew Grayson was dark, disturbed, and evil, but the sheer depths of his wickedness seems to know no end as every day something new comes to light.
Only one week has gone by since I was rescued. It feels like much longer, each hour of each day passing in a blur of media, investigators, and various other things.
I’ve been staying with Brynn, who continues to be a true lifeline. She is the reason why I am alive right now.
“Hey,” Brynn says, plopping down next to me on the bed in their guest room. “Mom’s making fajitas for dinner. Cool?”
I hug Brynn. “Thank you for everything.”
She waves me off as she looks around the room. “Mom says to start thinking about how you want to decorate.”
“What?”
“This is your room now, doofus. You didn’t think you were leaving, did you?”
Happy tears spring free. I hug her again. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I pull from the hug. “How’s your dad doing?”
“Getting by. He carries so much guilt.”
“He didn’t know.”
“But he feels as if he should have. He spent years on Grayson’s staff and was clueless.”
I take her hand. “I don’t blame your dad. I hope he knows that.”
“He knows.”
We share a small smile.
I glance over to the window that looks out over the acres of property they own, secure from the outside world. Sun beams down, brightening the area with a few hours of daylight to go.
“When’s dinner?” I ask.
“Not until six.”
“I’m going for a walk. It’s too pretty out not to.” I slide into a jacket.
“Want me to come?”
I give Brynn another hug. “I need time to myself.”
With a nod, she leaves me to it.
I wander their property for a while, and though I don’t want them to, images from my childhood reel through my mind. I imagine grabbing them, ripping them to shreds, and tossing them into a giant fire. The visual helps to clear my mind.
I find a spot by the creek that cuts through their land and lie down on a patch of leaves. The winter sun soaks in, and I breathe. Just breathe. I don’t know how much time passes. I don’t care. Grayson no longer has control over me. That’s all that matters.
I am no longer broken.
“Brynn told me you went in this direction,” comes a voice from behind me.
I roll my head back. “West?!”
Tears cloud his eyes. “Hi.”
I come to my knees, my heart swelling with love. “What in the heck?” I light up. “Hi, back!”
He kneels beside me, giving in to the tears.
“Oh…” I hug him tight. “It’s okay. I’m okay.” I rub his back. I kiss his cheek. I hug him even tighter, inhaling him in. God, I missed him.
“Are you okay?” he whispers, gently returning my hug, being careful of my back.
My soul softens.
“I tried to get to you,” he says. “But Grayson wouldn’t let me.”
West tried to get to me… I didn’t know.
“I’m so sorry,” he breathes out.
Like the rest of the world, he’s seen the videos. He now has a visual of the horrifying truth. “It’s okay.” I kiss his cheek again, not letting him go. “I’m okay.”
We hug long and warmly, soaking each other in. I’m the first to pull back, smiling, so happy to see his handsome face.
We sit facing each other, cross-legged on the crisp grass, our knees touching, holding hands. I wipe the wetness clinging to his cheeks, repeating the words, “It’s okay.”
He sniffs. “No, it’s not.”
His gaze touches on my hair, back to blond now, before drinking in my eyes, the line of my nose, and my lips. The tenderness melts through me.
I press a kiss to the top of his hand. “I purposefully didn’t contact you. It’s been insane. I wanted to wait until things settled down.”
“Oh, I know that.”
“How did you know I was with Brynn?”
“I figured as much. I didn’t know how to reach you. Or Brynn. I just showed up.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“Eve…” Fresh tears cloud his vision.
“It’s okay. I’m safe.”
We hug again.
Then we sit, looking deeply. The more I sink into the depths of him, the stronger, more capable I feel, followed closely by calmness and a new, unfamiliar instinct to open up and talk.
No more running and lying. No more anything but truth.
“You’ve seen the videos. You know what happened to me.
But you must hear it from me.” I take a deep breath and, because I need a little space, I let go of his hands and slowly begin, “I don’t ever remember a time when I felt secure.
Sure, I was fed, had expensive clothes, and a huge house, but every night I’d go to sleep wondering if he’d visit my room.
“Sometimes I would fall asleep, thinking I was okay for the night, and then wake up and he’d be there. Just watching me. Sometimes the lash of a belt would rip me from sleep. I got good at not sleeping. I didn’t want to be taken off guard.”
West swallows his emotion, but he doesn’t touch me, doesn’t say anything, just keeps listening.
“I never knew what I did wrong. At first, it was that I didn’t smile pretty in a picture that was taken.
Then it was that I wasn’t paying attention during one of his many speeches.
Then it became about him not getting an email.
Or not receiving some award. It didn’t matter.
It was always my fault, and I believed him.
It was my fault. But no matter how hard I tried to be good, to be better, to help him, nothing ever worked. ”
My thoughts center. “I became a master of hiding my feelings. Always polite. Always smiling at the appropriate times. Anybody who saw me never knew. Not even Brynn. I never told her. I was too ashamed.”
I take another second, needing it.
“After Grayson would beat me, he’d often apply peroxide to my broken skin. The strange thing is…” I’m afraid to admit this next part, but I need to. “I cherished that. It was the only time he was ever tender and gentle with me.”
Pain crosses West, and he doesn’t hide the emotion from me. I love that he doesn’t.
“Finally, I came clean to Brynn about everything, and we devised a plan for me to escape. I met you, Anne, Ford… Fast-forward, and here I now am.”
I pull my knees up and wrap my arms around them, giving myself a barrier. “West, that’s why I lied. Why I’ve lived in fear. Grayson told me he would find me if I ever ran, and I knew he was capable of it. I knew he had the resources to locate me. And then there was Noah, just waiting for me.”
I fall silent, taking in his aching expression.
He breaks eye contact, looking down at the creak. I study the lines of his jaw as it clenches tightly. He’s upset. Not at me, but at the situation.
“None of this is your fault,” he says. “You know that, right?”
“Yes, but I still should’ve been truthful with you earlier on. It wasn’t fair to you.”
West scoots close, wrapping his hands around my ankles. “I don’t want to lose you, but it feels like I might. Am I misreading you?”
“I don’t want to lose you either. But a lot is going on in my life right now. A lot I need to work through.” I let go of my tightly wrapped knees, no longer needing the temporary barrier. I take his hands, looking into his earnest eyes. “Plus…I’m still only sixteen.”
“Sixteen and a half,” he quickly corrects me.
My lips twitch. “Yes, sixteen and a half.”
“One day, three years between us won’t matter, but I understand it does matter now.” He lifts my hands, gently placing a kiss on both wrists. “I’ll wait for you. Two years. A decade. More. I don’t care. I’ll wait, Eve. I’ll wait.”
I want to hug him, to rock him, to tell him everything is fine. But it’s not. We’re not the same. I’m not the same.
“I love you,” he says the words, almost painfully.
“I love you, too,” I whisper, just as painfully.
Silence fills the air around us, and West takes on this sort of confused, scared look.
“Ever since the first day I met you, I knew something was different. You had this barrier that intrigued me. I wanted to break through it and know you, really know you.” West touches his fingers to my chest. “I wanted to know your heart,” he reaches up and touches my forehead, “and your mind, and the stronger our friendship became, the deeper I fell for you.”
He focuses on me with all the tenderness in his soul.
“Sometimes I feel I can’t go another moment until I see you, or hear you, or touch you.
I never thought I’d get such joy out of a simple thing like your smile.
” He takes both my hands in his. “I admire and honor you. The things you went through humble me. Inside and out, you are the strongest, bravest person I’ve ever known. ”
The beauty of his words brings me such strength, such power. Way down deep, something breaks free that I didn’t even know was there, and with it, my emotions swirl with light that brightens hidden dark corners.
West lifts my hand and nuzzles his cheek into my palm. “You’ve got a lot to deal with. You have my number, my email, my everything. I’ll wait however long. I promise you I will.”
A sense of maturity moves through me as I soak in his presence. “You have a career to get back to, and I have the fallout of my life to deal with. Give me time, okay?”
“Of course. I won’t crowd you. When you’re ready, call me. I’ll answer day or night.” He places a gentle kiss on my cheek that I lean into.
“Good-bye, West,” I whisper.