32. Chapter 32
Wren
I wake again to the steady beep of monitors. My mouth feels like it's stuffed with cotton, and my head throbs with a dull, persistent ache. I blink slowly, trying to orient myself. Hospital. Still in the hospital.
Theo sits beside my bed, his head bowed over his phone. He looks terrible—hair disheveled, clothes rumpled, dark circles under his eyes. When he notices me watching him, his entire face transforms.
"Hey, you," he says softly, setting his phone aside. "Welcome back."
I try to move my hand to sign, but find an IV needle taped to the back of it. The slight movement sends a stabbing pain through my skull.
"Easy," Theo cautions, gently placing his hand over mine. "You've got a pretty nasty cut on the back of your head. Eight stitches. Doctor says you're lucky—no surgery needed, just a concussion and a hell of a headache."
I swallow hard, my throat raw and dry. Theo notices immediately, reaching for a plastic cup with a straw.
"Small sips," he instructs, holding it to my lips.
The water is lukewarm but feels like heaven on my parched throat. When I've had enough, I pull back slightly, and Theo sets the cup aside.
"Where's Jace?" I sign awkwardly with the IV in my hand.
"I made him go get coffee and some air," Theo explains, his expression softening. "He was... not doing well after you passed out again. You scared the shit out of us, Wren."
I remember fragments—Jace's worried face, trying to speak, monitors shrieking. But before that... the memory. Levi. His hands on my throat. The truth about my brother.
I need to tell them. Need to warn them.
"Theo," I sign, my movements urgent despite the pain.
"Wren," he interrupts, suddenly taking both my hands in his. His eyes are bright with unshed tears. "Before you say anything else, I need to tell you something."
I pause, caught off guard by the raw emotion in his voice.
"You don't know how much it kills me, seeing you here," he says, his voice breaking slightly. "I'd burn the whole fucking world down to keep you safe. I should have told you every day. Every single day." His fingers tighten around mine. "I love you. I am completely, stupidly in love with you."
The words slam into me harder than the concussion ever could.
My pulse spikes, the monitor betraying every wild beat.
For a moment I think the drugs are distorting what I heard, but no—the desperation in his voice is real.
His hand shakes against mine, his thumb dragging clumsily over my skin like he’s trying to memorize the feel of me.
I remember all the nights lying awake, wondering if either of them could ever see me as more than something fragile to protect.
And now, here it is. Not whispered in the dark, not masked in banter—laid bare, when I’m at my weakest. It terrifies me almost as much as it fills me with longing.
"I know the timing is shit," he continues, as if reading my thoughts.
"And I know you're probably still furious with us.
You have every right to be. But I couldn't—" his voice catches, "—I couldn't risk something happening to you without you knowing. Not again. I couldn’t go another day, or even another hour without telling you. "
I stare at him, trying to process the confession through the fog of pain medication and concussion. Does he mean it? Or is this just guilt talking?
Before I can respond to Theo's declaration, the door opens and Jace walks in carrying two coffee cups. His eyes widen when he sees I'm awake.
"Wren," he breathes, nearly dropping the coffees as he rushes to the other side of my bed.
I try to smile, but the pain in my head makes me wince instead. Jace sets the cups down, and gently takes my free hand, holding it like he’s afraid I’ll vanish if he lets go. His knuckles are white around mine, his breath uneven. This isn’t the unshakable Jace I know; this is a man undone.
I want to tell them both about Levi, about the memory that's returned so vividly, but before I can even try to sign, there's a knock at the door. Two people enter—a woman in a crisp pantsuit and a man in uniform. Police.
"Miss Cain?" the woman asks, her eyes finding mine immediately. "I'm Detective Rivera. This is Officer Chen. We'd like to ask you a few questions about what happened today, if you're feeling up to it."
Miss Cain. Not Miss Maddox. My heart races, the monitor beside me betraying my panic with quickening beeps.
"She just woke up," Theo protests, his hand tightening around mine. "Can't this wait?"
The room chills instantly. The sterile hum of machines feels louder, sharper.
Jace stiffens at my side, his jaw clenching hard enough that I hear the grind of his teeth.
Theo bristles, eyes narrowing at the intrusion, his body angled between me and them as though he could block them by sheer will.
Their badges gleam under the fluorescent light, cold and official, and for the first time in months, I feel like prey under a spotlight.
Being called Cain again feels like a chain snapping tight around my throat, dragging all my buried history into the present.
Detective Rivera's expression remains neutral.
"The doctor has cleared her for a brief interview, and time may be critical in this situation.
" She gestures to a third person entering the room—a woman with short gray hair carrying a small notepad.
"This is Sandra Mills. We understand you communicate primarily through sign language, so we've brought an interpreter. "
I blink in surprise. They know about my mutism. They've prepared for it.
"We'd prefer to speak with Miss Cain alone," Detective Rivera continues, her tone making it clear this isn't really a request.
Jace stiffens beside me. "I don't think that's—"
I squeeze his hand, cutting him off. I need to tell them about Levi. Need to warn someone with authority about what I've remembered.
"It's okay," I sign, the interpreter translating immediately. "I'll talk to them."
Theo and Jace exchange worried glances.
"We'll be right outside," Jace says, reluctance evident in every line of his body as he slowly releases my hand.
"Five minutes away from you, max," Theo adds, his eyes never leaving mine as he backs toward the door.
Once they're gone, Detective Rivera pulls a chair close to my bed. "Miss Cain, can you tell us what happened before you collapsed?"
I take a deep breath and begin signing, then pause. The interpreter’s voice trails behind my hands. “Actually, my name is Wren Maddox.”
Detective Rivera nods calmly. “Understood, Miss Maddox. Can you tell us what happened before you collapsed?”
I resume signing, the interpreter keeping pace.
"I had an argument with my boyfriends this morning. I found out they'd been hiding things from me—notes and gifts from someone who's been stalking me. I was upset and went to work alone, against their advice."
Officer Chen makes notes as I continue.
"At the café, I had a breakdown. My boss was cruel about it, so I ran out. On the street, I bumped into someone. A man. He called me Lilliana—a name that no one should know. I passed out, but that's when everything came back to me. All the memories I'd been missing since my attack."
"What attack?" Detective Rivera asks, leaning forward.
"Almost two years ago, I was attacked in my family home. Someone tried to strangle me. I lost my voice, and many of my memories from before."
"And do you know who attacked you?"
My hands tremble as I sign the name. "My brother's best friend, Levi."
Detective Rivera's expression sharpens. "Your brother being Lucien Cain, the Reaper?"
I nod, wincing at the pain it causes.
"Miss Maddox, what evidence do you have of this stalking?"
"My boyfriends have everything—the notes, gifts, photographs. They've been collecting it all, trying to protect me."
"And you believe this Levi is your stalker?"
"I know he is." My signing becomes more emphatic. "I remembered everything today. He was there when I collapsed. He spoke to me right before I lost consciousness."
For the next fifteen minutes, I pour out everything I can remember about Levi—his appearance, his mannerisms, where he went to school with Lucien, his parents' names, the address where he used to live. With each detail, Detective Rivera's expression grows more intense.
"Miss Maddox," she says when I finally pause, "are you aware that your brother was arrested for all the Reaper killings?"
"Levi framed my brother," I sign, my movements becoming more urgent despite the pain in my head. "Lucien and Levi started killing together—vigilante justice, Levi called it. But then Levi started killing women who looked like me. He made it look like my brother's work."
Detective Rivera leans forward. "Are you saying your brother isn't the Reaper?"
"No, he is—or was—part of it. But not all of it. Not the women. Levi killed them because they looked like me. Because he was obsessed with me." My hands are shaking so badly now that Ms. Mills has to ask me to slow down. "Levi strangled me that day. He's the one who took my voice. Not my brother."
Officer Chen is writing furiously now. Detective Rivera's expression remains carefully neutral, but I can see the intensity in her eyes.
"This is very serious information, Miss Maddox," she says finally. "If what you're saying is true, it would significantly impact your brother's case."
"It's true," I sign . "I remember it now. All of it."
"We'll need to report this to the FBI," Detective Rivera says. "They're handling the Reaper case. They'll likely want to speak with you directly."
"I'll tell them everything I told you," I sign, exhaustion beginning to overtake me. "But please, you need to find Levi. He's dangerous. He's been watching me for months, well years actually. I want him caught before he hurts anyone else."
"We'll coordinate with local precincts to locate him," Detective Rivera assures me, standing. "In the meantime, we'll have an officer stationed outside your room. For your protection."
As they prepare to leave, I catch Detective Rivera's sleeve. "My boyfriends—they didn't know about Levi. I only remembered today. Please don't blame them for not coming forward about it sooner."
She nods, her expression softening slightly. "Get some rest, Miss Maddox. We'll be in touch."
When they're gone, exhaustion crashes over me like a wave. The memories, the confession, the revelation—it's all too much. My eyelids grow heavy, but I fight to stay awake. I need to see Jace and Theo. I just want to move past all of this and live a normal life.
The door opens again, and they both rush in, concern etched into their faces.
"What did they want?" Theo asks, reclaiming his spot beside me.
"Are you okay?" Jace adds, his fingers immediately finding mine.
I try to sign, but my hands feel like they're moving through molasses. The medication is pulling me under again, darkness creeping in at the edges of my vision.
"Rest," Jace murmurs, brushing hair from my forehead. "We'll be here when you wake up."
The darkness is pulling me under, and this time, I don't fight it. My last conscious thought is of Levi's voice in my ear: "You're mine."
No, I'm not. I never was.