Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
KALEB
Lottie's emotional plea shattered every wall I'd spent the night rebuilding. Brick by brick, her tears tore through my defenses until I sat exposed. Raw.
My mouth opened. Closed. No words came.
What could I say? That I was terrified? That watching Patrice threaten her had ripped open every wound I'd spent years trying to heal? That the nightmares last night had dragged me back to being fourteen and standing in the rain at my father's funeral?
"Kaleb." Lottie slid off her stool, crossing the kitchen despite Andrei and Colby's presence. She stopped directly in front of me, her hands reaching up to frame my face. "Please."
That single word broke me.
I pulled her between my legs, wrapping my arms around her waist as I buried my face in her stomach. Her fingers threaded through my hair—gentle, soothing strokes that made my throat constrict.
"I'm sorry," I managed, the words muffled against her soft cardigan. "I didn't mean to shut you out. I just—"
"Shh." Her hands swept up and down my arms. "You don't have to explain right now. Just let me hold you."
A bitter laugh escaped me. "Supposed to be the other way around."
"Says who?" She tilted my head back, forcing me to meet those stormy blue eyes. No judgment. No disappointment. Just love. Pure, unwavering love. God, I loved this woman. "We take care of each other. That's how this works. Remember?"
My vision blurred. When had I started crying?
"Before my dad died," I started, the words tumbling out before I could stop them.
My voice dropped to barely above a whisper.
"He was everything. Yeah, he drank. Yeah, he used pills to cope.
But at least he was there. At my games. My tournaments.
My debates. Even when he could barely stand straight, he showed up. "
Lottie's fingers continued their soothing path up and down my back. She didn't interrupt. Didn't try to fill the silence. Just listened.
"My mother?" I laughed bitterly. "She was always off somewhere. Country club luncheons. Shopping trips. 'Charity work' that always seemed to involve staying overnight in expensive hotels with her latest conquest."
Andrei moved closer, his presence a solid wall of support at my back. Colby remained by the stove, but I could feel his attention on us.
"After Dad died, she only kept me around close enough to maintain access to my trust fund. Dad left everything to me. Not her. The house. The business. Everything." My hands tightened on Lottie's waist. "Like he knew what she was. What she'd become."
"He was protecting you," Lottie murmured.
"Maybe." I pressed my forehead against her stomach again, needing her warmth.
"Didn't feel like protection when I was sixteen and she called me selfish for not wanting to fund her third trip to Europe that year.
Or when Rupert moved in and started calling me ungrateful for questioning why they needed a second vacation home. "
The memories came faster now, each one a shard of glass working its way out of old wounds.
"She was verbally abusive. Both of them were.
'You're just like your father—weak, pathetic, worthless.
' That was a favorite." I laughed without humor.
"'If it wasn't for your money, nobody would want anything to do with you.
' She'd say it so sweetly, like she was giving me advice instead of cutting me down. "
Lottie's hands stilled in my hair. "Daddy—"
"I made excuses for years." The confession poured out, unstoppable now. "Told myself she was just stressed. That Rupert was adjusting. That if I was just better—made more money, donated more, showed up for her stupid events—maybe she'd actually love me."
"That's not—"
"I know." I cut her off gently. "I know it's not rational. Therapy helped me understand that. But knowing something intellectually and believing it are different things."
Andrei's hand landed on my shoulder, squeezing hard enough to ground me.
"Every time she calls, every time she demands something, I feel like I'm fifteen again." My voice cracked. "Standing in that kitchen while she screamed about how disappointed my father would be in me for not giving her what she wanted. Using his memory as a weapon."
"Oh, Kaleb." Lottie's voice broke on my name.
"She's manipulated me for years." The admission tasted like ashes on my tongue.
"Guilt trips. Emotional blackmail. 'After everything I've done for you.
' 'Your sisters need this.' 'You're breaking your father's heart in heaven.
'" I shook my head. "I'd write checks just to make her stop. To make the poisonous words stop."
Silence stretched, heavy and suffocating.
Then Lottie tugged on my ear—not hard, just enough to make me lift my head and meet her gaze.
Tears tracked down her cheeks, but determination blazed in her eyes.
"No more," she said firmly. "You don't owe her anything. Not money. Not time. Not a single piece of yourself."
My chest heaved with the effort of containing everything roiling inside me.
"I wanted to protect you from all this," I whispered. "Didn't want her poison touching you. But she found you anyway. Threatened you. Put a gun—" My voice broke completely.
Lottie's thumbs swept across my cheeks, catching the tears I couldn't hold back anymore.
"I'm okay. I'm right here." She pressed her forehead to mine. "And I'm not going anywhere. Whatever comes next, we face it together."
"Together," Andrei echoed quietly.
"Always together," Colby added from across the kitchen.
The dam burst.
Years of repressed emotion—anger, grief, shame, fear—came pouring out in harsh sobs that wracked my entire body. I clutched Lottie tighter, buried my face in her stomach, and finally let myself shatter.
Because I knew she'd help me put the pieces back together.
Her hands never stopped their gentle movement across my head and neck. Her body stayed strong against mine, absorbing every tremor.
"I've got you," she whispered. "We've all got you, Daddy K. Let it out. Let it all out."
So I did.
I cried for the boy who'd lost his father too young. For the teenager who'd shouldered burdens no child should carry. For the man who'd spent decades convinced he wasn't worthy of love unless he paid for it.
Time lost meaning. Could have been minutes. Could have been hours.
Eventually, the sobs quieted to shuddering breaths. My eyes burned. My head pounded. Every muscle ached from the force of emotion that had torn through me.
But beneath the exhaustion, something else stirred.
Relief.
"Better?" Lottie's voice was soft against my ear.
I managed a weak nod against her stomach. "Sorry for falling apart on you."
"Don't." Her hands framed my face again, tilting it up. "Don't you dare apologize for being human. For feeling. For trusting us enough to break down."
My throat worked as I swallowed hard.
"Thank you," I rasped.
She leaned down, pressing her lips to my forehead. "That's what family does. We catch each other when we fall."
Andrei's hand squeezed my shoulder again. When I glanced back, his amber eyes were suspiciously bright.
"What she said," Andrei managed, his accent thick with suppressed emotion. "All of it."
Colby appeared beside Lottie, a warm, damp cloth in hand. He gently wiped my face, the gesture so tender it made my chest tighten all over again.
"Come eat something," he urged quietly. "You'll feel better with food in your stomach."
I wanted to protest. To insist I was fine now.
But Lottie's hand found mine, lacing our fingers together.
"Please, Daddy K?" She squeezed. "For me?"
How could I refuse her anything?
I let them guide me to the breakfast bar. Let Colby set a plate in front of me. Let Lottie crawl back into my lap instead of sitting on her own stool, her arms wrapping around my neck.
"I love you," she whispered against my ear. "So much it scares me sometimes."
"I love you too, baby girl." I held her tighter, breathing in her scent. "More than I can put into words."
Andrei settled beside us, his presence solid and unwavering. Colby took up position on my other side.
Surrounding me. Supporting me.
The way they'd done for fifteen years.
The way Lottie had done since the moment she'd tumbled into our lives.
I took a bite of eggs, then another. The normalcy of the simple act helped settle something deep in my chest.
This was my family.
Not Patrice. Not Rupert. Not the ghosts of my past that haunted me.
This.
And I'd fight like hell to protect it.
Patrice had no idea what happened when you messed with the Wulf family now.