Chapter 43 #2
"You have been found innocent of the charges, as expected. The Second Offence Punishment Protocol should never have been enacted without a thorough investigation. Headmaster Williams overstepped his authority significantly." A harsh laugh escaped me, sending fresh waves of pain through my back.
"Overstepped his authority? Is that what we're calling it? He had me whipped and branded based on a lie. That protocol shouldn't exist at all, let alone be carried out without proof!" Killingham's expression darkened.
"You're right. And I assure you, there will be consequences. For Williams, for those who falsified evidence, and for the Regents who carried out the punishment."
"What kind of consequences?" I asked, not sure if I wanted vengeance or just peace.
"That depends, in part, on you," he said carefully.
"When you're well enough, the Trivium will need your statement.
Your testimony will be a significant factor in determining the fates of those involved, including whether new Regents will need to be instated.
" The weight of that responsibility settled over me.
I had the power to destroy them, to take everything from them as they had taken my safety, my trust, my skin.
The thought should have been satisfying, but it just left me hollow.
"Is there anything you need?" Killingham asked, his voice surprisingly gentle. "Anything at all that would make this easier for you?" My skin unmarked. My trust unbroken. My heart whole again.
"No," I said quietly. "There's nothing." His phone rang, and he glanced at it with a flicker of irritation.
"I apologise, but I need to take this." He answered, his expression darkening as he listened. "I see. I'll be right there." He hung up, sighing heavily. "Nothing can go bloody right around here it seems."
"What is it?" Luce asked, concern in her voice.
"A situation that requires my attention," Killingham said vaguely. "I'm sorry to cut this short, Miss Turner. I'll check in on you again soon." He stood, straightening his jacket. "Rest. Heal. And know that the Trivium is taking this very seriously."
After he left, Luce and I sat in silence for a long moment. Finally, she spoke.
"Are you okay? That was a lot." I wasn't sure how to answer. My body was broken, my mind a battlefield of conflicting emotions. I had been betrayed by the men I was beginning to care for, men who had hurt me in the most intimate, devastating way possible. And now I held their fates in my hands.
"I don't know," I admitted. "I don't know if I'll ever be okay again." Luce took my hand, her eyes filled with tears she refused to shed.
"You will be. I promise." I wished I could believe her.
The day dragged on, marked by medication doses, brief visits from nurses, and Luce's increasingly strained attempts at normal conversation.
As evening fell, the room grew dimmer, shadows gathering in the corners as if to match my darkening thoughts.
Luce's phone rang again, and she answered with a sigh.
"Hi, Dad." Her expression shifted as she listened, tension creeping into her shoulders.
"I'm staying here with Cade... I know about Ryder.
.. he's not my responsibility... I'll be fine.
" My attention sharpened at the mention of Ryder's name.
Luce moved toward the window, lowering her voice, but I could still catch fragments of her side of the conversation.
"I understand you're worried, but... No, I don't see why... Uncle Aaron isn't my problem... Yes, I know Aunt Charlotte, but..." She hung up with a frustrated huff, running a hand through her hair.
"What's going on?" I asked. Luce turned, clearly debating how much to tell me. Finally, she sighed.
"Ryder's in the secure wing of the hospital. He... he went after Julia. Apparently, after they found out she was involved in faking the video, he lost it. Tried to kill her with a knife." My stomach dropped.
"Is she...?"
"She's fine. Cole and Logan stopped him before he could do any real damage. But Ryder's in bad shape. They've had to sedate him multiple times." She hesitated. "My dad's worried because Ryder's father is on his way."
"Why is your dad worried about that?" I asked, though I suspected I knew the answer. Luce shrugged, but the gesture was too casual, forced.
"I'm not sure. Something about Ryder going to Lexington being bad for Aunt Charlotte. But it's not our problem right now, Cade. You need to focus on healing."
Love and hate warred inside me, neither gaining the upper hand.
Despite everything, the pain, the betrayal, the permanent marks on my body, I couldn't stop caring about Ryder, about all of them.
It was as if my heart refused to accept what my body knew to be true: they had broken me, branded me, betrayed me.
"Is he... is he okay?" I asked, hating myself for caring.
Luce's expression softened. "No. He's not. But that's not on you, Cade. None of this is your responsibility."
Before I could respond, a knock came at the door. The nurse appeared in the mirror's reflection.
"Miss Turner? Logan Bale is here to see you. He's quite insistent, but I told him you're not accepting visitors. Especially not..." She trailed off, but her meaning was clear. Especially not the men who did this to you.
My heart stuttered in my chest. Logan. Here. The architect of my destruction, the one who had believed the lie over me, who had dragged me into those woods and overseen my punishment. The one whose face had been carved from stone as he delivered his three lashes, precise and methodical.
"He says it's urgent," the nurse added. "Something about Ryder Purcell." Luce and I exchanged glances.
"It might be about what my dad was saying," she said quietly. A part of me wanted to send him away, to never see any of them again. But another part, the part that still ached with something dangerously close to love, needed to know.
"Five minutes," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "He can have five minutes." The nurse looked surprised but nodded.
"I'll tell him."
A few moments later, Logan appeared in the reflected doorway. He looked terrible, face gaunt, eyes hollow, a bruise darkening his jaw. He stood there for a moment, as if afraid to enter, to approach me.
"Five minutes," I said coldly. "The clock's ticking." He stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
"Cadence," he began, his voice rough. "I know nothing I say can ever make this right. I will never forgive myself for what I did to you, for not believing you, for-"
"I highly doubt I'll be forgiving you either," I cut him off. "Get to the point, Logan. Why are you here?" He flinched as if I'd struck him, but nodded.
"It's Ryder. He's... he's not good, Cadence. They've got him locked up in the secure wing, but he keeps hurting himself. He's screaming for them to let him die. That he deserves it for hurting you." Despite everything, my heart clenched.
"And this concerns me how?" Logan's eyes met mine in the mirror, desperation clear in their depths.
"Aaron Purcell is on his way. He'll petition to have Ryder transferred to Lexington, and given Ryder's current state, he'll probably succeed."
"Again, why should I care?"
"Because if Ryder goes to Lexington, a lot of people get hurt," Logan said, his voice dropping. "His mother, for one." I noticed Logan’s eyes shift to Luce before looking back at me. Luce stiffened beside me.
"What do you mean?" Logan glanced at her, then back to me.
"Ryder is the only thing standing between his father and a lot of vulnerable people. If he's institutionalised, Aaron gets full control."
"What are you asking me to do?" I demanded, though I already knew.
"Talk to him. Try to calm him down. You're the only one he might listen to right now." I laughed, the sound bitter and broken.
"You're asking me to help the man who whipped and branded me? Who stood by while you and Cole did the same? Are you out of your fucking mind?"
"I'm not asking you to forgive him," Logan said quietly.
"Or any of us. We don't deserve that. I'm asking you to help save him from his father.
To help save Charlotte. To help save…" He trailed off, but again his eyes flicked to Luce.
Did he really think that she would help fight his case?
I stared at him in the mirror, hatred and something else, something I refused to name, churning inside me.
"Your five minutes are up," I said finally. Logan's shoulders slumped. He nodded once, accepting my dismissal, and turned to leave. At the door, he paused.
"For what it's worth, Cadence, I am sorry. More than you can ever know." Then he was gone, leaving only the ghost of his presence behind.
Luce turned to me, her face troubled.
"Cade, what Logan said about my uncle..."
"What did he mean? About Ryder going to Lexington being bad for your aunt?" Luce sank into the chair beside my bed, suddenly looking very young and afraid.
"Ryder is the only thing keeping Uncle Aaron from hurting Aunt Charlotte. If he were institutionalised, he wouldn't be able to protect her anymore. And my dad..." She trailed off, a realisation dawning on her face.
"That must be why Dad's so worried. He's always been protective of Aunt Charlotte, even after everything.
" I remembered Charlotte's fragile state, her confusion, the way she'd lit up when she saw Ryder. And I remembered how protective Ryder had been of her, how gentle despite his own pain. I might hate him, fuck I didn’t even know if that was true. But even then Charlotte didn’t deserve to suffer, not if I could help it.
"Help me up," I said suddenly. Luce blinked. "What?"
"Help me out of bed." I didn’t want to change my mind on my decision. "We're taking a trip to the secure wing."