Chapter 44 #2
"Luce is my sister," he said, still whispering. "But you can’t tell anyone, no one can know, because if they do he’ll…
" he trailed off again and tried pulling against the restraints.
I stared at him, trying to process this.
It couldn't be true. Luce would have told me if Charlotte was her mother. Unless... unless she didn't know.
"That's not possible," I said, but even as the words left my mouth, memories surfaced: the way Charlotte had looked at Luce during our visit, the strange tension between Stephen and Aaron, Luce's discomfort whenever her uncle was mentioned.
But Ryder wasn’t listening again. He broke down, sobs wracking his body.
"I failed you. I failed my mother. I failed my sister.
I'm supposed to protect them, and I failed.
I hurt you, Cade. I hurt you so badly, and I can never take it back.
" He seemed to have dissolved into ranting and I wondered if he was hallucinating or something.
He kept repeating about titles and his mum and his sister.
I stood frozen, overwhelmed by the magnitude of what he had said.
"Please," Ryder begged suddenly, straining against the restraints to reach for me. "Please forgive me, Cade. I know I don't deserve it. I know what I did was unforgivable. But please, please, I can't bear it. I can't bear knowing I hurt you."
I stepped back, shaking my head.
"I can't," I said, my voice breaking. "You hurt me, you.." I trailed off as tears began to fall down my cheeks
"No!" he cried, desperation etching every line of his face.
"No, I didn't have a choice. I couldn't risk her.
If I lose my title, they'll take her. My father will take her.
You have to believe me, Cade. Please." I looked at him, this broken, desperate man who had hurt me so deeply, who was now claiming to have done it to protect his secret sister, my best friend.
It was too much. Too confusing, too painful, too overwhelming.
"I-I have to go," I said, turning toward the door. “I’m sorry.”
"Cade, please!" Ryder called after me, his voice cracking. "Please don't leave me. Please forgive me. Please!"
I closed the door on his pleas, leaning against it for a moment as more tears spilt.
The nurse looked at me with concern, but I shook my head, unable to speak.
Back in the waiting area, Logan and Cole were still there, both standing now, tension radiating from them.
I walked straight to them, fury and confusion propelling me forward despite the pain in my back.
"Is it true?" I demanded, my voice shaking. "Is Luce Ryder's sister?" They exchanged a glance, and in that moment, I knew. It was true.
"Yes," Logan said quietly. "Half-sister. Same mother, different fathers."
"Charlotte is Luce's mother," Cole added, his voice gentle.
"But Luce doesn't know. No one does, except for the immediate family and us.
" I sank into a chair, my legs suddenly unable to support me.
Pain laced up my back as it hit the hard chair, causing me to hiss.
Both Cole and Logan jumped forward, but I held up my hand to stop them.
“I’m fine,” I gritted out and closed my eyes until this wave of pain subsided.
When it had I reopened my eyes and took a deep breath.
“So why does Ryder’s father sending him to Lexington make him terrified for her?” I asked.
“Because if Ryder goes to Lexington, he will lose his place at Regents,” Cole said, “And his title of Regent.”
“So, why would that matter?” I asked. Ryder had said something about titles in his rant just now as well.
“Because if Ryder isn’t Regent, he’s no longer in the running to be considered for Inner Circle,” Logan said. I scoffed.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I snapped. “He’s scared of losing his chance to be a part of those sadistic bastards.” After what he had done to me, after what they had done to me, and this was what he was worried about?
“You don’t get it,” Logan said, his voice taking an urgent tone. “Ryder doesn’t give a shit about the Inner Circle, but Aaron Purcell does.”
“And since Aaron wasn’t a Regent, he can’t ever get in the Inner Circle,” Cole carried on.
“He’s been holding Luce and Charlotte over Ryder’s head.
Ryder is his way in to where he wants to be.
” They were right, I didn’t get it, and at this point, I was sick of all these fucked up secret society politics.
“How?” I asked shaking my head, “I don’t understand how Luce would be affected.” Logan looked away, but Cole watched me carefully.
“In Trivium law, a paternal connection can make decisions about a Legacy daughter and make claims to them,” he said slowly. “Aaron is threatening Ryder with doing that to Luce. He says he will claim her and then…” he trailed off, closing his eyes.
“Then what?” I asked, “What would he do?” A sense of dread was building inside me. I knew how fucked up the Trivium was. I had the wounds on my back to show that they didn’t operate within any sense of right or wrong.
“With his claim on Luce,” Logan carried on, “Aaron could force an arranged marriage, or if he was being particularly spiteful, he could just sell her.” My eyes widened, and I looked atCole. Now I understood why he was upset.
“But he wouldn’t, would he?” I asked. “Why would he do that to Luce?” I knew the man was horrible, but what had Luce done to him?
“Because she is the representation of Stephen and Charlotte's love,” Logan said. “Aaron told Charlotte when she got pregnant with Luce that if anyone found out that she was her mother, then he would kill Luce. He hated that even though he had claimed Charlotte for himself, she still had feelings for his brother.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
How could someone have such hate for someone, enough that he would consider selling her?
“But why can’t her father do anything?” I ask suddenly, “surely her father beats her uncle, or stepfather, or whatever the fuck he is.”
“Because Aaron is still Trivium and Stephen isn’t,” Cole said. “They would take his claim over Stephen’s, especially as he has a power of attorney over Charlotte.”
I tried to make sense of everything; it was like a big tangled ball of fucked up dread, and I wasn’t thinking straight with the pain killers wearing thin. I took a deep breath and looked at Logan and Cole.
“So if Ryder is able to keep his title, he still keeps his…” I trailed off, trying to think of the right word, “Obligations to his father? And then Aaron will leave Luce alone.” Logan nodded sadly.
“Yes,” he said. “But with the state that Ryder is in right now, Aaron can have him sent to Lexington. And then it’s only a matter of time before he goes after Luce.” Cole turned around and let out a growl.
“I don’t see what we can do now anyway,” he snarled and punched the wall behind him. I jumped at the action and then yelped as another wave of pain slammed through me. Cole looked horrified.
“Fuck Pet, I’m sorry.” He rushed to my side but stopped as I flinched away. “I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s ok,” I whispered as I tried to breathe through the pain. I looked back up at Logan, a thought suddenly striking me.
“What if we got someone else to overrule Aaron?” I asked. “Would that work?” He narrowed his eyes and glanced at Cole..
“Yes, but who?”
"Killingham. He's high up in the Trivium, isn't he? Could he intervene?" Logan and Cole exchanged another look..
"Maybe," Cole said cautiously. "But I don’t see him coming to Ryder’s rescue right now."
“No, but he might come to mine,” I said. “He said if I needed anything to call." I reached for my phone before realising I didn't have it. I looked up at Logan, "I need a phone." Logan handed me his without hesitation.
“His number is in the phone.”
I searched for Killingham's number and hit call as soon as I found it. He answered on the second ring.
"Mr Bale," he said, his voice cool. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon."
"It's Cadence Turner," I corrected. "I'm using Logan's phone." There was a pause.
"Miss Turner. I take it you've seen Mr Purcell?"
"Yes," I said, not bothering with pleasantries.
"And I need your help. Aaron Purcell is on his way here to have Ryder institutionalised at Lexington.
We need to stop him. Can you help?" The other end was silent, and I wondered if we had got cut off or something before I heard Killingham clearing his throat.
"There has to be something. Please, Mr Killingham. You said I could ask you for anything."
Killingham sighed, the sound heavy with resignation.
"There is one possibility," he said finally. "But you may not like it."
"What is it?" I asked, hope flaring.
"The Consort and Regents stand together," he said.
"If you, as the Covenant House Consort, officially forgive the Regents for their error in judgement regarding your punishment, I could intervene on the grounds of preserving the integrity of the House.
" I froze, the implications hitting me like a physical blow.
"You mean... forgive them? Publicly? For what they did to me?"
"Yes," Killingham confirmed. "A formal declaration of forgiveness would reset the balance. It would allow me to step in and prevent any actions against the Regents, including Mr Purcell's attempt to have his son institutionalised." I looked up at Logan and Cole again.
"But then they'd never be held accountable," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "For any of it. The whipping, the branding, the betrayal."
"That's correct," Killingham said, his tone grave.
"Once forgiveness is granted, the matter is considered closed.
This would be your last chance to hold them accountable for their actions against you.
If you choose to forgive, there's no going back.
" The weight of the decision pressed down on me, making it hard to breathe.
Forgive them. Forgive Logan for dragging me into those woods, for believing Julia over me.
Forgive Cole for his silent compliance, his lashes as precise as Logan's.
Forgive Ryder for his betrayal, for the brand that would mark my skin forever.
"I understand," I said, the words feeling like stones in my mouth.
"Think carefully, Miss Turner," Killingham warned.
"This is not a decision to be made lightly.
Once the forgiveness is granted, it cannot be rescinded.
You would need to go on as if the incident had never happened.
" I looked up at Logan and Cole, both watching me with a mixture of hope and dread.
I thought of Ryder, strapped to that bed, broken by guilt and fear.
I thought of Luce, my best friend, unaware of the danger she was in, unaware of her true parentage.
And I thought of Charlotte, fragile and vulnerable in Lexington, at the mercy of a man who used his own children as pawns.
The intercom crackled to life overhead.
"Dr Andrews to the main entrance. Dr Andrews to the main entrance to meet Mr Aaron Purcell." Time had run out. Aaron was here. I had to decide, now. I stared at the phone in my hand, unable to speak, as the weight of an impossible choice crushed the air from my lungs.