Chapter Thirteen Cam #3
She didn't answer right away, her nimble fingers already sorting through the mess on the desk. I could practically see the wheels turning in that brilliant mind of hers.
"Cam," she said finally, her voice tight. "These... these are medical records."
I moved closer, peering over her shoulder. "What kind of medical records?"
"The kind that make me want to kill these bastards, then resurrect them just so I can kill them again," she spat.
A chill ran down my spine from the ice in her voice.
This was Lakey at her most dangerous. The cold calculation.
When she was angry, she was unpredictable, but when she was ready to cleanse the earth, she became someone else entirely.
A being of perfect calm, someone who was laser focussed.
Who could make a decision in a split second and know it was the right one.
"Show me," I said, my hand settling on the small of her back.
She passed me a file, her fingers brushing mine as she stared up at me. I opened the file and started reading, feeling my anger rising with each word.
"Fuck," I breathed. "Lakey, this is—"
"I know," she cut me off abruptly. "Keep looking. There has to be more. I need to find Lydia… and me."
We fell into silence then, the only sound the rustle of paper as we dug deeper into the horrors documented so neatly in black and white. I kept sneaking glances at Lakey, watching the play of emotions across her face.
This was why I loved her. Not despite the darkness inside her, but because of it. She could stare into the abyss and not only come out the other side but drag the monsters into the light to burn alongside her.
"Hey," I reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "We're gonna make this right."
She looked up at me, her blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears and barely contained rage. "Promise?"
I nodded, cupping her face in my hands. "Cross my black little heart, sweetheart. No one's ever gonna hurt you again without answering to me."
A smirk flickered across her face. "My big, bad wolf," she murmured, leaning into my touch.
"Always," I promised.
The moment shattered as Lakey's eyes widened, fixating on something behind me. "Cam," she breathed, her voice a mixture of horror and fascination. "Look."
I turned, following her gaze to a dusty filing cabinet tucked in the corner. Its top drawer was slightly ajar, a yellowed folder peeking out.
"Well, well, well. What nasty little secrets are you hiding?"
I yanked the drawer open, the metal screeching in protest. Inside was a treasure trove of depravity – files upon files, each labeled with a name and a number in the right-hand corner. My stomach churned as I recognized some of them from the jars in the other room.
"Jackpot," I muttered, pulling out a handful and spreading them on the desk.
Lakey was at my side in an instant, her fingers tracing the names. "It's all here," she whispered. "Everything they did to us. Every sick, twisted experiment."
I flipped open the nearest file, my eyes skimming over clinical descriptions of torture that made even my hardened heart skip a beat. "Jesus, fuck," I breathed.
Female circumcision. No anesthetic. Deceased. Hysterectomy. No anesthetic. Deceased.
Her laugh was brittle, bordering on hysterical. "What's the matter, big guy? Too much for even you to handle?"
I met her gaze, seeing the challenge there. "Naw, just trying to find your file." Truth was, this is fucking grotesque, but I had to save my inner crusader for the right time.
She scanned the files. “I don’t see it here.” With a sigh she opened another folder. “I don’t see Lydia’s either, but I guess they tried to perform an abortion on Margot. No anesthetic, of course. Seems to be their favorite way of inflicting pain. Guess who was the beaming daddy?”
“Father Christopher, of course.” I looked over the office with a more critical eye. If he had felt any which way about Lakey, or noticed how special she was, like most of our foster fathers had, he’d have put her file somewhere where no one would find it.
I had a sneaking suspicion about what they’d done to her, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted her to find out. Her dreams of being a mother would shatter, and I might not be able to hold all the pieces together.
The devastation might just destroy her.
“Oh my God, Cam! Look!” she pointed excitedly at a nondescript box. Opening it, a small silver key lay inside.
Of course she would find it. Of course she would.
“Well? Where do you think its other half is?” She went on a frenzy searching for where the key might fit.
A silver security box caught my eye under a stack of paper in the shredder.
“Probably in here.” I reached down to grab it, setting it on the table in front of us.
“Babe… once you open this… if your file is in here, there’s no going back.
Do you understand that? Whatever is in here, this is the truth of what happened to you. Do… are you sure you want to know?”
She looked pensive for a moment.
“Yes.” Taking a deep breath, she held the key towards the lock on the box. “Yes, I want to know.”