Christy’s POV
The walls of my room felt like they were closing in on , suffocating with every breath I took.
I couldn’t stop pacing from the window to the bed, back and forth like a trapped animal, my bare feet brushing across the polished floor while my chest rose and fell too quickly.
My hands trembled as they brushed over my nightdress and tangled in my hair, and I couldn’t stop replaying Jasper’s words in my mind.
"Kendrick went to the hospital to investigate the truth."
He had said it in a strained tone, trying to keep calm, but it had the opposite effect.
Those words pierced deeper than any blade, because I knew what that ant. If Kendrick went there, if he cornered the right person, then the wall of lies my family and I had built to keep him out would crumble in seconds.
The truth.
My legs buckled as I sank onto the edge of the bed, pressing my shaking palms over my face as I tried to block it all out.
My heart wouldn’t slow down, it kept thundering inside , each beat screaming that my secret wasn’t safe anymore.
He was determined, I knew him too well. Kendrick never let go once he had a target. If he found out...
A sob lodged in my throat and I swallowed it down. No, I couldn’t cry, not now.
Crying would only make weaker, and I was already breaking apart.
I forced myself up, stumbling to the mirror across the room. My reflection looked pale, wild-eyed, like a ghost of myself.
My fingers pressed against the glass as I whispered, "He can’t know. He can’t..."
The phone on my dresser rang, jolting out of my thoughts and I quickly rushed to get it.
My chest felt extrely stuffy when I saw Jasper’s na flashing on the screen and my hand shook as I picked it up, pressing it to my ear.
"Christy, listen to . He knows. Kendrick knows everything." He said with a panicked and urgent voice.
His words made my knees go weak and hit the floor as his words kept replaying in my head and the phone almost slipped from my hand as my heart caved in.
My breath ca in sharp, shallow bursts, and I pressed the phone tighter against my ear as if I could sohow strangle the words before they reached .
"No... no, he can’t. Jasper, please tell you’re lying....Tell you arrived just in ti to stop him."
"I tried," Jasper muttered, his voice low and heavy.
"But he found the nurse that took care of you. He probably paid her off, she told him everything. The pregnancy, the mory loss ... all of it." he said with a frustrated sigh.
My stomach turned and bile rose in my throat.
"He knows you rember, Christy and he knows the child was his." he added when he didn’t hear my voice after a few seconds.
His words shattered .
I gasped in frustration as his words sank into my mind, I could not imagine facing him again and I don’t think I had the courage to face him either.
"No... oh God, no."I cried softly, trying to make sure my voice wasn’t too loud so as not to disturb everyone.
"Christy, listen," Jasper’s voice hardened with urgency.
"He is furious, he even attacked at the hospital, he nearly killed . He swore he would get you back no matter what. You need to stay calm and listen to your family. Don’t let him near you." he warned with a worried voice.
I hung up before he could say more as I couldn’t take it.
My fingers slipped from the phone and it clattered onto the floor. I clutched my chest, rocking back and forth, whispering over and over, "He knows... he knows... he knows."
The room blurred through my tears, my panic consuming so fully that I didn’t even notice when the door burst open.
"Christy!" My mother’s voice cracked as she rushed in, her face pale with dread.
"It’s Kelvin... " She said with a panicked voice without noticing my current state.
Her words tangled together with my thoughts and I could not understand until I tried to focus on her. I slowly wiped my tears and my hair that was clinging to my damp cheeks.
"What about Kelvin?"I asked her in confusion.
My father appeared in the doorway, his usually composed face dark with a fury I had never seen before. There was no trace of the caring father I have known for weeks now.
His fists were clenched, his jaw rigid, and his voice shook when he said "The military police took him."
I just sat there in confusion as his words sank in.
"What?" My voice broke, weak and desperate.
"They stord into the base this morning," my father continued through gritted teeth,
"Dragged him out like a criminal. They’re accusing him of taking bribes during his last mission." he said after a pause.
He was probably too upset and had to breathe.
My head spun after hearing the sudden news and it didn’t make any sense.
"That’s a lie right? The brother that I have known so far can’t do sothing like that. He is always so disciplined and upright" I said with a frown.
My mother grabbed my arms, her nails digging into my skin as tears streaked her face.
"He says he didn’t take money, but... he admits he helped because the man accused is his girlfriend’s brother." she explained.
Now, it made sense, I knew he would never take bribes.
I staggered back, staring at them both
"So he didn’t do it for himself, he... he did it for her?"I asked them.
My father’s voice thundered. "That doesn’t matter! Lots of people in the military have been waiting for an excuse to destroy us, and now they have it."
He slamd his fist into the wall so hard the sound made flinch.
"The Lancasters have enemies in every shadow, and now they’ll use my own son to break us." he said furiously.
I clutched my head with both hands, panic tearing apart in two directions as so much was going on in my head.
Kendrick knew the truth and now my brother was trapped in a web of power and lies so much bigger than him.
"What do we do?" My voice cracked as I looked at them helplessly.
My father’s silence was worse than his anger as his eyes shifted to my mother, then back to , filled with sothing I hadn’t seen in him before.
defeat.
He seed to have no way of getting Kelvin out and has probably tried all he knew.
"We’ve tried everything," my mother whispered.
"We called in every favor, every friend, but they all refused because they are afraid of being tainted by Kelvin’s na."she explained with tears streaming down her face.
I shook my head violently.
"There has to be soone that can help... There has to be!" I yelled in frustration.
"There is," my father muttered at last, his voice low, bitter. "But you won’t like it."
My chest froze as a particular na ca to my mind when I saw his hesitant expression.
"Who?" I asked with an anxious voice.
His eyes locked on mine, heavy and unyielding. "Kendrick."
The na struck like a whip, and I stumbled back.
"No.... No, absolutely not." I shook my head repeatedly.
"He’s the only one who can pull strings with the generals," my father said, his tone sharp.
"He has ties through his grandfather that no one else dares to cross. If anyone can clear Kelvin’s na, it’s him." he explained in a bid to convince .
My mother’s sobs filled the room, her hands clasped together as if in prayer. "Christy, please, we have no other choice."
I backed away, shaking my head until my hair whipped around my face.
"You don’t understand, he knows! He knows everything, and if I go to him now..." I tried explaining but my father raised his hand to stop .
"Then use it," my father snapped, his eyes blazing.
"If he wants you back, if he wants his child... then let him earn it by saving Kelvin. For just this once, put your family above your fear." he said with a determined tone.
My hands trembled against my sides, and my heart felt like it was bleeding inside my chest.
Go to Kendrick.
The thought itself made sick. To stand in front of him after all the lies, it felt like walking into a fire naked, exposing every wound I had tried to hide.
But Kelvin’s face flashed in my mind, his soft smile. He didn’t deserve this and definitely doesn’t deserve to rot in a cell because of an issue that could be solved.
I pressed a fist against my mouth, muffling the sob that was threatening to co out.
I didn’t want to see Kendrick but my brother’s life weighed heavier than my pride, heavier than my fear.
And I knew then whether I liked it or not, I had no choice.
I would have to go to Kendrick.
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