Page 115 of The Arrogant's Redemption

Lazarus

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

The first personI thought to call the moment the three of us couldn’t reach our wives—and I couldn’t reach Marla—was Badger.

To my surprise, though, when he answered and I quickly explained the situation, he sounded calm. He told me he was already at Morrison’s house and that he wasn’t going to do what I’d asked—which was call the police.

Marla’s fiancé said we’d talk when I arrived, but he did want to confirm whether the rest of the guests would only be arriving in Cape Cod by nightfall. I told him yes.

I pushed for answers, and he finally gave me a quick rundown of what he’d seen when he got to Morrison’s place. He said all the women were with him, resting safely after being checked out by a doctor friend of his. As soon as he was sure they’d be okay on their own, he planned to go back to Morrison’s.

I asked him where my cousin was. He replied, “Sleeping.”

I didn’t fully understand what that meant—and honestly, I didn’t care. All that mattered was that Alexis, her mother, and our wives were safe.

Badger told us not to come by helicopter, without giving a reason. Said to drive instead, that it would take the same amount of time. But I’d already made arrangements and had my plane ready. From the private airport in Cape Cod to Morrison’s house, it’d take just half an hour.

Hours later, when we finally arrived, I had no idea what to expect—but I wasn’t shocked when Badger walked out of my cousin’s house with blood on his knuckles.

"He woke up. I was keeping himcompany."

"Tell me everything," I said the moment we stepped inside.

We didn’t go straight down to the basement/club. We stayed in the foyer, listening while Badger laid out what he’d witnessed and what the women had told him.

It sounded like something out of a horror movie, and even I—a cold, calculating man—had a hard time wrapping my head around the madness.

Because of an obsession, Morrison destroyed and rerouted the entire course of Marla and Alexis’s lives.

He kept Alexis’s mother from marrying the man she loved. Left her young, pregnant, alone, and mentally shattered to the point that she had to give her baby—my Alexis—up for adoption.

But he didn’t stop there. Years later, when he found her again, he tried to burn her alive. Failed again.

And finally, he committed murder just to try to have her thrown in prison.

"Alexis told me he confessed to being the father of Jodie’s child—your ex. His real target was you. All of you. For saving Marla from that fire."

"Now the hospital hacking and the swapped tests make sense."

"What are you talking about?" Badger asks.

"I’ll explain later," I say. "Please, go on."

"He didn’t expect Jodie to drive her car into a truck," Marla’s fiancé continues. "I’m pretty sure dying wasn’t part of his plan."

"Fuck," William mutters, dragging both hands down his face.

"But I still don’t get why he told me to go after Alexis," I say.

"He told me he changed his mind. Said he wanted to toy with you before destroying you. I interrogated him once I was sure the women were safe, LJ. Morrison was going to kill them last night, but they didn’t drink the drugged champagne. They went to bed instead. That bought me enough time to save them, otherwise, he would’ve caught them asleep. He said it would’ve been the perfect punishment for you three—to know your women died alone and defenseless."

"That son of a bitch." I start heading downstairs, William and Athanasios following close behind.

But before we reach the bottom, Badger says, "I’m not letting him walk out of here alive, LJ. He ruined Marla’s life. He was going to set the house on fire with all four of them inside. I believe in retribution. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. I’m going to give him what he deserves."

None of us say a word. And when I reach the basement and see Morrison tied to a chair, I wish I could say I feel some kind of pain—knowing that my cousin, the man I once valued like a brother, like one of my best friends, is nothing more than the devil in human form.

But it isn't pain I feel. It's hatred. Pure, blinding hatred. A craving for vengeance.

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