Page 41 of Vicious Chaos

I don’t bother to fire them off one at a time, rather going for the root of it all. “I want to know everything you know, Rachel. I need to know how and when you found out about Jade, how she ended up in foster care, why you want her now, what you plan to do with that connection. I want to know more about your father, about the empire you’ve built and how that relates to Jade. Do you expect to bring her into your crew? Is she seen as a threat to the throne you’ve built for yourself? Everything Rachel. I want everything.”

She closes her eyes as I speak, taking deep breaths to calm herself. I can tell something about my questions have hit a nerve. If I had to guess, I would say it has to do with her father. There is a string there to unravel, I just don’t know if it has to do with Jade or not.

“My mother almost died giving birth to me.”

I let my surprise show at her response. That is not something we uncovered nor where I would have expected her to start.

“My father was not pleased that his first born was a girl. He was infuriated when my mother struggled to get pregnant again. After several miscarriages, the doctor told her she wouldn’t be able to have any more children. They advised my parents to stop trying. The very next day my father killed my mother.”

Every word is said in an even, neutral tone. Not monotone or without emotion, just steady. As if she has to so she doesn’t break. She no longer meets my eyes, instead looking just over my shoulder. Her eyes are locked on something though. I watch as Alec shifts closer to her and lightly squeezes her knee before running his fingertips over her leg.

“He never remarried, and I stayed an only child. The apple of my father’s eye, as most people would believe. But our relationship wasn’t nearly as close as it seemed. He always just wanted a son. A daughter wasn’t of much use to him. He didn’t trust me. Didn’t bring me in on much. Everything I knew, I fought to obtain that information.”

I had started to assume as much, but I didn’t think she would come out and say it. It’s clear they’ve painted a very specific picture for a reason. A diligent daughter who was devastated at her father’s murder. I somehow get the feeling that isn’t the case. Everything she’s sharing only confirms that. My only surprise is the trust she’s placing in us not to shatter the illusion she’s meticulously created.

“It wasn’t until his passing, after his funeral, that I discovered Jade. He had a file on her, pictures of her mother, pictures of her, addresses, school records, her mother’s death certificate, her social services records. Everything. He knew everything about her. Including when she was kidnapped.”

She swallows thickly and I can see the strain this conversation is causing her, but with every word and every expression that flickers across her features, I trust her a little bit more. Pieces are coming together and making sense. Rachel never had a family either. She’s been clinging to the idea that Jade could be that for her after her father deprived her of so much.

“He had many files, keeping an eye on all the women he slept with. My guess is he was hoping one of them would give him a son. Jade was the only child he found. He just had no use for another daughter. He wouldn't have cared about what was happening to her. He probably only kept an eye on her because if she would have had a son, that would be his blood in that child’s veins. He would have swooped in and taken him to be his heir.”

Ryder cringes at my side and I hear him mutter about how sick the whole thing is. I can’t help but agree. It’s not like we all haven’t had first row seats to father’s being scumbags though.

“Things were thrown into chaos after the funeral. I tried to find Jade immediately, but everything was working against me. Men wanting to rise to power in my father’s absence, wanting me to know my place. It took me a long time to stabilize our operations enough to go looking for Jade. Too long. The last information my father had was that Benjamin Wilson had just purchased Jade from Henry Michelson.”

I mentally make a timeline and everything she’s saying matches up with what I know. I don’t see any sign or reason to not believe her.

“We started digging into him in our spare time. Looking for where he would have hidden Jade. By the time we were able to put our full focus into it, we discovered she had been sold again. We just missed her and all we knew was she had been sold to Romano. I knew he would be auctioning her off, but he never did. He kept moving her, but never selling her. We had someone at every auction, just waiting for a chance. We did our best to find where he was keeping girls, but he has places all over the country. We couldn’t get a lock on her location. We just kept wondering when he was going to sell her. It would have been a fool proof way to get her out of that world. Lord knows we had the money to burn, and I would have held nothing back. We finally got wind of Ciar’s obsession with her. We doubled down on our efforts, this time trying to track him. Which led us to the abandoned Sheriff’s station right here in St Graves. Only to find it already raided with some truly savage kills. Some I may have recognized from favors I’ve called in when I wanted to send a particularly brutal message.”

She says the last bit with a small smile. No doubt thinking about how extreme my methods have been in the past. The last pieces click into place and I think I finally understand why Rachel has been so desperate to get her hands on Jade. Why she ever suspected we had her. It went back to the very beginning. Of course she’s familiar with my kills and style. Had she not been there in person, I doubt she would have made the connection. It seems luck was on her side.

Add on to that all of the information they were being fed through Romano, the doubts and suspicions being cast our way, we do make an enticing option. An answer that makes it all make sense.

I don’t say any of that though. I may be starting to trust her, but I’m never going to be willing to risk Jade. “And what about bringing her in?”

She hesitates, biting her lip as she contemplates. After several tense moments she finally answers, “I think Jade has already found her place.” She sighs a little and I can see the disappointment there. “She will always have a place at my side if she ever chooses it, but I’d never make her take part in the family business either.”

She pauses to meet my eyes. “And no, Scar. She isn’t a threat to me. I’ve far surpassed my father’s power, grown this empire more than he ever could have dreamed. No one could dethrone me that easily, not even a blood relative. Hell, not even if a son were to finally pop up.”

“You just want her to be your sister?” I clarify.

She gives me a smile so full of emotion it’s hard to encompass it all. There’s sadness, loneliness, but there’s hope and even some peace there too. “I just want a sister. She’s been through so much because of a man she never even knew. Is it strange I feel a kinship with her because of that?”

I shrug. I don’t think it’s weird at all, but I’m also not quite ready to let my guard down. I trade looks with all the guys, and I can tell they all trust her. My gut says that she’s telling us the truth. I still believe there is more to the story with her father, but I’ve come to realize it doesn’t have anything to do with Jade. He’s dead and buried, no use digging up more of that story when there isn’t anything I can do about it.

“Okay, I believe you,” I say before picking up the gun and putting it back in my holster.

“Ugh, finally,” Alec sighs dramatically. “I was getting exhausted of this back and forth with you guys.”

All of the guys chuckle at his confession. Alec has been a good friend to Kade, so I’m not surprised by the immediate shift in the atmosphere.

Rachel still looks at me apprehensively. “Does this mean I can see her?”

I chew on my lip as I think about just how to answer her. “It means I won’t stand in your way anymore. You just have to promise to go at her pace. We will give her the DNA results, but you have to wait for her to make the first move. This whole thing has been overwhelming for her.”

She nods and I can see the relief flooding through her. “I can promise that,” she agrees easily.

Kade laughs and leans against the arm of the couch. “We will give you some chances to be around her.”

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