Page 43 of Toxic Obsession

He was there to make sure she was safe. I didn't know how this would go down today and wanted to ensure nothing happened while I was away.

Sadie: Jayden...

I hated not responding to her, but I was almost positive she would disapprove of me visiting her father in prison to get answers. If she asked me not to, I didn't know that I would be able to walk away without getting the information I needed.

Sadie: Seriously, Jayden. What's going on?

I knew I would have to explain everything when I got back to her house, but I didn't know how I would do that or how mad she would be if I told her the truth. She would be furious that I went behind her back. The prison that housed Sadie's father was three hours north of Waterford, so I would have plenty of time to decide how I would handle this on the long drive home.

Sadie: I'm going to break his nose if he doesn't leave.

The last one made the corners of my lips twitch as I dropped my cell on the small table in front of me. Poor KJ.

Sadie's dad slid into his seat before picking up the old red phone hanging on the wall with his hands still shackled together, and I imagined his ankles were too. His dark brown eyes locked on mine, waiting for me to do the same.Sadie didn't favor her father. He was shorter with a cleanly shaved head and a deep five o'clock shadow.

I was here because I wanted to know the truth, but would he give it to me? What truth was I expecting to get out of this? He'd killed his entire family in cold blood and then gone to bed like nothing happened, but he was the only person other than Sadie's mom who knew the truth, and seeing the coldness hidden behind her green eyes told me I would never get the truth from her.

I wrapped my fingers around the receiver and placed the phone to my ear.

"Do I know you?" His deep voice sounded through the phone.

"No," I answered dryly. "I'm a friend of Sadie's."

"Sadie," he repeated, perking up. His eyes brightened, and my stomach churned at how he reacted to her name, but I wouldn't dare let him see it. I nodded. "How is she? Is she doing okay?"

Clenching my jaw, I shook my head. "You don't get to ask me questions about her." His shoulders sank, and on a hard swallow, he nodded. I had zero intention of feeding him any information on Sadie, the daughter he attempted to murder.

"What can I help you with?" His expression hardening.

"I want to know what happened the night you murdered your family," I said, keeping my facial expression neutral.

"Why not ask Sadie?" He shrugged. I raised my eyebrows but didn't answer.

"I'm asking you." I cocked my head to the side.

"I'm not going to be able to give you whatever answers you're searching for," he muttered. "I didn't hurt my family."

I should have known he would take the cowardly route and claim innocence. I should have known he wouldn't answer my questions, but I'll be damned if he's going to spew his bullshit about being innocent to me.

"Fine, you don't want to answer my questions." I shrugged, leaning forward, anger coloring my tone. "Then don't but do. Not. Ever. Send Sadie's mom to her house again."

His tight face dropped as his eyes widened. "Sadie's mom?" he questioned, his tone shifting, now sounding more panicked. I didn't bother responding as I slid back in my seat, but he had my attention. His entire body language shifted uncomfortably. "Listen," his tone was pleading and desperate. "No matter what, do not leave Sadie alone with her mom." I kept my expression neutral careful not to let him know I believed anything he said. Instead, I rolled my eyes, letting him know I was annoyed. "Look, I could tell you the story, but you wouldn't believe it, and that's fine, but if Kara knows you are here or that there's even the slightest chance Sadie remembers what happened, she will kill her like she did the rest of my family."

"Are you trying to convince me that Sadie's mom killed your family and not you?" I refrained from rolling my eyes because I knew this was where he would go.

"No," he said. "I'm trying to convince you to keep Sadie away from her mom. I have never sent Kara to Sadie's house. In fact, I haven't spoken to Kara since the night of the accident."

My gaze scanned over his pleading expression. My gut told me he wasn't lying about Sadie's mom. That he truly believed she was dangerous, and I'd gotten those vibes the minute I met her, but was she dangerous enough to murder her entire family?

"Tell me what happened that night."

"Kara is crazy," he started. "I should have left her years earlier, but I was scared my kids would be left alone with her. I thought I was protecting them by staying, but I truly had no idea how crazy she was." He visibly swallowed, staring past me as if he saw his memories. "I was asleep in the basement that night because Kara and I weren't getting along. I awoke to gunshots, but the door was locked when I tried to get out of the basement."

"Did you tell the police?"

"Yes," he answered. "I tried to explain, but the police had already decided I was guilty before I even had a chance to say a word. They built an entire case against me with only her statement. The judge decided I was guilty the minute he looked at the case. He wouldn't even allow Sadie's 9-1-1 call into evidence."

"What was in the 9-1-1 call?"

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