Chapter 153: Explain?

Cecilia

Audrey Rose.

Sophia's mother.

"Arthur," I managed, my voice coming out strangled and strange. "Look at this. Sophia's mother—she was one of them. One of the Grey family's victims."

I completely forgot our earlier quarrel, longing only to talk to him.

Fortunately, he responded to me.

He leaned closer, his eyes scanning the entry with the kind of focused intensity that meant he was cataloging every detail, every implication.

When he spoke, his voice was carefully controlled in that way that meant he was working hard to keep his emotions in check.

"Captured June 2010, escaped August 2010 with unknown help. That lines up with what Carter told us—that Sophia's mother was taken when Sophia was young, held for months, and came back... different. Thus, she often ignored Sophia's pleas for help against bullying"

I scrolled down, my heart hammering against my ribs as I searched for more information, more context.

The file contained medical records—clinical notes about psychological trauma, about a subject who'd been deemed "unsuitable for standard operations" due to severe mental breakdown, about the decision to simply dispose of her rather than continue investing resources in her rehabilitation.

Except she'd escaped before they could carry out that disposal order.

"Someone helped her," I said, my finger hovering over the phrase unknown figure. "Someone inside the Grey organization—or at least someone with access—got her out before they could kill her."

The realization settled over me like a weight, heavy and terrible and absolutely certain. This wasn't just about my mother anymore, wasn't just about Daniel or the other victims whose faces had stared out at me from those clinical photographs. This was bigger than I'd imagined, more widespread, more systemic.

The Grey family had been doing this for decades—longer, probably, if the oldest files on this hard drive were any indication.

Snatching people, breaking them, selling them, disposing of them like they were nothing more than inventory that had outlived its usefulness.

And they'd gotten away with it because they had money and power and connections that reached into every corner of the system that was supposed to stop them.

"I'm going to destroy them," I heard myself say, the words coming out flat and certain despite the exhaustion pulling at me, despite the pain radiating from my bruised ribs and the concussion that still made the room tilt slightly when I moved too fast.

"Arthur, I’ll hand all the evidence on this drive to the proper authorities. I won’t let the Grey family hurt anyone ever again."

I looked up at him, hoping he understood this was no longer just about revenge or justice for my mother.

"The children sold at the auction — that little girl, those three boys conditioned to being traded — they deserve ordinary lives and freedom. I’ll do whatever it takes to give them that chance."

A complex look crossed Arthur’s face: pride tangled with worry and quiet resignation, knowing he could not change my mind.

In the end, he just said with a blank expression. "All right."

He rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes.

After a week of relentless efforts, I finally brought the Grey family down completely. Barring any surprises, they will spend their lives behind bars.

Sadly, Arthur has only cared about my health these days. He barely talks to me. I know neither of us has forgotten that argument.

Besides, the doctor finally cleared me for long-distance travel.

I sat on the edge of the hospital bed, wearing regular clothes for the first time in more than a week, when a soft knock echoed at the door.

"Come in," I said, expecting a nurse or Ethan to discuss travel plans.

Sophia walked in with Carter right behind her. I raised my brows in surprise; I hadn’t met either of them since the rescue. Back then Sophia was still unconscious, and Carter stayed faithfully by her bedside.

"Ceci," Sophia said warmly, sounding far more joyful than I’d ever known her. She stepped over and hugged me cautiously. "I heard you’re leaving the hospital. I came to bid you farewell before you go."

"Aren’t you heading back to the States?" I pulled back to gaze at her.

She seemed much healthier. Faint bruises lingered on her temple, and her head remained bandaged, yet her whole aura felt entirely different.

Her eyes were clearer, her smile more genuine, and when Carter moved to stand beside her, his hand finding the small of her back with casual possessiveness, I understood immediately what had changed.

"Not right away," Sophia said, glancing up at Carter with something that looked an awful lot like love. "Carter and I—we're going to stay in London for a while. Work some things out. Figure out if we can actually make this work without all the drama and the lies and the—" She stopped, seeming to search for the right word.

"The bullshit," Carter supplied helpfully, and Sophia laughed, the sound genuine and unguarded in a way I'd never heard from her.

"Yeah," she agreed. "The bullshit."

I felt myself smile . "So you two are back together? For real this time?"

Carter's expression shifted into something serious, his arm tightening around Sophia's waist. "When I saw her in that car—bleeding and unconscious and so damn still—I realized I'd been lying to myself for months. Telling myself I was over her, that I'd moved on, that breaking the engagement was the right choice."

His voice went rough with emotion. "But the truth is, I never stopped loving her. Never stopped wanting her, needing her, hoping she'd come back to me. And when I thought I'd lost her for good—" He stopped, his throat working as he swallowed hard. "It felt like my whole world was ending."

Sophia reached up to cup his face, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "For everything I put you through, for being too scared and too weak to admit that I loved you more than anything."

"You weren't weak," Carter said firmly. "You were surviving. And now—" He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Now we get to figure out how to actually be together. No more secrets, no more lies. We’ll explain things promptly once issues arise."

"I'm happy for you," I said, meaning it with every fiber of my being. "Really, truly happy. You both deserve this."

They smiled warmly at me.

A peaceful lull fell over the room. Watching their happiness, my thoughts drifted back to Arthur—

Wait, explain?

A thought struck me. Had Arthur asked me something earlier?

I sifted through everything that happened this week, and it finally clicked.

"Carter, you stayed right by Arthur's side the day I was captured. Do you know what Arthur expects me to explain?"