His eyes flare. He opens his mouth to beg, but I hit him again.
“Tell me about Winston and Trent.”
He shudders. “They’re part of… some secret society. They go to the auctions. To move up the ranks, they have to sell their firstborn daughter.”
I stare at him, ice sliding down my spine.
What the fuck?
I turn and walk out. My heart is still in that room, thrashing against the horror I just heard.
Candace’s mother. A secret society. Fathers selling daughters. And Chuck? He’s going to die screaming.
The door slams shut behind me, echoing through the hall like a gunshot. My jaw is tight, breath ragged, blood still singingfrom the violence. I barely make it ten steps before I catch sight of them. East leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, Nash pacing like a loaded weapon, and Knox standing still as stone.
They all look up when they see my face.
Knox straightens first. “That bad?”
I don’t speak. Not yet. My hand finds the back of my neck, tries to scrub away the nightmare crawling under my skin. It doesn’t work. The grime is inside me now. I meet their eyes one by one, voice low and guttural.
“He said Candace’s mom is alive.”
Silence. Knox blinks. East’s brows twitch. But Nash? Nash doesn’t move. Not even a breath. Just stares at me like he’s waiting for the punchline to something that isn’t funny.
“She’s working with Donovan,” I go on. “Alice Brighton. Funding the auctions. Running recruitment. Donovan’s just the muscle. She’s the one behind it now.”
Knox swears under his breath and runs a hand through his hair. “No fuckin’ way. Candace—she thinks her mom’s dead.”
“I know,” I say, voice strained. “But it gets worse.”
Nash doesn’t blink. “Tell us.”
“They’ve got a whole system. A society. Winston, Trent… they’re part of it. You wanna move up the ranks?” I look at each of them, make sure they understand this next part isn’t some rumor. “You have to sell your firstborn daughter.”
No one speaks. The hallway might as well freeze over.
East makes a sound in his throat. Rough. Gut-deep. “Jesus Christ. That’s… fucked. That’s next-level evil. Who the hell even comes up with that?”
Nash is the first to breathe. His jaw ticks. “What about Chuck?”
“He knew,” I say. “All of it. He got into bed with Alice. Was gonna sell Candace for a payout.”
“Jesus Christ,” East mutters, looking away like he needs distance just to keep from exploding.
“He said she cut him off. That’s why he did it.” My lip curls. “Blamed her.”
Knox exhales, slow and sharp. “We killin’ him now?”
My hands ball into fists at my sides. “Not yet.”
East looks at me with sharp eyes. “Why the hell not?”
“Because we bring Candace in,” I say, voice tight. “She deserves to know what he said. What he did. And if anyone’s gonna decide what happens to that piece of shit, it’s her.”
Knox gives a slow nod. “You sure about that? You think she’s ready to hear this?”
“No,” I say quietly. “But it’s hers to hear anyway.”
