"Let them see her," Aaron's voice cut in from behind me. I turned to find him watching with that same amused smirk. "What the hell. They might as well say their goodbyes. Be sure to tell her what is in store for her, eh, boys."
The enforcer hesitated, clearly uncertain about taking orders from Aaron. But Aaron's influence was evident when the man finally nodded and stepped aside. Aaron turned to Ryder, his smile taking on a cruel edge.
"Family dinner this weekend, son. Don't be late." Ryder's face contorted with rage.
"Shove your family dinner up your fucking ass," he spat. Aaron merely chuckled, shaking his head as if Ryder were a misbehaving child.
"See you tomorrow, boys," he said, before sauntering away, clearly amused by something only he understood.
The enforcer unlocked the door to Cadence's room, and the three of us stepped inside. Cadence's head snapped up at the sound, her eyes wide with surprise. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of her, pale, exhausted, her blue eyes red-rimmed from crying, but still so beautiful it hurt to look at her. Ryder moved toward her first, his hand outstretched.
"Cade-" She flinched away from him, pressing herself back in her chair. The hurt that flashed across Ryder's face was visceral, and I felt a sympathetic pang in my chest. After everything we'd put her through, her rejection shouldn't have been surprising, but it still stung.
"How are you holding up?" Cole asked gently, keeping his distance. Cadence didn't answer. Her gaze moved between the three of us, her expression hardening into something cold and distant that made my stomach knot with dread.
"What did you mean?" she finally asked, her voice rough from disuse or crying or both. "What you said in the courtroom. Was it true?" Ryder went white, the blood draining from his face so rapidly I thought he might pass out.
"We'll explain later," he said, his voice strained. "These rooms are recorded."
"I don't give a shit about the recordings," Cadence snapped, her hands clenching into fists on the table. "I want to know if what you said in there was true. Did you really falsify my documents? Did you really manipulate my placement at Courts?"
The silence that followed her questions was deafening. I looked at Cole, whose face was a mask of resignation, then atRyder, who seemed on the verge of breaking. They were both waiting for me to speak, to take the lead as I always did.
"Yes," I said finally, the word like ash in my mouth. "It was my idea. It was all my fault." I stepped closer to the table, needing her to believe me, to believe this lie that might save her life. "I had Ryder falsify the records."
"Why?" Cadence demanded, her voice cracking on the word, fresh tears springing from her eyes. "Why would you do that to me?" I swallowed hard, forcing myself to continue with the fabricated confession.
"It was a mistake. I was pig-headed and stupid. I shouldn't have done it, but..." I hesitated, hating myself for what I was about to say. "I was annoyed when you stood up to me in the quad. When the coffee…" I trailed away, knowing how pathetic it sounded now.
I saw the exact moment understanding dawned on her face. Her eyes widened, then narrowed, a storm of emotions, disbelief, horror, rage, passing across her features in rapid succession.
"You ruined my life over a cup of coffee," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Then, louder, her control snapping like a wire pulled too tight: "OVER A FUCKING CUP OF COFFEE?" She was on her feet now, her chair scraping loudly against the floor as she shoved it back.
"Do you have any idea what you've done to me? The hell you put me through? I was kidnapped, tortured, raped, and you, you did all of this because of fucking coffee?" Each word was a knife, twisting deeper into my gut. I wanted to tell her that we were lying to save her, that we hadn't done any of this, that we loved her too much to let her suffer for crimes she didn't commit. But I couldn't. Not if we wanted to keep her safe.
"Cade, please," Ryder begged, his voice breaking. "Just listen-"
"No!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face now. "Get out! All of you, get OUT!"
"Cade-" Cole tried, his calm face cracking.
"I would rather rot in the Hole than ever see any of you again," she sobbed, her body shaking with the force of her rage and grief. "GET OUT!"
She was screaming now, her voice raw and desperate, her hands pressed against her ears as if she could block out our very existence. The door burst open, and an enforcer rushed in, taking in the scene with a practiced eye.
"You need to leave," he told us firmly, moving to stand protectively between us and Cadence.
I wanted to argue, to stay, to somehow make her understand. But the sight of her, broken, betrayed, believing we had orchestrated her suffering from the very beginning, rendered me speechless. We had no choice but to let the enforcer usher us out, Cadence's sobs following us into the hallway like physical blows.
The door closed behind us with a final, damning click. Cole leaned against the wall, his face in his hands. Ryder stood frozen, tears tracking silently down his cheeks. And I felt hollow, gutted, as if something vital had been torn from my chest.
"What do we do now?" Cole asked, his voice muffled by his hands.
"We wait," I said, though the words tasted like defeat. "We wait for the tribunal to reconvene, and we hope to God we've done enough."
"She hates us," Ryder whispered, his voice raw with pain. "We ruined her life, and she hates us for it." I didn’t know how to respond. He looked broken. His whole world crashed around him. I knew how he looked, because I felt the same.
We moved through the corridors in a daze, three broken men united in our misery. The Trivium complex was a labyrinth of marble and glass, cold and impersonal, a fitting backdrop to our despair. When we reached the main lobby, I was so lost in my thoughts that I nearly collided with a tall, imposing figure.
