Chapter 70

ASHER

Addison falls silent, her usually sharp tongue and defiant attitude fading away at the revelation that Mama didn’t choose to come to this country either. I think the news might have stunned her into silence.

“Mama,” Ella whispers.

“It’s okay, El. It doesn’t bother me as much as it used to,” Mama reassures her, a shared understanding passing between them.

Ella knows the most; she knows everything… Mama had to confide in her after that man was killed by Uncle Eddie. She had to tell her to cover up the murder of a man we didn’t know, but one she knew all too well.

“Yeah, but Mama… I don’t really want to hear about it…” I caution her. Because I truly don’t.

I can’t see my mother in the same light as these girls. I don’t want to see the strong, independent woman in my life as anything less.

“I understand, Asher. Don’t worry; I’m not going to spill all my past mistakes at the dinner table. But maybe I can help you three. We could talk, share our stories. I have a really good friend who helps people deal with trauma related to abuse like this,” Mama suggests.

My fathers hang on her every word, as they always do, but Ella and I recoil. We know exactly who she’s referring to. We remember the times she used to come and take Mama away. The woman who, despite her friendly demeanor, terrified us as kids.

She only ever showed up when things were really bad. And eventually, it clicked. Mama was gone again, and it was just our fathers at home.

They say privileged kids don’t experience trauma, but our mother leaving to take care of herself is exactly that—deep trauma, at its worst.

Her therapist, the one who also helped Tils, has always been a trigger for me, and I don’t think that’ll ever change.

“I’m not talking,” Ebony declares quietly, her hand still in mine under the table. Her refusal is like a soothing balm to my anger.

I can’t blame her for wanting to stay silent, but I wish she would expose the wrongs to help fuel her revenge against Sanctum and everyone involved in it.

“I can’t either. Too many girls depend on me…” Maddison murmurs, her voice dreamy as if she can’t believe this is happening.

“I’ll talk, whatever the fuck you want to know. I’ll spill everything as long as you get me out of there and promise me a one-way ticket home to my family,” Addison declares.

I want to say her readiness surprises me, but it doesn’t—not at all. She’s been the most determined of the three, and something about her reminds me of Tils.

Callum’s eyebrows shoot up. The idea that I’ve brought home at least one girl who might talk is clearly appealing to him. As he said, his men have six—all refusing to talk as much as the other two.

“Addison, be careful; you don’t know if you can trust them…” Maddison warns.

And that stings. Her distrust of my family feels like a knife in my heart. These people in front of her are probably the most trustworthy people she’ll ever meet.

But her situation has blinded her to the fact that she’s safer here on this land with my parents than she ever was with me.

“Okay then, perhaps it’s bath time, girls?” Ella’s voice turns sing-songy for Indi and Lorelei as she moves toward them. They’ve finished eating, their little ears absorbing this very adult conversation, and I admire Ella in that moment.

Daniel, too, excuses himself as they both take off with the girls to bathe them and leave us adults to discuss this. I see his behavior as cowardly.

“Did I…offend her?” Addison asks, sounding a bit embarrassed.

“I highly doubt it; Ella is…built like her mother,” Tyler chuckles while looking at Mama. His eyes are doing that soft thing they sometimes do when he’s admiring Mama.

“Ella’s just fine. She realizes she doesn’t need to be here for this conversation,” Callum notes.

I swallow because he has that no-nonsense tone—the one that usually gets under my skin very quickly.

“Addison, we’re desperate for someone like you to come forward,” they say. “We need concrete details. Dates, times, meetings you recall. Anything that could lead us to the next batch of girls. We need to gather enough proof to show that girls are indeed being trafficked from the USA and other parts of the world.”

“I don’t have that kind of information. But she does,” Addison says, pointing at Maddison.

Suddenly, all eyes are on Maddison, and I can feel her tense up next to me. The truth is, she does have access to that kind of information, but she’s not willing to share it.

“I won’t talk. There are three of us, Addison. How many girls would I be abandoning if I spilled everything to these people?” Maddison retorts.

“Shutting down this operation would set us all free. You’re close to Jonathon; you can get the information they need to bring us home…” Addison whispers to us.

But Maddison doesn’t bite. She remains silent, turning her gaze to my parents. I silently plead with her to agree, to form an alliance with us that would allow us to gather the necessary information to bring these bastards down and save all these girls from further torment.

But she remains unyielding, refusing to speak even though we all know she could be the key to Fennick’s downfall.

“All right, that’s enough. Would you girls like to help me bake some cookies?” my mom interjects, swooping in to save the day.

“That sounds better than sitting here,” Maddison murmurs. She stands, gathering plates from our side of the table. She stacks them as if she’s had experience as a waitress. Then she leaves the room, her gaze trailing down the long hallway.

She spots the kitchen at the end, heading toward the open-plan living space.

“I thought you said you could convince her to help?” Callum whispers to me.

“She doesn’t trust you. She’ll never agree to anything if she believes the girls she’s protecting will end up worse off,” I whispered back.