Chapter 456
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Four hundred and fifty eight
Veronica POV
My mother had hardly left my side since I woke up.
She sat in the plastic chair beside my bed, holding my hand and pressing kisses to my knuckles.
“I failed you, Veronica,” she whispered over and over, her voice filled with shame. “I should have stopped I should have pulled you out of that house p>
At least one of my parents could admit it.
My father, on the other hand, would rather drop dead than acknowledge he was wrong. He could see the wreckage of my life, but he refused to admit his own role in it. I had run back to Silverbrook multiple times, crying for help, and every time, he had packed me up and sent me straight back to my abuser.
He looked older now. Gray hair covered his temples, and deep lines cut across his forehead. Part of it was stress over my situation, and part of it was that Haley had been briefly taken by rogues not long ago. I might have felt a tiny bit of sympathy for him if he hadn’t made everything about his wounded pride.
Haley was the only person in that room I could actually stand.
She took shifts with my mother so I was never left alone. Whenever my father walked in, she stood like a shield between us. She was the only one who had told me the truth about Zachary from the beginning.
I picked up the ballpoint pen and scribbled on the notepad the nurse had given me, sliding it toward my sister.
Is Jake okay?
Haley read the paper, her face softening.
“He’s fine, V. Josephine, Mom’s housekeeper, is taking good care of him. He’s eating well, playing, and sleeping through the night. He’s only three. He won’t remember any of that mess in his father’s house p>
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Sometimes the frustration got so bad I wanted to jam my fingers down my throat just to force out a noise. I was terrified that the mutism would be permanent.
My father walked in, and the atmosphere shifted.
“The council warden is coming by tomorrow to check on her progress. Zachary’s trial is moving fast, but without her verbal testimony, his defense team will claim this is all a political setup p>
I glared at him.
“Father, it’s not her fault,” Haley said.
“She needs to speak!” he insisted. “We need to get her into speech therapy immediately p>
He was triggering the panic in my chest without offering a single apology for sending me to Iron Wells in the first place. My throat closed like a fist. Sweat broke out across my forehead as I struggled to draw air into my lungs.
The door swung open, and Alpha Charlie walked in.
“That’s enough, Alpha Gregory. The doctor said stress will make it worse.” 1
His commanding presence filled the small space, and he stepped right between my father and my bed.
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“She will speak when she is ready. Forcing her won’t speed up her recovery, and I won’t let you badger her in my pack’s hospital.” 1
My father glared at Charlie, but he couldn’t push back against a reigning Alpha on his own territory. Grumbling under his breath, he stormed out to find the lead doctor, and Haley hurried after him.
Charlie pulled the plastic chair closer and sat down.
I looked at him, and our eyes locked. My gaze drifted to the pen, and I picked it up. I wrote quickly and turn the pad toward him: Don’t you have a pack to manage? Why are you hanging around here?
Charlie read the note and let out a laugh.
“I have plenty of workers at my disposal, Veronica. Besides, making sure a key witness doesn’t fall apart is part of my job p>
I kept my gaze on him. He had beautiful eyes, as if they twinkled from within.
I wrote again: Zachary was your friend. Why are you doing all this for me?
Charlie’s smile faded into a long sigh.
“Zachary was a friend once, but his hands are filthy now. My conscience wouldn’t let me stand by while you and your little boy were tortured. I saw the state you were in when I kicked that door down p>
He reached out and gently patted the back of my hand. “I hope one day you look back on this as just a bad memory.
A surge of emotion hit me, and tears burned the backs of my eyes as the horror of the attic flashed through my mind. I pulled my hand back, writing frantically: You saved my life. Mina was going to kill me. I don’t know how
to repay you.
“You don’t owe me anything,” Charlie said, his voice rough. He paused, leaning in. “Do you think Zachary was involved in his mother’s cult p>
I nodded firmly and wrote: Elizabeth was deep in it. Mina too. The pots, the strange incense, the chanting. Zachary acts like he is being controlled. He is weak, but I can’t guarantee he’s innocent.
Charlie nodded. “That matches what we suspect: Meridian dominion p>
I frowned, tilting my head in question. He quickly explained how Meridian practitioners used dark magic to bind minds and force obedience.
I pointed to my throat and wrote: Is my silence because of Meridian spellwork?
“No,” Charlie assured me. “The doctors tested your blood. The poisons are out of your system. This is
psychological trauma. Your mind is trying to protect you. Give it time. Your enemies are under the spotlight now, and the truth is coming out p>
He glanced toward the door before looking back at me. “Your father is hard to deal with, but he’s desperate to secure the conviction p>
I rolled my eyes dramatically. Charlie chuckled, leaning back in his chair.
“Your mother told me about the Silverbrook succession rule,” he added. “The pressure for a male heir explains a lot about your father’s behavior p>
The door opened again, interrupting us. Haley walked in, accompanied by a girl with multicolored hair and a black
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leather jacket. I recognized her immediately. It was Wesley’s sister, Anita.
She seemed to be one of those lucky people whose parents let them do whatever made them happy. She walked over to the bed, offering a bright smile.
“Hey, Veronica. You look a million times better than when Charlie hauled you in here p>
I managed a tired smile, then noticed the subtle way Anita and Haley were standing close together, their gers intertwined behind Haley’s back.
They were definitely having sex.
“Anita is my niece, by the way,” Charlie said, smirking at her.
I stared at Charlie, my brows pulling together in confusion. They looked roughly the same age.
Anita threw her head back and laughed. “Don’t start with the uncle title, Charlie p>
She handed me a gift bag filled with fancy items and fruit. Then she leaned over to whisper something in Haley’s ear, making my sister blush. I looked at them, feeling a brief flash of warmth. I was happy for Haley.
Charlie stayed behind after Haley and Anita left to grab coffee. He did most of the talking, telling me light stories about pack business and its hassles. He was easy to listen to, and he took my mind off the crushing weight in my
chest.
And that light in his eyes kept drawing me in.
The next morning, my father brought in a private speech therapist named Debbie.
She looked like someone’s favorite aunt, with short gray curls and a knitted cardigan decorated with a cat brooch. She pulled up a chair right beside my bed and smiled warmly.
“We aren’t going to force words today, Lady Veronica,” Debbie said gently. “We are just going to breathe. Can you do a simple breathing exercise for me p>
I nodded slowly.
“Put your hand flat on your breastbone,” she instructed, placing her own hand over her chest. “Breathe. Slow and steady p>
I pressed my hand against my gown and tried to inhale deeply. Halfway through, my breath slammed into a wall right under my collarbones. I gasped, clutching my throat as my chest tightened.
“There it is,” Debbie said softly, her tone calm. “That’s where the barrier is sitting. Don’t push against it. Just notice it p>
It felt like choking on air.
“Now, I’m going to hum,” Debbie said, closing her eyes. “You don’t have to join in. Just feel the vibration p>
She let out a humming sound. My body stayed rigid, but I listened to the steady tone fill the quiet room.
“Speech is a locked door, my lady,” Debbie told me before she left. “We don’t need to kick it down. We just need to find the handle p>
That night, the word “handle” haunted my sleep.
I dreamed I was trapped inside a narrow room with no windows. I ran my hands along the walls, searching
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desperately for a door handle, but there was nothing to grip. I began pounding on the dark wood with my bare fists.
me out! Let me out!
Gray veils drifted down from the ceiling, wrapping around my arms and dragging me backward. Then I heard Mina’s laugh echo through the dark.
“Scream all you want, Veronica,” Mina whispered into my ear. “Nobody is coming p>
I jerked awake with a violent gasp.
My mouth was stretched wide open, but no sound came out. Sweat soaked through my hospital gown, and the heart monitor beside my bed beeped erratically. I clamped my hand over my mouth, rocking back and for until my pulse settled.
By afternoon, the nurses allowed me to wrap myself in a blanket and walk down to the hospital garden, accompanied by a staff nurse.
The garden was a small courtyard tucked between two medical wings, with rose bushes, a stone fountain, and a wooden bench under a lime tree.
A young woman in a cream shawl sat on the bench, remarkably straight, holding a smartphone to her ear. She was stunning, with amber hair pinned back neatly and small pearl studs in her ears.
As I walked past, she glanced up. Her eyes widened, and she abruptly stopped talking. “I’ll call you back,” she muttered into the phone, hanging up instantly.
She stood up, looking straight at me. “Veronica p>
I froze, staring at her face. She looked familiar, but my foggy brain struggled to place her.
She stepped closer, offering a soft, cautious smile. “I’m Emma p>
It clicked instantly. Emma was the girl Charlie had mentioned. She was Alpha Cameron’s niece and the mate of Zachary’s exiled brother, Alexander, who was lying in a coma in the same hospital.
Emma looked down at the nearby rose bushes. “They’re pretty, aren’t they? Even if the yellow ones are dying off p>
She sat back down on the bench and patted the space beside her. I walked over and sat down, pulling my blanket tight around my shoulders.
For the next twenty minutes, Emma just talked. She didn’t ask me about Zachary or what I had gone through.
I sat beside her, listening. I wished I had brought my notepad. I wanted to ask her about Alexander and the rumors surrounding Alpha Edward’s death, but I couldn’t form a single word.
When I returned to my room an hour later, the frustration of my silence boiled over.
I sat on the edge of my bed, remembering the exercise Debbie had shown me. I placed my hand flat against my breastbone, closed my eyes, and tried to push air past the tightness in my throat.
I opened my mouth and tried to hum.
A cracked vibration buzzed in my throat. It was barely louder than a whisper, but it was a real sound.
Tears spilled over my lashes as I tried again. A raspy noise escaped my lips. I was crying, but I could actually hear my own quiet sobs.
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The door clicked open, and Haley walked in carrying a plate of berries.
She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the raspy noise coming from my throat. Her eyes went wide, and the plate slipped from her fingers and dropped to the floor.
“V?” Haley gasped, rushing to the side of the bed. “Was that… Can you make a sound p>
I looked at my sister, my chest heaving as I forced my vocal cords to work together.
“J-Jake,” I rasped, my voice sounding like gravel grinding against stone.
Haley let out a hysterical sob, throwing her arms around my neck and hugging me so hard I could barely breathe.
“Yes! Oh my God, yes! I’ll get him right now p>
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