Chapter 26

Hope surged within Ella, but Juliette crushed it in an instant. "No way. Screw that, I'm not leaving without him."

"Oh, Juliette, please," Rachelle sighed.

"None of you are going anywhere," Derick stated firmly.

"Don't do this," pleaded Mrs. Rosewood. "I'm begging you, Derick. Please, give him back."

"I don't think I will. I despise him, Barbara." He laughed, a satisfied grin on his face. "You have no idea how good it feels to finally say this! I freaking hate your kid."

Ella struggled to understand Derick. Wasn't he supposed to love Mrs. Rosewood? Divorce or not, how can you love someone and hurt them so deeply?

Alan, despite all his efforts to soothe Mrs. Rosewood, lost his composure. He hurled curses and threats at Derick until he was out of breath.

A moment of silence followed before Derick said, "Was that Alan?"

Mrs. Rosewood sprang from her seat and slammed her hands onto the table, causing it to shake. "What the hell do you think? You took Hunter! Of course it's Alan."

Another tense pause followed. "Does he blame you? I would."

Alan replied fiercely, "I don't blame her. I blame you."

"Oh, how intriguing. You sound genuine," Derick taunted. "That must mean you're having an affair with him, Barbara."

"What?" Mrs. Rosewood screamed.

Derick chuckled wickedly. "Oh come on, you have a soft spot for him. You can't stand it when he's upset with you."

"What?" Mrs. Rosewood repeated softly, struggling to grasp Derick's twisted logic.

"You must have done something to win him over."

"You are so utterly deranged," Mrs. Rosewood shot back.

"I am curious," Derick sneered. "How many times did you have to... please him before he forgave you for this?"

Ella didn't understand what he meant and felt strangely grateful for her ignorance.

Mrs. Rosewood whispered desperately, "Would that make you forgive me?"

"If I were Alan?" Derick laughed cruelly. "Yes, I think it would."

"I'll do it for you," Mrs. Rosewood said with trembling resolve, lifting her chin slightly as her voice wavered. "Anything you'd like—just let Hunter and his friend go."

"Anything?" asked Derick, his curiosity piqued.

"Yes."

"And what if I told you that before I got my way with you, I would strip you of every ounce of your pride?" Derick continued.

"Tell me where to meet you," said Mrs. Rosewood, her face ashen but her voice unwavering.

Alan clenched his hand into a fist, as if ready to strike Derick. "Barbara," he whispered, but Mrs. Rosewood avoided his gaze.

"You discarded me so easily, and you'll pay for that with your dignity," Derick said, each word dripping with malice. "On your knees, you'll degrade yourself and beg for the chance to please me. Only when you're utterly humiliated will I find a use for your arrogant mouth."

Ella tried to fathom the horror of kissing someone who had abused her child. She couldn't. She'd never kissed anyone, nor had children. Yet she understood that Mrs. Rosewood was offering everything to save Hunter. A pang of guilt hit Ella for ever doubting Mrs. Rosewood's love. This was the kind of sacrifice her own parents would make for her.

"I'll do my best, as many times as you ask," Mrs. Rosewood said, staggering and clutching Alan's arm for support.

"You certainly will," Derick sneered. "You'll choke and cry, and once you've satisfied me, you'll thank me for the opportunity."

"I promise," Mrs. Rosewood replied weakly.

From the phone came Hunter's desperate voice: "No, stop! Stop! I won't let you!"

Mrs. Rosewood choked back a sob. "Derick, if you vow not to harm my son, I'm yours in any way you want."

Derick chuckled darkly. "You really know how to tempt a man, but I think I'll pass."

Realizing her sacrifice was in vain, Mrs. Rosewood cried out, "I want my son!"

"You can bury what's left of him," Derick retorted coldly.

"No," whimpered Mrs. Rosewood softly before raising her voice in desperation: "Hunter, I love you! We'll find you, I promise! We're coming to get you out!"

"Sorry, love," Derick drawled mockingly. "You certainly will not."

The line went dead, and chaos erupted in the kitchen as suppressed shouts, curses, and sobs exploded simultaneously.

In the thick of it all, Ella stood silent. Her tears had dried, and she backed away from Rachelle in utter shock. She couldn't process what she had just heard or what she was witnessing now before her eyes. Only fragments broke through her daze.

Celine cradled her head in her hands, rocking on the balls of her feet and muttering gibberish as if she'd lost her mind. Rachelle had collapsed to her knees, dissolving into tears. Taylor remained unmoved to console her, standing stock-still and staring at Mrs. Rosewood's phone, paralyzed with shock. Nolan was swearing.

Ella suspected Mr. Grier was cursing too, though his expletives were in Latin, repeating like a mantra. Marissa tried to calm him, but he kept thrusting her arms away, and Ella could see Marissa's efforts were flagging.

However, it was Hunter's mother that snapped Ella from her trance. As soon as Derick hung up, Mrs. Rosewood crumpled into Alan with a wailing scream that made Ella's entire body seize and shudder. Alan stumbled back, barely able to support her weight.

"I've lost him, haven't I?" Mrs. Rosewood sobbed. "He'll take him from me…oh my god."

Ella was shaken to the core; she hadn't heard anything as haunting as Mrs. Rosewood's howling sorrow that seemed to pierce right to her bone marrow, making every part of Ella ache with the heaviness of shared grief.

Ella was exhausted from tears (there were countless). Now Mrs. Rosewood cried out about Juliette. "She was—" Gasping for breath to form words, "She's protecting him! And I said…I said he needed better friends. I hated her!"

Alan tried to soothe her but she slapped his hands away and steadied herself, no longer leaning on him for support. She couldn't face any Grier; instead, she glanced at Alan then dropped her gaze to the ground.

"I said she wasn't good enough for him," Mrs. Rosewood whispered, clutching her side as if the very breath hurt. "I have never said one good thing about her. She'll die for…and I never…" They never heard the sentence finish—Mrs. Rosewood cut herself off with a wail so loud Ella thought blood might drip from her ears. Rooted to the spot, she couldn't think or move.

The only certainty left for Ella was that it no longer mattered whether she felt emotional or sad enough; none of it mattered anymore because although still numb, she knew without a doubt she was now completely and truly traumatized.