Chapter 9: Chapter 7

William’s POV

My heart was breaking and I had no fucking idea what to do about it.

It was very obvious that she was hurt.

My baby was hurt and I wasn’t there to protect her. Why hadn’t I ever gone to see her? Why did I only settle for calling those fuckers and trusting them? I should have gone there. I should have checked on her. I would have seen it sooner and I would have taken her away from them.

How long was it going on anyway? Was it like this ever since she was born? Did my little girl grow up being ordered around by those fuckers?

How didn’t I see it sooner?! Why didn’t I see it sooner?!

“I’m going to…,” Alexander spoke quietly, but stopped when his voice broke.

I looked at him and saw him pulling his hair and shaking his head.

“Why didn’t I go check on her?” Alexander mumbled, his voice trembling. “Why?!”

I was wondering the same. Why the fuck didn’t I go there? Why did I just trust those people to take care of my baby sister? How badly did they hurt her? Were they just very strict with her? Maybe that’s why she learned to follow orders. Maybe they didn’t hurt her physically?

“I should have checked on her,” Alexander cried out. “I should have taken her with me. She wasn’t safe with them. She was in danger the whole time.”

He pulled his hair and groaned.

“My baby was always in danger and I didn’t do shit,” he said angrily.

I looked at Damien and my heart clenched. He never had any issues with showing his anger, but he struggled with other emotions. But I could clearly see the pain on his face now. He looked broken and there wasn’t a trace of anger anywhere on his face.

I knew that would change soon. I knew that anger would come out when our men brought those fucker to us.

“What the fuck were those idiots thinking?!” Alexander exclaimed, making me look back at him. “Did they think that we wouldn't notice that something was wrong?! Do they think that we are idiots?!”

Alexander started pacing around. His fists were clenched tight and he looked like he was ready to kill. He kept trying to take deep breaths, but it looked like he couldn't.

“They knew that we were going to notice,” Damien mumbled. “They knew that we would be suspicious if they refused to give her to us so they decided to do it anyway.”

Damien looked up at Alexander.

“They ran away,” Damien said. “Our men won’t find them.”

I tightened my jaw and lowered my head. Damien was right. They had to know that we would figure it out. I knew that something was wrong the moment she walked inside the house.

“I don’t give a shit,” Alexander said angrily. “I will send as many men as necessary after them. They will bring them here and I will do to them exactly what they did to her!”

I gulped and looked at my brother.

“What do you think they did to her?” I asked quietly.

Damien clenched his fists and closed his eyes.

“The best case scenario is that they were just really strict and she had to follow rules,” I said, making Alexander groan.

“Did you see how small she is?” Alexander asked, making me look at him. “She doesn’t look like a 16-year-old girl. She is too skinny. She is malnourished. The fuckers have been starving her for sure.”

I knew that, but I didn’t want it to be true.

I was terrified and I so fucking didn’t want it to be true.

“She needs to tell us what else they did,” Alexander said. “If they hurt her...”

Alexander stopped talking and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and released it slowly.

“She won’t tell us anything unless we order her to,” Damien mumbled. “And I don’t want to do it. I don’t want her to feel pressured. I want her to open up on her own.”

I agreed with my brother, but…

“But what if she is hurt right now?” Alexander said what I was thinking. “What if she needs a doctor? We don’t know how long will it take for her to open up to us. Based on what I have seen, it will take a long time. What if she has injuries and something happens to her because we didn’t treat them on time?”

Damien took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair.

“You are a doctor, Damien,” Alexander continued. “You know what could happen if she has a serious injury and it doesn’t get treated.”

Damien closed his eyes and I saw his jaw twitch.

“We could try talking to her before we order her to tell us,” I said. “We could try explaining that we want what’s best for her. We could try talking to her and she will maybe open up.”

I seriously doubted that, but I wanted to do it before I stooped to their level and started ordering her around.

“I agree,” Alexander said. “We need to do something. Anything.”

Damien’s phone rang before we could respond.

He pulled it from his pocket, answered the call, and put the phone on speaker.

“We couldn't find them, boss,” I heard Larry’s voice. “Their car is gone and there is no one in the house.”

I closed my eyes and let the anger flow through my body. I knew that they wouldn't be there, but it still made me so fucking angry.

“Is Rick with you?” Alexander asked angrily.

“Yes, Sir,” Larry answered.

“Let me talk to him,” Alexander said as he approached Damien and sat next to him.

After a few silent moments, I heard some shuffling and one of Alexander’s best men answered the phone.

“Sir?” he said calmly.

“Listen to me, Rick,” Alexander said sternly. “You will continue searching for them. Don’t come home until you do, understood?”

“Yes, Sir,” Rick said. “I already called our men. We are on it.”

“Same goes for you, Larry,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “Don’t come home without them.”

“Yes, Sir,” Larry said.

Damien picked up the phone and ended the call.

Alexander buried his face into his hands and grunted.

“Maybe we should go check the house,” I mumbled, making Damien and Alexander look at me. “There could be something there that would tell us how she lived.”

Both of them gave me a small nod.

“We have to talk to her first,” Alexander said. “We have to know what they did to her.”

As much as it terrified me to know the truth, Alexander was right. We had to know what they did.

Damien stood up and started walking toward the stairs.

I glanced at Alexander and saw him take a deep breath. I did the same before following my brother.

What did those monsters do to my little girl?