Chapter 24

I needed to see the people who did this to me. I wanted them to look me in the eyes and see what they did. I wanted them to see the impact of what they caused. I wanted to hear why in their own words.

“No! Absolutely not!” Logan snapped.

“Logan,” I walked over to him, “I need to do this.” I placed a hand on his chest to steady myself.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead before settling his hand over mine.

“Fine, but you are not going alone.”

I turned to Amelia, “When can we do this?”

“Whenever you are ready.”

“There’s no time like the present.” I replied nervously.

“Leah, you are less than 6 hours out of hospital, is now really the best time to do this?” Logan asked softly, already knowing what my answer would be.

Amelia agreed and took to her feet. Logan reluctantly agreed with a loud sigh. He helped me to the car, and we followed Amelia to the station. This time we were escorted somewhere different and into a room with a one-way window. On the other side I saw a rugged short heavy-set man, my hand immediately went to my chest remembering the pressure of being under his weight and struggling to breath. My hand instinctively raised to my chest to check my breathing. Amelia walked me to another window next to it where I saw another rugged longer haired man. He was skinny and looked weaker, then I imagined. I watched him carefully.

I walked towards the door which took me into the room. Logan followed behind but as I looked over his shoulder as my hand was on the door handle, Amelia held up her hand and stopped him from following me. I walked in slowly with my head held high. He looked up from his shackled wrists on the table. His gaze settled onto mine. I felt my stomach twist and turn as my mind filled with flashbacks. His gaze never faltered. It was a game of who was going to break the silence first. I looked to the one-way glass knowing who was on the other side, with a slight nod I walked over and placed my hands onto the back of the chair opposite him.

My wrists were still bandaged from where the cable ties had cut into me. His eyes moved down my arms and onto my wrists. His eyes softened and his expression changed as he hung his head in shame. I felt anger bubble inside me.

“Look at me!” I snapped.

His eyes shot up to mine.

“Do you know who I am?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Tell me.”

“You’re Leah Garrison.”

“Yes, I am. And you did this to me.” I held out my wrists and then lifted my jumper to show my healing wound.

His eyes fell to my stomach and then back to his chained wrists. When he lifted his gaze again, his eyes were filled with sorrow.

“I am so sorry; we did this to you.”

“I just want to know how my name managed to get tangled up into this.”

“The guy who gave us the name had an accent and we misheard him. We researched the name we thought we heard but nothing came up and then your name appeared. I am so sorry.”

“How much was her life worth to you?”

He looked at me confused.

I slammed the chair against the table, “How much was a life worth to you!”

“£100,000.”