Chapter 4

Axton-

“The house you left for her; all of the utilities were cut off. Since she was eight when you left, she wasn’t old enough to work, but she was forced to work by your brother to cover the cost of living in the house. Besides that, she worked odd jobs to earn a few hundred dollars a month to buy food, clothing, and necessities. On average, the cost to turn utilities on in the house she is living in is nearly two thousand dollars.” Kason said as I opened the file and skimmed over the contents, which was basically everything he was telling me.

“What about the money I would send every month to cover her living expenses?” I asked.

“Your brother gave it to Trenton.” Kason answered before continuing to fill me in on what Zira had been through. “Even the gifts you gave her when you returned every year were confiscated by them or she was scammed out of it. Also, she hasn’t been able to attend school.”

I had just flipped to the next page in the file, which was a list of falsified documents. I was under the impression she was in school and doing well, but now realized it was all a lie. Every certificate of completion, graduation certificate, and report card were all fake. There were more fake things, but I skimmed over them.

“So, she hasn’t been to school all these years? What about public school?”

“Even if she went to public school, she would need a guardian to sign for her, but your brother and sister-in-law never completed the paperwork to make them her legal guardian. You are still her legal guardian.”

The anger inside me rose to the point where my wolf was on the verge of forcing me to shift. If my brother and sister-in-law weren’t already dead, I would kill them myself. Taking a deep breath, I attempted to calm myself, but nothing helped, especially when Kason began talking again.

“Even if she did find a way to go to school, she wouldn’t be able to attend. Your sister-in-law forced her to work from four a.m. to six p.m. every day until they died. Afterward, Trent made her spend fewer hours, but that was only so she could pick up more hours at her other jobs. The money she received from those jobs went to Trenton and she was only able to keep a hundred dollars a month.”

Trenton was dead meat as soon as I got my hands on him. “Why?” I asked.

“According to the information I gathered, it seems that Trenton claimed to be the one to save her when she was eight. He and his parents constantly reminded her that she owed him for saving her life and for allowing her to have a roof over her head. On occasions, like when you would return home, her life improved, and they told her that once she turned eighteen, they would allow her to become a member of the pack. If I had to guess, with the trauma she experienced as a child and everything they put her through, she likely believed that she had no other choice but to accept what they were doing.”

“Wait, what do you mean when I returned home?” My eyes snapped up to meet Kason.

“Remember, every time you came back, she was living with your brother and his family. They set it up to make it seem as if she was being treated like a princess. I am just guessing, but I think she believed she had no choice but to rely on them. With her family gone and not knowing the truth, your brother, sister-in-law, and Trenton were all she had. Even when she got older, she didn’t have many options.”

Looking over my shoulder, I watched as the doctor tended to Zira. On closer inspection, I noticed she looked too frail. She was far too thin, and her complexion was ashy. It no longer looked as if she was simply sleeping, now it appeared as if she were on her deathbed.

If I hadn’t been careful, I likely would have broken her in half when I carried her in my arms. I knew that although it wasn’t my fault she was like this, I was also to blame. Mostly for leaving her in the care of my family, whom I had believed would treat her decently at the very least.

“In other words, you are telling me that she has lived in a house without utilities for ten years, fending for herself and they were mentally and emotionally abusing her?” As I spoke, I nearly vomited from my gut twisting in disgust.

“Physically too.”

“They hit her?” My eyes snapped back to Kason.

“Any time she did something they weren’t happy with; they would discipline her by chaining her in their basement and whipping her. I don’t know how often or for how long, but from what I found it happened at least once a month until she turned twelve. Afterward, it was less often but happened occasionally.” Kason answered and then he seemed to hesitate.

“What else?” I demanded but I instantly regretted asking when he answered.

“A few weeks after she turned thirteen, she was in a coma because your brother had almost raped her, and she fought back. Your sister-in-law had caught them, and she was accused of seducing your brother. They both beat her and when she attempted to escape, she fell out of a window. That was the first time she went to the hospital, and it was only because a witness saw her fall and had contacted the authorities.”

“Why haven’t I heard about this?” I slammed a fist into the wall beside me.

Despite the pain from scrapping my knuckles when I put the hole in the wall, it didn’t do anything to ease the gut-wrenching pain in my heart. Pulling my hand back, glanced at Zira again and couldn’t hold back a few tears. Since I didn’t want anyone to see me break, I blinked back the remaining tears but kept my focus on Zira. Having her in my sight calmed my anger and settled my wolf, but my heart ached more.

“Because you only returned for a few days a year around the time of her birthday. When you called you never spoke to her directly, so they were able to hide the truth from you.”

Once again, guilt slammed into me, and I had to grab the wall to prevent me from falling to my knees. “What else?” I asked, knowing there was more.

“Trenton often tormented her with his friends. Most of the time it was underhanded things to trick her into giving them things, running errands, working more hours, or doing dangerous tasks. Even if she tried to refuse, they would remind her that she owed Trenton and that as long as she did it, it would prove that she was worthy enough to join their pack.”

“Where is Trenton now?” I asked.

“In the hospital.” Kason answered and I caught a hint of something in his voice, which brought my attention back to him.

“Why is he in the hospital?” My brows arched.

“The reason Zira is in her current condition is that Trenton tricked her into giving him the money you gave her the last time you were here, taking out a hundred-thousand-dollar loan and all the funds she had in her account for the purpose of a kidney transplant.”

“Why would he need a kidney transplant?” I asked but then it slowly dawned on me that the wound on Zira was likely from having a kidney removed.

“He doesn’t, but aside from the money, he convinced Zira to give up a kidney. The kidney ended up in the trash.” Kason dug into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out his phone. “I was able to get a video from the hospital surveillance. It doesn’t show Trenton and his friends, but it shows Zira standing outside of Trenton’s room. If you listen closely, you can hear the conversation Trenton, and his friends are having in the room.”

Taking the phone from Kason, I realized my hands were shaking when I pressed play on the video that was already set up on his phone. When I saw Zira standing in the hall of the hospital, my heart clenched more. It was obvious that she was in physical pain but what really got to me is what I heard.

The sound wasn’t great, but with my enhanced hearing, the words were clear. I instantly recognized Trenton’s voice, but I didn’t know who the others were. I made a mental note to find out who they were because they would face the consequences of their actions. As for Trenton, I would make sure he suffered a fate worse than death.

When the video was over, I squeezed my hand around the phone until it shattered in my hand. Kason commented that I didn’t need to break his phone, but I didn’t care. Looking back at Zira, a question surfaced in my mind.

“How long ago did she have surgery?”

“Less than an hour before the video. As soon as she woke up after surgery, the hospital kicked her out for failure to pay for a hospital stay. She also has to pay a couple hundred grand for the surgery. I found out that the hospital is owned by one of Trenton’s friends. They plan to trick Zira out of a million dollars. Also, the person Zira obtained a loan from is connected to Trenton’s circle. If for every day she doesn’t return the money, the interest rates are forty percent.”

“Forty thousand dollars per day that she doesn’t pay them back?”

“I think it is time I pay my nephew a visit.” I said through clenched teeth.