Divorced the Cheat Married the Fleet (Camilla and Lance) novel Chapter 514

She had even prepared herself for the possibility that he was just a corpse, that he would never come back to her.

She had imagined him emaciated, subjected to their sick experiments.

But in all those horrifying scenarios, she had never imagined this. The father she respected more than anyone, the man she viewed as her hero, had his arms and legs severed and had been locked in this sunless hell for years.

Camilla didn't even dare to look at his face.

She was terrified that he had lost his mind, but she was even more terrified that he was still completely lucid.

Her fragile body could no longer bear the suffocating weight of her grief, and she finally crumpled to the floor.

Lance's expression was incredibly grim, but he didn't force her to her feet. Instead, he crouched beside her in quiet solidarity.

Mahoney was the first to regain his composure. He glared furiously at Zack. "What the hell is this?"

Zack swallowed hard. "It was Clement's order. He said the man wasn't obedient enough. Because he kept trying to escape, Clement cut off his limbs. Clement said this was the man he hated most in his entire life, so he forced the doctors to keep his mind intact. He wanted him to stay permanently conscious to endure it all.

"Officers, I didn't know about any of this! I only saw this massive secret two years ago when I became Clement's right-hand man. He was already like this by the time I saw him. I swear on my life I had no part in it. Clement did all of this, it has nothing to do with me! I've never done anything this evil. I just happened to know the truth."

Zack had anticipated this exact reaction on the drive over. Without a second of hesitation, he dropped to the ground, frantically pleading and practically collapsing in desperation as he looked toward Mahoney.

"Get someone to take him into custody. Call an ambulance for Tanner. The rest of you, stay and sweep this place," Mahoney barked out orders.

In the face of such absolute horror, both Camilla and Carol were completely paralyzed by emotional breakdowns. Mahoney was the only one left to take control of the scene.

The ambulance arrived swiftly. The paramedics loaded Tanner White into the back, but Camilla stood frozen, unable to take a single step closer.

Even as the ambulance pulled away, she didn't move. Carol rode in the back to accompany him.

Given Elise's condition, seeing Tanner like this would shatter her completely and likely worsen her illness.

But now that they had found him, Camilla couldn't keep it a secret forever.

She barely had the courage to face him herself—how could she expect Elise to?

Lance gently rubbed her back. "Don't panic just yet. Let's go to the hospital and see how he's doing. We'll figure out a plan for your mother later. I'll contact the hospital in Cabinda to monitor her vitals. Once she's stable enough, we'll break the news to her."

Lance's steady, unwavering voice slowly grounded Camilla.

It was their only option. They had to wait until Elise was at her strongest to tell her the truth, or else the consequences would be catastrophic.

Her father was finally found. The answer she had chased for years was right in front of her. Yet, Camilla felt as though every ounce of energy had been siphoned from her body. Sitting in the passenger seat, she still couldn't stop herself from trembling.