Hate Me Like You Love Me (Serena and Caleb) novel Chapter 57

Caleb’s POV

The ghosts of who we used to love have a way of reminding us who we’ve become.

Rachel calls while I’m staring at the ceiling of my bedroom, counting the cracks in the plaster like they might spell out answers to questions I don’t know how to ask.

Her voice carries an urgency that cuts through my fog of self-pity. “I need to see you. Can you meet me at the coffee shop?”

“When?”

“Now, if possible. I found something.”

I’m in my car before she finishes the sentence.

The coffee shop is the same quiet corner establishment we used before—tucked away from main streets, anonymous, safe from anyone who might recognize us and draw conclusions.

Rachel is already seated when I arrive, her hands wrapped around a ceramic mug, her posture different than I remember from our last meeting.

She looks less fragile. The hunted quality that clung to her during Lucas’s visit has been replaced by something sharper, more focused.

There’s determination in the set of her shoulders, a clarity in her green eyes that wasn’t there weeks ago.

“Thanks for coming.” She gestures to the seat across from her. “I ordered you a black coffee. I remembered you hate cream.”

“You said you found something.” I slide into the chair, ignoring the drink. “What is it?”

Rachel takes a slow breath, organizing her thoughts. “I’ve been doing research. Quietly, carefully—nothing that would tip Lucas off. I’ve been reaching out to other women from his orbit.”

“What kind of women?”

“Girls he dated. Girls he pursued at parties. Girls who were part of his social circle one semester and then vanished without explanation the next.”

Her fingers tighten around her mug.

“Most of them didn’t respond to my messages. A few refused to talk, said they’d moved on and didn’t want to dredge up the past.”

“But?”

“But one of them did.”

Rachel’s gaze locks onto mine with an intensity that makes my chest tighten.

“A girl from Whitmore University. Her name is Jessica. Two years ago, she had an experience with Lucas that sounds eerily familiar.”

I lean forward, my untouched coffee forgotten. “Tell me.”

“A party at a fraternity house. Lucas cornered her in a bedroom when no one was watching. He was charming at first, then insistent, then aggressive when she tried to leave.”

Rachel’s voice stays steady, but I can hear the echoes of her own trauma underneath the words.

“She managed to get away before he could finish what he started, but barely.”

“Did she report it?”

“She tried, but the Bennett family lawyers descended on her campus within forty-eight hours.”

Rachel’s laugh comes out bitter.

“They threatened her academic standing, her reputation, and her family’s finances. Her father worked for a company that did business with Bennett’s firm—suddenly his job was at risk.”

The pattern clicks into place like tumblers in a lock. “They silenced her.”

“Just like they silenced me. Just like they tried to silence Serena.”

Rachel reaches into her bag and pulls out a folder thick with papers.

“I’ve been documenting everything, Caleb. Names, dates, locations, patterns of behavior. Lucas has done this before—multiple times, to multiple women. And he’ll keep doing it unless someone stops him.”

I stare at the folder like it might contain a bomb. In some ways, it does.

“This could be exactly what we need.” The hope blooms cautiously in my chest. “If we can prove a pattern, if other victims come forward…”

“It could also blow up in everyone’s faces.”

Rachel sets the folder on the table between us.

She’s trapped. Lucas has something on her, and she won’t tell me what.

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