Larissa Judson and Haskell Palmer novel Chapter 445

Thatch’s jaw was set like stone. He glanced from his unconscious son to his pleading daughter, but his resolve held. Through gritted teeth, he repeated the lie: “Draven is your brother.”

“Very well,” Haskell said, and without a flicker of hesitation, he gestured to Crispin. “Next.”

“Yes, sir.” Crispin turned, the pouch of needles in hand, and started toward Valeria.

Her eyes flew wide. She gripped Thatch’s arm with all her strength. “Dad! You promised you wouldn’t let him hurt me! Is it because it’s not you they’re torturing? Dad, this is your fault! None of this would be happening if it weren’t for you! Just tell him!”

But Thatch couldn’t. Admitting the truth would mean the end of his life as he knew it.

The realization that her father would sacrifice her to save himself finally broke Valeria. The dam of her fear and resentment burst, and she began to scream at him. “Thatch, we are your children! Your own flesh and blood! How can you just stand there and watch this happen? You’re not a man, you’re a monster!”

“I should have known you were selfish! You left us to rot in that orphanage for years just to serve your own ambitions!”

“You even sold your own son!”

“And we trusted you! We did everything you said because we thought you would give us a better life!”

“You’re nothing but a selfish, cowardly, heartless bastard!”

She pounded her fists against his arm, her voice raw with hysteria.

“Enough!” Thatch roared, grabbing her wrists. “If it weren’t for me, would you have had three years of living in luxury in the Palmer family?”

Valeria, oblivious, continued to knock her head against the ground.

Haskell sighed. “What was I thinking? This is a man who sold his own son. A man who watched his other son be brutalized at my engagement party without lifting a finger. Why did I ever think threatening his children would make him talk? The only person he cares about is himself.”

The realization seemed to drain the fight out of him. He had lost interest in this cruel game. “Crispin.”

“Sir.”

“Take them both, along with the evidence from the kidnapping. Hand them over to the police.” He was done wasting time on them.

Valeria stopped, her head lifting in a daze.