Chapter 398
Judy’s POV
I was nervous as I pulled up to my parents’ house. I hadn’t seen my father in months. We returned to the territory late last night; I went home to the mansion to sleep and then first thing this morning I went straight to my parents’ house; the one Gavin had purchased for them right after he got my father out of prison by paying off his entire debt.
I was honestly surprised my father let it happen, but then again, maybe he didn’t have a choice. I knew they were hurting him in prison; they were beating him until the brink of death, and then they would heal him and do it all over again. This was because of Ethan and his manipulation. He convinced the guards and other inmates to target my father.
The thought made my blood boil; I hated Ethan for what he did to my family, and I was determined to make him pay for this. I was relieved that Irene now saw the monster she was once engaged to and had enough sense to end things with him.
I raised my hand to knock on the door, a nervous bubble in the pit of my stomach. As I knocked, I realized how ridiculous it was because technically, this was my house too. Nothing had changed about me; I grew up here. I had a key to the place despite being owned by the Cash family for a short while, but I don’t think they ever stepped foot in this home. They only bought it to get under my family’s skin.
As the door opened, my mother stood on the other side with a big frown on her face.
“Why on earth are you knocking?” She asked, pulling me into a tight hug. “Oh, sweetie, we’ve missed you. And we are so unbelievably proud of you! I knew you could do it!”
“You were watching?” I asked.
“Of course!” My mom breathed, pulling me into the house and shutting the door. “The entire pack was watching. I’m sure the whole shifter world was watching.”
I blushed at her words, imagining everybody seeing my face on their TVs.
“There she is,” I heard my father’s deep voice as he walked into the living room. He had a slight limp, and his face was a bit swollen from all the beatings he’d received. His injuries were so extensive that his wolf hadn’t healed him properly yet. But I could tell he was still in the process of healing some of his major injuries before healing his minor ones.
My stomach twisted when I saw that he was also thin.
“Dad…” I whispered, tears in my eyes.
I rushed into his arms and held me like I was a little girl again.
“Oh, sweetheart. I’m okay,” he whispered, trying to soothe my sobs. “You don’t need to worry for me anymore.”
“Were they starving you?” I asked, pulling back to take a better look at you, I couldn’t help the tears that streamed down my cheeks.
“Amongst other things,” my father murmured. “But it’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. I’m okay, honestly…”
My mother had a frown on her face as she stepped towards us.
“We aren’t going to let them get away with this,” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “What the Cash family did wasn’t okay.”
I raised my brows and stared at her in shock; she knew that the Cash family was involved in his arrest.
“How did you know?” I asked. “I mean… how did you find out?”
She narrowed her eyes at me.
“My question is, why didn’t you tell me?” My mother countered. “I would have never made a deal with them if
I knew of their manip
“Because you worshipped the ground that Ethan walked on,” I reminded her. “I didn’t want to poke a hole in your fantasy about him. I’m sorry kept it to myself. But he’s a monster mom, They all are.”
She nodded, her eyes flashing with anger.
“We know that now,” she said, shaking her head.
“How?”
“Beta Taylor called,” my father was the one who explained. “He told me that Gavin Landry wanted to pay off the debt that I owed. At first, I was going to refuse, despite the fact that I was hanging onto death, but then Taylor explained everything that had been happening. Ethan’s manipulation and how he used you in a pawn to get what he wanted… how he blackmailed you… How this debt isn’t fair and that they have the power to waive. I wasn’t stupid enough to deny his help.”
no
I nodded thoughtfully, my stomach still twisting in a tight knot.