“Oh, didn’t Brooke tell you?” Connor taunts. “Wilsons disease. A nasty thing. Over production of copper. She was diagnosed when she was about…sixteen? Yes, sixteen. Never did have a good prognosis. It deteriorates your liver, you see. Kind of like your mother’s after your…accident. How long did she live without a transplant? Two years? Of course, Brooke would have been removed from the transplant list when she got pregnant.”

Anger like I have never experienced stimulated every cell in my body. I fly from my chair, my hand wrapped around Connors neck before he could even blink. “You knew! You knew! You bastard! You could not just let her be happy. Could not love her? She is everything that is beautiful and kind in this world and is a tragedy to the world that you are a father. No one deserves to be subjected to your kind of cruelty. I should do the world a favor and rid this planet of your filth.” I slowly squeeze his neck, and his face slowly loses color.

“Landon that’s enough,” Jared says, hovering at my right.

But the satisfactory glint in Connor’s has not dimmed. “Do you think dear old daddy can get you out of a murder sentence a second time?” he taunts.

“Landon.” Jared’s voice, white noise in the background. I apply a little more pressure. His face starts turning blue and fear finally sparks in his eyes.

“That’s enough! Landon!” Jared grabs my arm, intending to pull me off him, but I let him go.

He falls to the ground, gasping for breath. I glare down at him fighting the urge to kick him. “My wife isn’t dead. If you ever try to see her, contact her, or so much as speak her name, I swear nothing in this world is going to stop me from destroying you. Same for my son. Stay away from my family.”

I let those be my parting words, knowing if I stayed in that house another minute, I would do something I would regret.

Jared says nothing as I slam the car in reverse and burn rubber on the driveway. “So, what now?” he asks after we are miles away from the Robinson residence.

“Now, we’re going to find my wife. We are going to find her, and she is going to get the help she needs. Because if we don’t…” I choke on my words. I force the fear down my throat with a swallow.

“There is no if we don’t,” I say simply. I cannot think of any other outcome. Brooke living is the only one. The only one I will except.

Jared pulls out his phone, dialing. “Okay,” he says before putting the phone to his ear.

If anyone can find Brooke, it is Jared. I try to take comfort in that. But fear twisted in my gut, slicing through me like a weed that overtakes a garden.

Chapter 25