Chapter 7: Shattered Truth
856 Words
Sarah rehearsed the words for the hundredth time as she paced Kane's penthouse balcony.
"I need to tell you something..." she muttered. "No. Alexander, I haven't been honest..." She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "God, how do you tell someone you've been betraying them?"
The city lights sparkled below, a perfect view she'd gotten used to over the past weeks. Just like she'd gotten used to leaving her favorite coffee mug in his kitchen. To keeping a change of clothes in his dresser. To waking up wrapped in his arms.
Her phone buzzed – the hospital again. Her heart stopped when she saw the message:
*URGENT: Patient Catherine Chen experiencing severe complications. Please come immediately.*
"Sarah?" Kane's voice came from behind her. "You're shaking."
She turned to find him in the doorway, casual in a black sweater that made him look almost normal. Almost human. The concern in his eyes made her chest ache.
"I need to tell you something," she started, the rehearsed words catching in her throat.
"Whatever it is, it can wait." He crossed to her, his hand warm on her cheek. "You're freezing out here. Come inside, I made dinner."
"Alexander, please. This is important-"
Her phone buzzed again. The hospital.
Kane's expression changed instantly, his enhanced senses probably picking up her spike of fear. "Go. I'll drive."
"But-"
"Sarah." He was already grabbing his keys. "Your mother needs you. Everything else can wait."
---
The drive to the hospital was torture. Sarah's hand clutched the burner phone in her pocket like a guilty secret while Kane broke every speed limit in the city. His hand found hers across the console, thumb rubbing soothing circles on her skin.
"She's strong," he said softly. "Like her daughter."
Sarah wanted to cry. Here he was, comforting her, while evidence that could destroy him sat in her pocket.
They found Dr. Rivera outside her mother's room.
"The cancer has spread," he said without preamble. "The current treatment isn't working. There's an experimental trial in Switzerland that might help, but..."
"But what?" Sarah's voice cracked.
"It's extremely expensive. And time-sensitive. We'd need to start within the next two weeks."
Kane's hand tightened on hers. "Cost isn't an issue. What are we talking about?"
"Alexander, no-" Sarah started.
"Around three hundred thousand," Dr. Rivera said. "But there's no guarantee-"
"Done." Kane pulled out his phone. "Send me the details, I'll have my team arrange everything."
"No!" Sarah yanked her hand away. "I can't... I can't let you do this."
Kane's eyes softened. "Sarah, please. Let me help."
"You don't understand." The burner phone felt like it was burning a hole in her pocket. "I have to tell you something. I've been-"
A scream from her mother's room cut her off. They rushed in to find machines beeping frantically and her mother convulsing.
"Mom!" Sarah reached for her, but nurses were already swarming the room.
"Get them out of here!" Dr. Rivera ordered.
Kane had to practically carry Sarah into the hallway as she fought to stay. Through the window, she watched the medical team working frantically over her mother's small form.
"I can't lose her," Sarah whispered. "She's all I have left."
Kane pulled her against his chest. "You have me."
The words broke something inside her. Sarah pulled away, tears streaming down her face.
"No, I don't. I don't deserve to have you." She pulled out the burner phone with trembling hands. "Because I've been lying to you since the day we met."
Kane's expression didn't change. "Sarah-"
"I've been gathering evidence. Recording everything. The transformations, the pack meetings, all of it." The words tumbled out between sobs. "I was going to write an expose. Sell the story to save my mom. I never meant to... to feel..."
"I know."
Sarah's head snapped up. "What?"
"I've known since the beginning." His voice was gentle. "I can smell lies, remember? Feel changes in heartbeat, in breathing." He stepped closer, wiping tears from her cheeks. "I knew you were investigating me before you ever stepped foot in my office."
"But... why would you..."
"Because I saw you. The real you. Not just the desperate daughter or the ambitious journalist. And I fell in love with all of it." His eyes glowed softly in the fluorescent hospital lights. "The question is... what are you going to do with those recordings now?"
Before Sarah could answer, Dr. Rivera emerged from her mother's room.
"She's stabilized," he said. "But without that trial in Switzerland..." He didn't need to finish the sentence.
Sarah looked down at the phone in her hands. Everything she needed to save her mother was right there. All she had to do was destroy the man she loved.
"I..." she started.
A commotion down the hall made them all turn. A woman was walking toward them, her movements unnaturally graceful. As she got closer, Sarah recognized her from outside her car the other night.
The woman's eyes locked onto Kane, flashing amber.
"Hello, my love," she said. "Did you miss me?"
The burner phone slipped from Sarah's numb fingers, clattering to the floor between them.
- Writer
