True Intention

Ch 34- Carla and Stacy who?

Soren POV

Sarah had done her damnedest to pursue both Carla and Stacy to the fullest extent of the law.

I was glad I'd introduced her to Rylan. I had not expected them to become romantic at all, but as two people united in trauma, I guess it was not that strange. Sarah's parents were thrilled to see her blossom under his gentle and sincere attention. She had renewed her attempts at therapy, since she had recently started regaining sensation to her knees.

Below the knee was still radio silence, but she was feeling hopeful.

I was still filled with rage at what she and Rylan had found. I didn't have the heart to share the details with Naomi yet. These two girls had hired some of the men that had tried to assault Naomi. Their orders included "disposing" of the girl afterward, but none had gotten that far. That alone was bad enough, but they had also engineered the time Nao had been stuck in the school all night and a fire broke out. Thankfully, the sprinkler system had done its job. They also tampered with her car, but it had gone into the shop before Naomi drove it for maintenance. The mechanic had caught the sliced brake lines and informed Naomi's dad, but nothing had come from it.

I was still not sure what to make of the phone call with her parents. Their attitude was concerning.

There seemed to be some sort of disconnect there. Almost like they'd been turned against their own daughter. I knew from my dig that Nao's mom had taken her to the hospital and filed the police report, so why were they so... blasé about her mental health and trauma? Why had they essentially left her to her own devices for so damn long? And why the hell did it feel like they found her... less than, as if she was damaged goods?

All things I intended to find out during our visit with them.

Things I would do my damnedest to correct.

Stacy was the easier of the two to deal with. Once she knew she'd been caught, she was quick to throw Carla under the proverbial bus with everything she had. She claimed her as the mastermind as well as the one that convinced her bullying the girl she was jealous of was appropriate. Nobody was buying that sob story, of course. Her own responses to Carla had shown that she was just as happy to hurt people as her cousin. While she'd drawn the line at further attempts on Sarah, it was more out of the realization that she would be the prime suspect, and likely caught with ease that had actually stopped her.

She had still raged about the girl taking her man to her cousin, even after poor Sarah had been paralyzed. The girl had barely spoken to anyone, I don't really get how anyone could blame her for anything. We knew she was being sexually abused before the accident but had no proof. At that time, I'd done what I could to stop those assholes from getting into college, but that was about all I could do. There were three of them, and I could just tell by the way they acted.

I did not feel bad at all.

Apparently, Archer visiting her once in the hospital was all it took for the two to label her a no-good w***e.

Carla was arrogant and sure she'd be found innocent. Her actions made sense to her, and there was no way she was changing her mind. Even the psychiatrists that came in to talk to her could not get through her delusions. She wasn't insane, though her public defender certainly tried. She knew things were illegal, and announced that obviously that's why she hid what she did with a shrug. Her lawyer suddenly felt that he was doomed. This case was indefensible, and it was going on his track record.

Stacy tried her best to fake remorse, but was caught out in her recorded therapy sessions when a particular line of questioning about Archer came up, and she stated that anyone who got in her way deserved pain and death. Yup, she was not getting away with s**t. It made me wonder what kind of parents these girls had. Turns out they were average people that tried to teach the girls but gave up when it was clear they were dangerous. They retreated instead of doing something about it. Since it was proven that they knew about some, if not all, that the girls were doing, they earned themselves some jail time.

Weirdly, both girls had older brothers who were totally normal and not at all problematic. I had dug deep, too, just to make sure. They had not known anything, being six years older and off at college when most of this s**t had happened. Both had moved out on their own right after college, so they literally had no idea their little sisters were messed up. They had publicly denounced their behavior together.

With at least six attempted murders that they both participated in, and their stated intention to try again, they were both given life sentences. Thank God. I was worried that since Sarah had been paralyzed but not killed, somehow they'd get out of it. The judge and jury saw how dangerous these two were, and that they had no hope of rehabilitation. This was stated in the dual evaluations they'd had by psychiatrists. Neither girl could accept the consequences of their actions, nor that they had truly done something wrong.

They maintained that they were just doing what any normal girl would do, and only hid it because society had decided that it was bad to kill, hurt, shame, and maim those that stood between them and their romantic targets. When asked where they had ever heard such a thing was okay, they had shrugged and announced it was what their heart told them. Their answers were so similar that I searched online for some sort of weird-ass cult.

There was none.

As they were sentenced, Stacy sobbed and fought the bailiffs. Carla screamed until the judge had her taken away, kicking and clawing. I was in the courtroom, and made sure to send care packages to the bailiffs that had dealt with them. Just some first aid and Starbucks gift cards, nothing crazy. To say they didn't accept their sentences would be a vast understatement.

I walked up to Sarah and Rylan outside the courtroom. It was great to see them both so happy, both with the outcome, but more importantly with each other. I didn't miss the tenderness in his eyes as he looked at her. He was such a smart, polite guy. It had royally pissed me off that he'd been bullied. He could have entered college as a junior after taking two years for grabbing an AA at a local community college, but chose to start from scratch. He'd graduated at sixteen. He was brilliant, and truly one of the nicest people I'd ever met.

Ever notice that the people that get bullied don't really deserve it? Where does this s**t come from? Is it really due to some inborn fear of non-conformity? That just seems way too weak and simplistic to be at all acceptable. Maybe I just feel the need for some sort of logic to apply so I can understand it, because as of yet, it never made sense to me, not once.

"Hey guys!" I greeted. They both grinned at me. "That went well."

"As if you were totally not involved." Sarah rolled her eyes. I held up my hands. I didn't do any of this for praise.

"You did the hard part and dug through everything I sent you." I wasn't about to claim credit where it was not due. I did this for Sarah and my girl, and to make sure Stacy and Carla never hurt anyone else.

"Just getting all that data was probably the hardest part." Rylan quipped. Being that he worked for my dad, he knew the effort I'd put in behind the scenes. I shrugged.

"Nobody messes with my girl or my friends." I said, crossing my arms.

"Speaking of your girl, when do I get to finally meet her?" Rylan queried, amusement in his eyes. Sarah elbowed him. "No need to be jealous, babe. You're my number one. I just want to meet the girl that finally nabbed Ren. Looks pretty serious." He said, stroking his chin. Glancing at Sarah's pink cheeks, I quirked a brow at him.

"As if you're not in the same boat." I said, and his cheeks flushed. See, I knew it. Sarah might not get it, but Rylan's not a halfway guy by any means. He was the type, just like me, to wait and put a ring on it. He was in for the long haul. "Well, speaking of my girl, about time I got back home to her. Will I see you guys for my birthday?" They nodded and I gave Rylan a fist bump. "Be good." I said waggling my eyebrows, walking away.

Stacy and Carla were on the news, of course. Their pictures were unflattering, to say the least, but I was fine with that. It showed their true selves- ugly to the core. It wasn't about the packaging, it was about what lay beneath. Their nasty attitudes were readily apparent. It almost looked as if the person taking the picture had provoked them just before snapping the image. I cuddled Nao to my chest as we watched the news together. I still hadn't told her the details, and it was making me feel a little guilty.

"Wow, they tried to kill Sarah six times? That's just crazy." She exclaimed, and I sighed. I was going to have to tell her, and it was going to hurt her. I hated to have to be the one, but at least I could hold her while I did it.

"Actually... They tried it once with Sarah." I said carefully, and her brows snapped together.

"Who were the other victims? Are they okay?" She was worried, her full bottom lip slightly pouty and trembling. I know I shouldn't be thinking about what she can do with those lips right now, but I totally was. s**t, I was hard again. I had never been this horny in my life, but I guess that's what happens when you meet someone that unlocks your passion.

"Umm, actually..." I hedged. Nao got that serious look on her face that I envisioned her using on students one day. Maybe our kids... Damn. Ugh! Focus. "It was you." I whispered, looking into her eyes as they widened.

"Me?" She squeaked.

"Yeah... the time you got locked in the school, some of your assaulters, and one time they cut your brake lines too, but I guess the shop caught it when your dad took it in for maintenance. Only thing I'm glad of is they were not very creative." I tried to joke, and she smacked my arm.

"Are you serious? That was them?" She shouted, standing and starting to pace. I got up and pulled her into a hug, burying my face in her neck.

"Babe, they're in jail now. You're safe." I whispered as her body was wracked by sobs. Her hands gripped the back of my shirt.

"Thank you, Soren." She said, sucking in a breath and pushing her face into my chest.

"I will do anything for you, my love. I swear it." I promised her.