Love's Redemption (Chris and Maddie)

Chapter 719

+25 BONUS

Hayden had faked his death and taken brutal beatings to keep his identity hidden. Deini? She'd sacrificed her entire future, paying a price so unimaginable it made my chest ache. If we called the cops now, all of that could be for nothing And let's be real-If the police could fix this, DracoLux would've been shut down ages ago.

This couldn't go unchecked, though. Especially not for Lena. She'd always been fierce about protecting women, and seeing someone like Demi humiliated and broken like this? It wasn't something she'd ever tolerate. "How's Demi? Has she woken up? Can I see her?" I asked, my voice shaking.

Without a word, Lena led me to Demi's room.

Seeing her hooked up to all those machines, tubes everywhere, an oxygen mask covering her bruised face... It broke me. Lena's earlier description of her injuries echoed in my head, every detail slicing me open. "I'm... fine," Demi whispered weakly, as if she could sense my heartbreak and wanted to

comfort me.

Tears spilled down my face as I held her hand. "Demi, I swear, I'll make them pay for this. I will. I promise."

She gave me the faintest smile, but it was like a knife in my chest. Demi used to smile all the time, her laugh lighting up everything around her. Now, her smile was hollow-a shadow of who she used to be. "You need to report this," Lena said, her voice sharp, cutting through my pain.

Demi's smile wavered. "No... I... won't," she said softly.

insane," Lena snapped,

her voice

Not

Yet I could feel the weight of what

take them all down," she said, her gaze

voice softened. "I'll do everything I can to treat your

closed her eyes, finally

a tissue as I wiped my face,

the bleeding. But I can't

Children.

After all she'd

entire life shattered-would she

love someone again? Could

a wave. I couldn't say anything, just stared at the bloodstains on Lena's gown. "Go change," I muttered. "I'll stay with

she stopped. "She doesn't want to report this because she's planning to go back and

I nodded.

Lena sighed. "That's reckless."

back into that hellhole was reckless, but it was also the only option. Even Hayden had done it. That's how deep DracoLux's darkness ran-it forced people to risk their lives just to get close enough to expose it. "Demi can't do this alone," Lena continued. "But if others worked with her, it'd