Chapter 67: Chapter 67 Where They Left Her

Jade’s POV

Dumped.

The word slammed into me harder than the rest.

I stared at her, my ears ringing. “That’s... that’s not funny,” I whispered. “You shouldn’t joke about things like that.”

She didn’t blink.

“She’s dead,” the woman repeated, still emotionless.

Something inside me shattered completely.

“No,” I screamed. “No, you’re lying! You’re all lying!”

My knees buckled, but strong and steady hands caught me.

Ronan, Ryder and Renzo.

But I fought them to leave me alone.

“Let me go!” I sobbed. “She’s not dead! She’s not!”

“If you don’t believe me,” the head of the kitchen said flatly, wiping her hands on her apron, “then go and see for yourself. The barn is at the back.”

The words barely finished leaving her mouth before my body moved.

I didn’t think.

I didn’t breathe.

I just turned and ran.

My feet hit the ground hard, skirts clutched in my fists as I bolted out of the kitchen, out of the servants’ quarters, past faces that wouldn’t look at me, past whispers that felt like knives scraping my skin.

Behind me, I heard footsteps.

Heavy ones. Fast ones.

Ronan. Ryder. Renzo.

They followed, but not closely. I noticed that even through the haze flooding my head. They slowed, deliberately, as though giving me space. As though they knew this was something I had to walk into alone.

The barn loomed ahead.

I had always hated it.

It sat far from the main estate, old and half forgotten, a place where broken things were sent when no one wanted to deal with them anymore. The smell hit me first, strong, sour, overwhelming. Hay mixed with animal waste. Horses shuffled in their stalls, snorting softly, unaware that my world was ending right there among them.

“No,” I whispered as I pushed the door open.

The barn was dim, sunlight filtering through cracks in the wooden walls. Flies buzzed lazily in the air. Dung littered the floor. Mud clung to my shoes, sucking at my feet as I stepped inside.

My heart was pounding so hard it hurt.

And then I saw it.

A body.

Lying face down in the dirt.

Right in the middle of the barn.

My breath left me in one sharp, broken gasp.

My entire body went cold, like all the blood had drained out of me at once. My hands began to shake violently, my knees threatening to give out beneath me.

No.

No no no no no.

That could be anyone.

Anyone.

I shook my head hard, as if I could dislodge the sight from my vision. “It’s not her,” I whispered desperately. “It’s not.”

Behind me, the footsteps stopped completely.

They didn’t come closer.

They didn’t say my name.

They let me walk.

Tears were already streaming down my face as I forced my legs to move, each step heavier than the last. The smell grew stronger. My stomach churned violently, bile rising in my throat.

I knelt beside the body.

My hands hovered, trembling, refusing to touch.

Please.

Please.

With a sob ripping from my chest, I reached out and turned the body over.

The world shattered.

It was her.

My mother.

Her face was pale, too pale. Her eyes were closed, lashes resting softly against skin that no longer held warmth. Her hair was tangled, dust and straw clinging to it. One arm lay twisted at an unnatural angle.

She wasn’t breathing.

“She’s sleeping,” I whispered frantically. “She’s just... she’s tired.”

I shook her gently. “Mum?”

Nothing.

I shook her harder. “Mum, wake up.”

No response.

“No!” I screamed, my voice tearing out of me as I collapsed over her body. “No, no, no please!”

I grabbed her shoulders, shaking her violently now, sobbing so hard I could barely breathe. “You can’t leave me! You can’t! You promised to always be with me, you promised!”

My cries echoed off the barn walls, raw and animalistic. I wailed until my throat burned, until my chest ached, until there was nothing left inside me but pain.

Somewhere behind me, I felt hands reach out, but stop. I felt their presence, their grief pressing in, but they didn’t pull me away.

I clutched my mother’s body, pressing my forehead to her cold cheek.

“I’m here,” I sobbed. “I’m right here. Please come back.”

The world tilted.

And darkness suddenly swallowed me whole.

....

When I woke up, everything felt wrong.

The bed beneath me was too soft. The air too clean. My head throbbed dully, like someone had wrapped my skull in cotton.

For a moment, I didn’t know where I was.

Then I remembered

The barn.

Her face.

Her body.

“She’s dead,” I whispered, and my chest caved in.

I shot upright with a strangled cry and stumbled out of the bed, legs weak beneath me. I yanked the door open and ran....

Straight into them.

Ronan. Ryder. Renzo.

They stood right outside my room.

Lke they were guarding it.

“Jade,” Ronan said urgently. “You need to rest....”

I ignored them.

I shoved past them and ran down the stairs, my bare feet slapping against the cold floor.

I needed to see her again.

I needed to make sure.

Maybe I imagined it.

Maybe my mind had broken.

I burst out of the house and sprinted toward the barn.

Hands caught me.

“Jade!” Ryder grabbed my arm gently but firmly. “Stop!”

I struggled wildly. “Let me go! I need to see her!”

Renzo stepped in front of me, eyes dark, voice strained. “She’s not there anymore.”

I froze.

“What?”

They exchanged a look.

“We took her to the morgue,” Ronan said softly. “She’ll be cleaned. Prepared. She’ll get a proper burial.”

I stared at them blankly.

“That’s not what I want,” I whispered.

My voice broke completely.

“I don’t want a burial. I want my mother alive.”

Silence fell heavy around us.

Then tires crunched against gravel.

A car pulled into the courtyard.

I turned just as Alpha Ashford stepped out.

Something ugly and violent surged through me.

I ran at him.

“We had a deal!” I screamed, slamming my fists into his chest. “You promised! You said you’d keep her safe!”

Guards surged forward, hands reaching....

“Touch her,” Renzo growled, his voice vibrating with something feral, “and you’ll lose your hands.”

They stopped.

Alpha Ashford raised a hand calmly, eyes cold as he looked down at me.

“I’ll excuse this,” he said smoothly. “You’re emotional.”

I laughed hysterically. “Emotional? You let her die!”

He sighed. “It was an accident. A natural one.”

My breath hitched.

“She was delivering breakfast to Linda,” he continued casually. “She slipped down the stairs on her way back.”

Linda. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The name slammed into me like thunder.

“Linda?” I whispered.

My head snapped up, eyes wide.

“Linda is involved in this?”