Page 36 of Vengeful Lies

Why?

Why would Cade do all of this?

When he’d told her to take care of his daughter, she hadn't truly comprehended what exactly that meant.

Continue to love and look after Essie, sure. Make sure she stayed part of her life, absolutely. Be there for her until he came home, yes.

But not this.

It seemed in the few hours between getting a lead on where she and Essie were being held and rescuing them, he’d done more than just come up with a plan.

A lot more.

Including calling a lawyer.

The woman standing in front of her in the living room of Cade’s house had just spoken words that had rocked her world,yet none of Cade’s brothers or their partners seemed to be the least bit surprised.

They’d all known.

She got that.

What she didn't get was why they weren't more upset about Cade’s decisions.

While they’d all treated her with nothing but the utmost respect, embracing her into their family and easing the loneliness inside her, that didn't change the fact that she was an outsider. It was one thing to be nice to her, to include her, to make her feel welcome, because she worked for their brother caring for their niece.

This was a whole other thing.

One that she couldn’t believe they were okay with.

Maybe they were just pretending, and they were going to tell her they would challenge it in court if Cade didn't come home.

No.

That couldn’t be it.

They’d known this was coming, which meant Cade had told them, and they obviously hadn't issued any challenge to him. Could that be just because they didn't want to add to his stress when he was so worried about his daughter?

“It’s very simple, Ms. Sadler,” the lawyer said patiently. They’d already gone through this several times, but it wasn't sinking in. “Mr. Charleston has named you the legal guardian of his daughter, Esther Charleston. He’s also transferred the title of his house into your name. All you need to do is sign these papers and everything is official.”

His daughter?

His house?

The home he’d shared with his wife, the only woman she knew he would ever truly love.

Why had he given her both?

He had three biological brothers standing right there in the living room with her, and all three were in serious relationships. He could have given custody of Essie to any of them. Or if he hadn't wanted to put on them such a heavy responsibility while they were in the beginnings of a relationship, he could have given guardianship to either of his stepbrothers.

They were family.

She wasn't.

“Sign the papers, Gabs,” Cooper said gently.

“But—”

“No, buts,” Connor told her when she tried to protest. “This is what Cade wanted.”

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