CHAPTER 145: NO REWARD

Lily continued, "Maybe he’s suffered enough?"

"Is it Kaden’s suffering that concerns you, or your grandfather’s reaction?" asked Sophia. "He may be disappointed with some of your prior choices, but he will not blame you for this incident. He loves you and would never blame you for something that is not your fault."

Jack had been a little surprised at how Lily had reacted once he kicked Kayden in the nuts. She had rushed to him without hesitation, something that could probably be explained by his soul strength, and overall, she had seemed surprisingly calm.

But when Sophia spoke and reassured Lily that Kayden’s attempted rape was not Lily’s fault, her expression shifted and her mask slipped.

Lily blinked a few times, and a tear formed in the corner of one eye. She nodded, acknowledging what Sophia had said, then lurched forward and returned to hugging Jack.

"I-I-I’ll call him. Just give me a moment." He could tell she was trying not to break down into a sobbing mess.

Jack wrapped one arm around Lily and caressed her head with the other. It seemed like the right thing to do. She buried her face in his chest and he could feel her shake with quiet sobs.

He looked at Sophia, wondering if he was doing the right thing. It wasn’t like he had any experience reassuring traumatized girls.

She gave him an approving look, then turned and began searching the room, probably looking for Lily’s phone. She checked the table, then rummaged through the pile of clothes on the floor near the couch.

From the pile of clothes, she extracted a phone, looked at the screensaver, then dropped it in disgust.

Turning from the pile of clothes, she checked behind all the furniture and found something behind the armchair. After checking the screensaver, she nodded, then returned to Jack and pressed the phone into Lily’s hand, which was clutching Jack’s back.

Quicker than Jack expected, Lily stopped crying and stepped back. She brushed the front of his shirt and said, "Sorry, I got your shirt wet."

"It’s fine. Let me transfer this video to you so you can send it to your grandfather."

He suspected that Lily’s grandfather would not be contacting the police but would instead want to handle things himself. And if that was the case, he would want the video as proof and for leverage.

"Do I have to?" she asked.

"No," said Sophia. "But I think it would be best if you did."

"Okay."

After Jack transferred the video to Lily’s phone, Sophia said, "Don’t send it to him just yet. When you call him, put it on speaker. You know how he can get. I’ll give him some reassurances first, and then you can send it to him."

Lily nodded, then made the call.

"Lily? Is everything alright?" The man that answered sounded curious with just a touch of concern.

"Grandfather, I’m here with Sophia Martel and some other people."

"Sophia? What’s going on, what happened?" He now sounded genuinely worried.

"Lily is fine. A disaster has been averted, and she is safe and unharmed."

"It’s okay, grampa. I really am okay."

"Lily, Sophia, what happened?"

Lily looked at Sophia, who nodded.

"I’m sending you a video, grampa. It will explain what happened."

"I know how you get old man," said Sophia. "Watch the whole video before you make any decisions."

"Humph," the man grumped in reply.

A few moments later, they heard a gasp over the phone, then a growl, then a muttered, "did he just?", and finally, a righteous "Humph!"

"Did he..." the old man couldn’t bring himself to actually say it out loud.

"No, grandfather, he did not. Jack rescued me in time."

"Jack?"

"Hello sir, I’m Jack Waldron. I’m the one that caught the little shit bird in the act and managed to save your granddaughter from a most heinous defilement."

"I see. And what do you want, Jack?"

It sounded like the old man suspected the whole thing was staged by Jack and Kayden so they could extract some kind of reward from him.

"Unfortunately, what I want is illegal. I’m just happy that I was able to save Lily. Though I do hope that crushed jewels will not be the limit of Kayden’s suffering."

"Where is he now?"

"Still on the floor, pale as a ghost and struggling to maintain consciousness," said Sophia.

"Huh. So..."

"Harold," said Sophia, "We are at Thornwood’s in Bellavista, last changing room on the left. I, my daughter Miranda, and one of Jack’s girlfriends are here with Jack to help him shop for clothes. When we entered Thornwood’s, we found the place empty, no sales people present."

Then Miranda added, "Jack heard something and went to investigate, and that’s when he discovered what was happening to Lily."

She knew how Jack really discovered Lily and Kayden and didn’t want her mom saying something that would make Harold even more suspicious of Jack.

"What I heard made me suspicious, so I started recording. If it was nothing, or something innocuous but private, I would have just deleted the video."

"I see, and you don’t want anything? No reward?"

"No. Nothing. Well, except maybe hire guards for Lily, or fire the ones you hired and find better ones."

Lily tried to glare at Jack. He could tell she was also realizing that a guard would have prevented what had almost happened.

"Yes, that’s good advice. I had not realized just how depraved the Richlands truly were."

After a pause, Harold added, "I’ll send some people there soon. Would you would be so kind as to stay with my granddaughter until then?"

"Sure," said Jack.

"We will stay with your granddaughter until your people arrive," said Sophia.

After Harold hung up, Sophia said, "Why don’t all of you go sit in the changing room across the hall, and I’ll stay here and keep an eye on Kayden."

As they moved across the hall, Samantha asked, "Where’s the sales staff?"