CHAPTER 180: I WON’T USE YOU

~HELENA~

My voice came out as a raw, croaking sound. "Tye?!"

A shadow detached itself from the corner of my room, and Tye stepped into the sliver of moonlight filtering through my window. "Hey," he said, his voice sounding uncharacteristically soft.

"What... How did you get in?" I was still standing, trembling, my hand pressed over my racing heart. My mind was too broken to even process this new shock.

"Your spare key is still under the welcome mat," he said flatly. "Terrible hiding spot, by the way. You didn’t answer your phone. Layla and Axel were worried. I was worried."

He took a step closer, and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he really saw the tear-streaked face, the shaking hands, and the devastation written across every inch of me.

His hard facial features melted instantly. "Hey. ’You good?’ What a stupid question. Clearly, you’re not."

That was all it took.

The dam didn’t just break, it disintegrated. A choked sob escaped me, and my knees gave out. I didn’t hit the floor, though; Tye crossed the room in an instant, catching me, his arms wrapping around me as I collapsed against his chest.

The wails I’d held back during the entire cab ride and the sobs I’d choked down while sitting in that apartment with my brothers finally broke free. I couldn’t stop them, couldn’t control them.

"He... he..." I couldn’t even form the words, just sobbing into his shirt, my fingers clutching the fabric like a lifeline.

He didn’t say "I told you so." He didn’t say anything at all. He just held me, one hand rubbing slow circles on my back, the other tangled in my hair, letting me shatter completely in his arms.

I don’t know how long we stood there. Minutes? Hours? Time felt meaningless.

Eventually, my sobs quieted to shaky, hiccuping breaths. My throat was raw, my eyes burned, and I felt hollowed out, empty.

Tye gently guided me to the bed, sitting me down on the edge before crouching in front of me. His hands rested on my knees, grounding me.

"Talk to me, Helena," he said in a low rumble. "What did you find?"

"You were right," I whispered in a broken voice. "You were all right. About everything."

I told him everything: the locked office, the hidden panel under the desk that I’d only found by accident, and the secret keypad.

"The password..." I choked out, a fresh wave of tears welling up. "It was the year our mom died. The year he left us and everything fell apart."

Tye’s jaw clenched so hard I saw a muscle jump.

"He didn’t just help, Tye." My voice cracked. "He planned it. All of it. He was the architect. The one pulling the strings."

I pulled out my phone with shaking hands, the screen lighting up my tear-stained face. "It’s all here. I took pictures of everything. Account statements. Transfer records. Emails between him and Charles detailing the entire scheme."

Then I told him the part that hurt more than all the rest combined.

"There were emails about me." My voice broke completely. "Between him and Charles. Henry told him to keep me out of the operational details because I was ’trusting and naive.’ He said..." I could barely get the words out. "He said he’d ’love to keep it that way.’"

Tye’s expression turned murderous. He didn’t look at me but at the wall, as if he could see through it to where Henry was. "That son of a bitch," he growled, the words vibrating with fury I’d never heard from him before.

"He’s my brother," I cried, the central conflict tearing me apart from the inside. "He’s my family. Jason and Ryan, they adore him. They finally have him back in their lives after all these years. If I... if I give you this phone, Tye... I’m destroying him. I’m destroying the last piece of family we have left. How can I do that? How can I be the one to..."

I couldn’t finish. The words stuck in my throat.

I stood up abruptly, pacing my small, dark room like a caged animal. My hands twisted together, pulling at my fingers until they hurt.

"He’s a monster," I said, my voice rising. "I see that now. I see what he is, what he’s done. But he’s my monster. He’s done horrible, unforgivable things, but... but he’s still..."

"He’s still your brother," Tye finished for me quietly.

He stood up and walked over to me, stopping just a foot away, close enough to touch but giving me space.

"I can’t..." I looked down at my hands, at the phone clutched between them. "I don’t know if I can be the one to put him in prison. Or worse. The cartel... they’ll kill him, won’t they? If they find out he has their money."

Tye was quiet for a long moment.

Then, gently, he put a hand on my shoulder. I flinched instinctively, but his touch was steady, warm, and reassuring. He waited until I looked up at him, his dark eyes searching mine.

"Okay," he said simply.

I blinked, confused. "Okay? That’s it? You, Layla, Axel... you need this evidence. You said it yourself. Without proof, the cartel won’t believe us."

"We do need it," he agreed. "The cartel isn’t going to wait forever. This proof... what’s on your phone, it’s probably the only thing that saves all of us. Including you and your brothers."

"But you just said..."

"But," he interrupted gently, moving his hand to cup my cheek, his thumb brushing away a stray tear, "I’m not going to take that phone from you. And I’m not going to let Layla or Axel pressure you either."

He took a step back, giving me space to breathe, to think. "This is an impossible situation, Helena. And Henry put you in it. No one else... not us... him. What you’re feeling right now, this conflict, this pain, it’s not weakness. It’s loyalty. It’s love for your family. It’s complicated and messy and there’s no easy answer."

I stared at him, tears still streaming down my face. "I don’t understand. You need this. How can you just..."

"Because forcing you to betray your brother?" Tye shook his head. "That makes us no better than him. We’d be using you, manipulating you, just like he did. And I won’t do that to you, Princess."