When I get to her, I don’t know what to do. The sight is too horrific for words. It looks like she’s been slashed with a knife, her skin flayed open all over her body.
“Gudinne,” I choke out as I collapse onto the bed, crawling toward her. “Who did this to you?”
She doesn’t try to speak around the gag in her mouth, even after I remove it. She won’t even look at me as I force my trembling hands to release her restraints. It’s a painstakingly slow process because her wrists and ankles are just as raw and bloody as the rest of her. My sweet goddess fought for her life. She fought so hard it brings tears to my eyes as I try to figure out how the fuck I’m going to help her. I’m afraid to touch her, move her, but all I want to do is hold her.
“Ella.” My fingers ghost over her chin, tilting her gaze toward me. She blinks but doesn’t acknowledge me. “Tell me what happened. Please.”
Nothing. She stares through me, eyes blank.
I reach for my phone and struggle through my contacts, seeking out the name of my personal doctor. He answers without delay, and I issue my instructions to him with a clogged throat.
“Are you okay, Thorsen?” he asks before I hang up the phone.
“Just come quickly.”
Another beat passes, and I take Ella’s hand in mine. It’s all I can do for her right now. I’ve never felt so fucking helpless in my entire life. The seconds drag by, and then long minutes until finally, Dr. Hansen alerts me he’s outside. I tell him the door is open and meet him in the hall.
“Are you okay?” he asks again.
“No.” I nearly fucking lose it. “I’m not. But this isn’t about me.”
He follows me down the hall and into Ella’s room, and when he sees her, the color drains from his face.
“Oh, Thorsen. This is bad.”
After carefully relocating Ella to the clean sheets on my bed, it takes Dr. Hansen and his two-nurse team three long hours to clean her up and dress her wounds. She had multiple lacerations that required stitches, including the one on her face. Throughout the entire process, I felt the doctor watching me as he asked her what happened. But she refused to engage with him either.
“She is traumatized,” he tells me in the hall. “I have already called for Dr. Blom. He’s on his way. But there is a good chance she may not speak at all for a while. She needs to rest.”
“What can I do for her?”
“Right now, you just need to give it time. My nurse will stay here and report to me on her progress. Dr. Blom and I will also speak once he’s assessed her, and we can decide how best to proceed.”
I nod, but my heart has never felt so heavy.
“You have no idea who could have done this?” he asks wearily, and I can see the unspoken question in his eyes. He means to say, did I have anything to do with this.
“I don’t know.” I repress the urge to break something. All afternoon, I have asked myself that very question. And until I know for certain, my rage is trapped inside me, waiting for a target. “My security is going over the perimeter cameras now.”
There are no cameras inside the estate because I never wanted them. A decision I’ve come to regret after today.
“Call me if you have any more concerns,” Dr. Hansen instructs me. “Otherwise, I will be back tomorrow to check on her.”
I tell him to let himself out, but it isn’t long before Dr. Blom appears, and I have to let him in. When he sees Ella, he immediately turns to me.
“Thorsen—”
“I didn’t do this,” I growl.
He surveys me for signs of deception and then sighs. “I’m sorry, but you know I have to ask.”
“She won’t speak.” My eyes move over Ella, tormented by the expression on her face. I can’t be sure she’s even in there anymore. Not until she talks to me. “I don’t know how to fix this.”
“Who is she?” Dr. Blom asks curiously.
“I met her at the ball in London. It’s the same woman you asked me about before.”
I leave out the part about me kidnapping her, though I don’t doubt Ella will probably tell him herself anyway. I just don’t want to lose her.
“Give me some time with her,” Dr. Blom says. “I’ll let you know when I’m finished.”
I hesitate, and he observes me closely. He knows it isn’t like me to be so protective, but things are different with Ella. I know that now, and I don’t care if he knows it too. But before we can get to that, the head of security knocks on my door, interrupting us.
“Your Highness, if you have a moment, there’s something I’d like to show you.”
“Go, Thorsen.” Dr. Blom gestures for the door. “Right now, this is how you can help.”
After taking one last look at Ella, I reluctantly join my security team as they bring up the camera footage on a laptop in my office.
“We haven’t been able to identify the individual,” Han notes, “but we caught several images. Perhaps you might recognize them?”
My eyes focus on the screen as the person in the footage walks to the front door. Whoever it is, they’re wearing a baggy blue hoodie, sunglasses, and black jeans. They also seem to be aware of the fact that there’s a camera above them because they keep their head down the entire time.
“Is it a man?” I squint at the screen.
“It could be,” Han answers. “Or a woman of medium height. It’s difficult to tell with the clothing. But watch this.”
The video continues, and the person on the screen unlocks the door with a set of keys.
“What the fuck?” I mutter.
How is that even possible? There are only three other people who have keys to my home. Calder, my mother, and Lisbet.
“Your brother and mother were both at the palace,” Han answers my unspoken thoughts. “Calder has his keys, and he’s looking for your mother’s as we speak. As for Lisbet, she left around eleven for her break. But we called to confirm she was at a café during this time. She’s on her way over now.”
“Play it again,” I order.
Han plays the footage several times before I stop him, and in my gut, I have the same inkling I had when I discovered the news of my father. Is it too much of a stretch to imagine that Lavinia divulged the information about his heart for a reason? Was that a threat I simply missed? And is it possible she would truly hurt Ella to such an extent?
“The fire,” I whisper.
“What, sir?” Han asks.
“She said her stepsister pushed her into the fire.” My fingers dig into my forehead as it comes back to me. The answers were right there all along. Ella told me about her family, her history with Narcissa and her sisters, but I conveniently chose to forget that when I was on my warpath last night, accusing her of a heinous and ridiculous betrayal.
“Mother fuck!”
I launch the ship on my desk across the room, and Han flinches. But that isn’t enough. So I punch the desk four times until my knuckles splinter and bleed.
“Your Highness?” Han looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“This is all my fault,” I tell him. “I didn’t listen to her.”