He Said I Was Nothing Without Him And I Signed For Everything Chapter 06

Cassian tore Blackridge Psychiatric Center apart.

The director, doctors, nurses, and orderlies were all held in a conference room.

Cassian sat at the head of the table, Maren’s medical file spread open in front of him. The contraindication warning had been circled in red ink.

He lifted his eyes. His voice held no warmth at all.

“Who gave her the shot?”

The night-shift nurse was shaking so hard she could barely stay upright.

“I… I did.”

“Who told you to do it?”

The nurse cried and shook her head.

“I really don’t know who it was.”

“She had someone pass me the message. She said Ms. Sallow was unstable and needed something to calm her down.”

“She also said if anything happened, someone would cover it.”

Cassian tapped his fingers lightly against the table.

Once.

Twice.

No one in the room dared to breathe.

“And the money?”

The nurse’s face went white.

Cassian gave a cold laugh.

“Don’t tell me you risked your job out of kindness because you wanted her quiet.”

The nurse broke down.

“I took the money.”

“They gave me cash and told me not to ask questions.”

Maddox stood to the side, his expression grim.

“Cassian, we found the person who passed the cash.”

He handed over a photo.

“This person met with Isla’s assistant.”

Cassian took the photo.

In it, the assistant wore a mask as she came out of an underground parking garage, carrying a black paper bag.

Cassian stared at the photo, then gave a humorless smile.

The room went silent.

“Bring Isla here.”

Isla came quickly.

She wore a loose white dress, her eyes red-rimmed. As soon as she entered, she tried to throw herself into Cassian’s arms.

“Cassian, I’ve been so worried.”

Cassian stepped aside.

She lunged into empty air and froze.

“Cassian…”

Cassian threw the photo in front of her.

“Explain.”

Isla lowered her head and glanced at it. Tears fell at once.

“I don’t know.”

“My assistant meets people every day. How would I know what she did?”

“Cassian, you can’t suspect me because of one photo.”

Cassian looked at her.

In the past, the moment she cried, he would soften.

He would think Maren was cold, and Isla was fragile.

But now, his mind was full of Maren kneeling in the rain, lifting her mangled right hand as she said to him, “Cassian, I paint with this hand.”

How much had it hurt?

How desperate had she been?

The silence stretched. Isla caught the change and started crying harder.

“Maren was already unstable.”

“She struggled and refused treatment. That’s why there was an accident.”

“I’m carrying your baby. How could I hurt her?”

Cassian’s face grew colder and colder.

“Do you not know why she was committed in the first place?”

Isla’s voice caught.

“She pushed me first…”

“Enough.”

Cassian cut her off. For the first time, Isla’s crying grated on him.

It reminded him of the day Maren was dragged away. She hadn’t cried. She had only looked at him, as if he were already beyond saving.

Cassian stood.

“Go back to Tallowmere.”

A flash of relief lit Isla’s eyes. She thought he had finally softened.

“Cassian, I knew you wouldn’t abandon me.”

Cassian didn’t look at her.

“I have something to say to you.”

Tallowmere Estate looked the same as it always had.

The living room was brightly lit.

But the moment Cassian stepped inside, he saw the painting.

Maren’s mother’s self-portrait still stood beneath the lights.

The once gentle, delicate features had been painted over with Isla’s face.

He had forced Maren to paint over her mother’s face herself.

At the time, her fingers had been white around the brush, and he had felt nothing but satisfaction.

He had thought she finally understood her place.

Now, looking at it again, Cassian found that face blinding.

Absurd.

Disgusting.

He stood in front of the painting for a long time without moving.

Isla walked to his side and carefully tugged at his sleeve.

“Cassian, I know you’re hurting.”

“But the dead don’t come back. You still have me. You still have our baby…”

Cassian slowly pulled his hand away.

“Bring out all her things.”

The staff froze.

So did Isla.

Soon, box after box was carried down from upstairs.

Dresses, perfume, jewelry, photos, and every decoration Isla had brought into Tallowmere after moving in.

Cassian looked at the pile and said coldly, “Burn it.”

Isla’s face went bloodless.

“What did you say?”

The staff didn’t dare move.

Cassian lifted his eyes.

“Was I unclear?”

Soon, a fire rose in the courtyard.

Flames climbed over expensive hems. Perfume bottles burst in the heat, and the sweet scent mixed with smoke and burning fabric.

Isla rushed forward to grab her things, but the guards stopped her.

She broke down sobbing.

“Cassian, you’re doing this to me for a dead woman?”

Cassian stood before the firelight, his eyes cold as ice.

“I’ll find out how she died.”

Isla’s crying caught.

Cassian looked at her and spoke each word clearly.

“If this has anything to do with you, I won’t let you go.”

Isla took half a step back, frightened by his stare.