Ruin Me Slowly

Chapter 29

Carter POV

“I never touched her, Jane. I swear to you—I don’t even remember seeing her.”

Carter’s voice trembled as he sat across from me in the office conference room. My arms were crossed over my chest, the chill from the air conditioner nothing compared to the cold still sitting in my heart.

He looked like hell—dark circles under his eyes, shirt wrinkled, hair a mess. But that didn’t mean anything. I had seen the pictures. Emma, his ex-fling, practically draped over him at Empire. And Carter? Just standing there. Silent. Letting it happen.

“You expect me to believe that?” I whispered. “That you just blacked out and she happened to be there?”

“I didn’t know she would be,” he said. “I left the house that night to check on something at Empire. I don’t even remember drinking. But when I woke up the next morning, you were gone, and then I saw the headlines…”

He leaned forward.

“That’s when I knew something was off. So I had the security footage pulled. And Jane—she drugged me.”

I blinked.

“What?”

“She slipped something in my drink. I saw it with my own eyes. Emma didn’t plan it all herself, though. I confronted her. She told me—” he paused, like it physically hurt to say the next part— “Rosie was behind it.”

My stomach twisted.

My first instinct was to yell, to scream, to cry again—but before I could even speak, the door opened.

And in walked Rosie.

I stiffened immediately, ready for another fight, another round of insults.

But she didn’t look smug this time.

She looked… sad. And a little broken.

“I deserve every angry word you’re about to throw at me,” she said quietly. “But before you do, let me say something first.”

I sat in silence. Carter gave her a short nod.

Rosie stepped forward, wringing her hands.

“I was wrong,” she began. “So, so wrong.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“I hated you the moment I knew your last name. I didn’t ask who you were. I didn’t care what you had been through. I saw Richard Ellis, and I saw everything he did to my father. I saw headlines. I saw lawsuits. I saw war. And I assumed you were just like him.”

I stayed quiet. My throat was tight.

“But then I met your mother,” she added, her voice cracking. “She told me everything. About your childhood. What your father did to you. What he did to her.”

My breath caught.

“She told me about the punishments. The dark room. The expectations. The emotional abuse. And I realized… I’ve been hating the victim.”

Rosie looked me in the eye.

“I’m sorry, Jane. Truly. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I needed you to hear that from me.”

I looked down, emotions tangled in my chest. There was a part of me that wanted to yell at her, to say it was too late.

But I also saw how hard it was for her to admit she was wrong.

And sometimes… that’s the first step.

Carter reached for my hand and gently squeezed it.

“She knows now,” he said softly. “And I promise you, Jane, we’re not going to let anyone treat you like that again.”

I exhaled slowly, my voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t want to run. I just… couldn’t breathe anymore.”

“I know,” Carter said. “And I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me. I should’ve come after you sooner.”

Rosie let out a soft breath. “If there’s anything I can do to make things right, just tell me. I’ll do it.”

There was a long silence between the three of us.

And then suddenly—

Bzzzt. Bzzzt.

Carter’s phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen, frowned, then looked up. “It’s Dad.”

He picked it up and put it on speaker.

“Carter,” Mr. King said, his voice low and serious, “I need you to come to the house. Now. You too, Rosie. And… bring Jane.”

Carter stood. “What’s wrong?”

There was a pause.

“I think we have a bigger problem on our hands.”

“What do you mean?”

Another pause. Then Mr. King said quietly, “Richard Ellis just filed a lawsuit against the company. He’s trying to take us down—again. And this time, he’s using Jane’s pregnancy to do it.”

My heart dropped.

“What?” I breathed.

Carter’s eyes darkened.

“On what grounds?”

“Paternity fraud,” Mr. King said. “He claims the babies aren’t yours. That this was all a scheme. And he’s going public with it.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. That man… he never stopped.

Rosie stepped forward, her voice cold now. “We need to shut this down before it spreads.”