"Why didn't you tell me about the abuse, Maya?" Dalton's voice was calm, despite his anger.
Maya's breaths were heavy between her words. "I have been foolish. I should have told you; I thought it didn't matter anymore because I was under your protection. The only person I confided in about the abuse I was suffering disappeared from the surface of the earth with his family. My stepfather might have killed him. Since then, I have learned to endure the abuse silently and have never mentioned it to anyone. "Maya sobs, causing Dalton's heart to sink. He felt helpless as he watched the pain in her eyes and the tears striking down on her face.
Dalton's eyes were like a storm as he ground his teeth. He is going to make Fredrick Hathaway and his son suffer a hundredfold of the pain they had caused Maya.
Maya parted her lips to speak, but a cough escaped instead.
