When Thierry found out what Cael did, he was surprised. That was a drastic decision, that changed his whole life. Still, he did it to help them.
"Sometimes people are more than we believe them to be". Dev said, after they heard the news.
The whole process ended because of that, and one of his headaches disappeared. And a part of him didn't believe it. Nevertheless, Dev walked him through his need to trust people and understand that not everything was like the book. The book. Thi thought. Not everything was like the book. He had faced that idea many times before, but he never really believed things could have changed that much. But it did. What do I really know now? Thi questioned himself. Seeing his troubled boyfriend lost in thought, Dev inquired what he was thinking.
"That maybe most of my knowledge is now moot. I always thought that I knew somehow how the future would go, or at least how people would act. But I've finally come to realize that things have changed so much that I can't expect the most fundamental things to stay the same. So what am I still doing? Tracing the steps of a story that no longer exists? Treating people in a way based only on what I believe it's true?".
Dev hugged him with his strong arms enveloping Thierry. They stayed like that for a while, until Thi asked.
"Aren't you going to say something?"
"What? That I'm happy you came to this conclusion by yourself? That it's great to see you growing?"
Thi pouted, even though he knew Dev was right. He was always cuddling and soothing him, but when the moment called he was the first to tell the truth, even if it was harsh.
"Now, what I can ask you is what you're going to do with this new resolution". Dev questioned.
"I don't know. I don't like the idea of being in the dark, and I will have to learn to trust people more".
"That's a good start".
"And stop relying on the book to judge character or to know what is going to happen".
"Yes".
"And build a better network to gather information, so that I don't feel so blind in the future".
"Ok, that's something else, but still okay".
"I don't know... I'm just anxious".
"We all have to live without knowing anything about the future. What were you going to do when the information from the book ended?"
"I... I think I would just keep living".
"And that's what you have to do. Keep living. Accept that you're not in control of reality and things are not what they seem. People are much more than you expect of them, be it for the bad or the good". Dev hugged him tighter.
"But what will I do about the Delaney family? If my knowledge is wrong, what if I can't achieve what I seek? What will happen then?"
"Ask for help. You have proof that there are people who want to help you, so why don't you ask?"
Thierry went silent.
"You want me to ask him for help?"
"Don't you trust him?"
"Y-yes", he stuttered, uncertain.
"You do or you don't?"
"I guess... I do. But would he help me destroy his own family?"
"For what you said, he was one of the people they hurted the most. So... Maybe. But you can ask him. Tell him the truth of what you're trying to do".
Thierry thought about it for a while, as he showered and ate breakfast; as he read some reports from work; as he talked with some investors over the phone. He decided to trust him. That part was true. But what did that trust mean to him? He thought about it over and over. He made a decision without thinking and got the cellphone to call Nate. Only later, he telled Dev what he resolved.
"If I'm going to trust them, I'm going to tell them everything".
"Everything?"
"Yes. If they really deserve to be trusted, they will listen. And I'll know for sure. If they don't, they will just brush it off and ignore everything I say, and I'll know that was for the better".
"Are you sure of that? Or are you doing that on impulse?"
"Isn't it good for me to tell them everything if I trust them?"
"Are you going to regret it later and keep ruminating about it?"
"No", he answered determinedly.
"Really?"
"Maybe".
"So tell them what you are ready for, and see how it goes".
Thierry took a deep breath, taking in everything Dev said.
"Okay. Thanks for the advice".
"Anytime".
Soon, Cael and Nate were arriving with the twins. Thierry almost cried seeing them, but he contained himself not to worry the kids. He hugged them, played with them until Dev signaled it was time. He called Kristin to take the kids. He was sad to depart from them, but he knew it was important.
They went to the office. Seeing him trembling, Dev offered to make some tea. The couples sat across from each other. Dev held Thi's hand tight. He told him to do only what he felt comfortable, but he knew how his brain worked and how anxious he became about anything. Dev looked at Thierry's beautiful green eyes and kissed the back of his hand and mouthed "Go on. Everything will be ok". Thierry mouthed back "Thank you".
"We decided that we need to trust you, you've done more than enough to earn our trust. So it's time to tell you everything". He said, trying to sound as certain as possible. "We've been investigating the Delaney family crimes for a while, and we released the first part of information to the press recently. But that was just the tip of the iceberg".
Dev brought the documents to show them. A list of proofs that extended through many pages, and that Nate and Cael looked over together, trying their best to grasp the general picture.
"Their crimes go from money laundering to slavery, torture, rape, unlawful imprisonment, human trafficking. Basically, every crime you can name they have committed it. And we have proof of most of it".
Cael listened to all of it and looked at the papers with a flabbergasted look: he knew his family did the most terrible things, but he didn't know the dimension of their nefarious actions.
"We need your help to gather more evidence, that's why we are sharing this. We can't do it alone, although we come very far, there is so much more to be done".
"This is your revenge against them? This is how you're making them pay for what they tried to do?", Cael asked, still looking at the papers with Nate.
"More than that. It is to make them pay for all they did to all these people. If I have the power and the means to seek justice, shouldn't I?" He asked rhetorically. "The real question is are you with us?"
"I don't know what I can do to help, but I do everything in my power to stop them". He was still going through the long document, when he suddenly stopped in one paragraph. It was about how Geralt and Patricia Delaney bought children from omegas who they used as sex slaves, who couldn't do anything because of their debt. "Wait... Is this true?"
"All that is there is what we reunited proof about. Why?"
He showed the paragraph to Thierry, who stopped for a second realizing what was happening. He should have omitted that paragraph.
"Am I one of these kids?" Cael asked, astounded.
Thierry looked at Dev, who nodded and mouthed Be honest, but careful.
"According to our sources, yes. We haven't been able to find your birth mother yet, but we know you were one of the kids who were bought".
"How is it possible? How did I never know about that?"
"They always kept a secret about all these, at least three of your siblings were bought in a similar way. But there are many more that were abandoned because they were not alphas. As you know, your family believes in the supremacy of alphas and wants to create better alphas in each generation. And there is the belief that more powerful alphas can be born using omegas. Hence, the use of omegas this way has been passed down from generation to generation, through the chosen heir. According to our research, your uncle, Finnian, didn't know about it, and even if he suspected, there was not much he could do".
Cael stayed in his place, astounded, breathing deeply. Nate held his hand and tried to calm him down. Thierry gave him time to process everything. It was hard news to deal with, and he could have dealt with the information better. But now it was too late. A few minutes later, Cael broke the silence.
"You're looking for my mother, right?", he asked.
"I'm looking for all the omegas who were involved, so yes. But I can't promise anything".
"Okay. But I want to know as soon as you find them".
"Sure".
"And... What else can I do to help? I could do anything to take them down."
Thierry looked at Dev again, seeking his support. The man nodded and held his hand tight, signaling for him to keep going.
"Just because you have your adoption papers, doesn't mean they will stop using the media to manipulate the facts using the fact they were your parents. So we need you to come public with the reasons, beyond the process, that made you decide".
"What do you mean?" Cael played dumb.
"We know how they abused you, and all the cases with the drugged omegas. We have proof from the day they drugged you, four years ago, and many other cases". And, of course, Thierry knew all this from the original story. "I know it's too much to ask, but we need to shut them down. Before they do anything against the kids".
Cael thought for a while, he was embarrassed about his past, and it took lots of therapy for him to realize that the fault was not his. That his parents only saw him as a thing, didn't mean he was just something. There were still people who loved and cared for him.
"I will think about it".
"I know we are asking too much, and these are things you may not be ready to face. We don't want to do anything that will hurt you. So think about it all carefully".
"I will".
They ended the conversation there. Dev was right. Cael deserved to be trusted, but he felt guilty about revealing his past like that. He had the right to know, especially knowing how things went in the original book. Thi didn't want to share it, not now, at least. In the extra stories in the book, Cael and Devin go searching for Cael's birth mother after he finds out about him. However, when they finally find a clue about his whereabouts, they discover that he was dead, killed by loan sharks. However, there were two problems with the story: one, it just said it happened some years after the main story ended; second, it didn't give much information about how they found him or how long he was dead. Now, Thi wasn't sparing efforts to find him, but he didn't even know if he was still alive.
After that, they talked about some lighter subjects. They decided together that the twins would stay once a week with Cael and Nate, instead of the once every two weeks as it was before. Cael would miss the twins, but he was happy with having the kids over once a week. He was also happy to see that his relationship with Thierry had improved. With the mood a little better, after the drastic revelations, the afternoon ended in a light tone. The kids said goodbye to Cael and Nate, while pleading for them to stay. They could all have a sleepover, the boys insisted. Cael was tempted for a second, but he thought it was better to leave.
For the first time in over a month, Thierry put his children to sleep. He tucked them in, read a bedtime story and kissed them goodnight. He still watched as they were falling asleep, bliss dominating him as he looked at their angelical faces. When he got up to leave, he saw Dev waiting for him outside. He didn't say a word, just held his hand and walked away, towards their room. The smiles on their faces said it all. They laid down in bed, Thierry's head on Dev's chest, feeling his respiration. And they stayed there, in silence, until they fell asleep.