Chapter 12 - ADRIAN'S SECRET
The emergency lights came on.
Adrian stood in front of me.
For the first time since I met him, he looked afraid.
Not angry.
Not controlled.
Afraid.
“Tell me.”
He swallowed.
“I was there.”
“Where?”
“The night your father died.”
My heart stopped.
“You knew my father?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He saved my life.”
I stared at him.
Adrian continued.
“I was nineteen.”
I couldn't speak.
“My father had abandoned me.”
He looked away.
“I was angry. Reckless. I ended up working for people I shouldn't have trusted.”
“Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because they paid well.”
I stared.
“You worked for them?”
“Briefly.”
“Doing what?”
“Security.”
My stomach tightened.
“Against my father?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hurt him?”
“No.”
Adrian's voice broke.
“I tried to save him.”
Thomas laughed from the darkness.
“That's not how I remember it.”
Adrian turned.
“You weren't there.”
“I was.”
“You arrived after the fire.”
Thomas smiled.
“You still blame yourself.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
I looked between them.
“What fire?”
Thomas answered.
“The fire that killed Daniel Bennett.”
My heart shattered.
“You said he was murdered.”
Adrian nodded.
“He was.”
“By who?”
Thomas smiled.
“My father.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Why?”
“Because Daniel tried to expose Project Three.”
I looked at Adrian.
“And you?”
“I found your father inside the laboratory.”
“What happened?”
“He was dying.”
Adrian's voice became quiet.
“He gave me something.”
“What?”
“A file.”
“What file?”
“Your file.”
My breath stopped.
“My file?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He told me to protect you.”
I stared at him.
“Why would my father trust you?”
“Because I was the only person there who refused to work for Thomas.”
Thomas laughed.
“You're leaving out the best part.”
Adrian looked at him.
Thomas smiled.
“You weren't supposed to survive either.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“I know.”
I turned toward Thomas.
“Where are my first children?”
He smiled.
“Ask Adrian.”
I looked at him.
“Adrian?”
He closed his eyes.
“I found them.”
“When?”
“Twenty-eight years ago.”
My heart stopped.
“You knew them?”
“Yes.”
“Where are they?”
“I don't know.”
I stared.
“You don't know?”
“I thought they were dead.”
“Thought?”
He nodded.
“Your father gave me the file and told me three children had been taken.”
“Then what happened?”
“I searched.”
“For how long?”
“Years.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because every time I got close, someone disappeared.”
I stepped back.
“And you came into my life because of them?”
Adrian's silence was enough.
“You met me because of Project Three.”
“Yes.”
My heart sank.
“So Ethan wasn't the only man who lied to me.”
“No.”
I turned away.
“Claire.”
“Don't.”
He stopped.
I wiped my tears.
“You all decided my life was yours to manage.”
“No.”
“You watched me.”
“Yes.”
“You investigated me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew things about me that I didn't know about myself.”
“Yes.”
“And you expected me to trust you?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“I expected you to survive.”
Those words silenced me.
Before I could answer, a gunshot exploded.
Thomas disappeared.
Ethan tackled me to the floor.
Adrian fired toward the staircase.
Security rushed in.
Then everything went quiet.
Thomas was gone.
But something else remained.
A small black box on the floor.
Adrian picked it up.
Inside was a photograph.
Three adult faces.
Two men.
One woman.
All around twenty-eight years old.
My breath caught.
“They're alive.”
Adrian stared at the photograph.
“Yes.”
I grabbed it.
“Who are they?”
He pointed.
“This is Lucas.”
I stared.
The first man had my eyes.
“This is Noah.”
The second had my father's jawline.
“And her?”
Adrian's voice softened.
“Grace.”
The woman had my mother's smile.
My knees weakened.
“They're my children.”
“Yes.”
“They're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Adrian looked at the back of the photograph.
An address was written there.
Chicago.
I stared.
“They're in Chicago.”
Thomas's voice suddenly came through the speakers.
“You're getting closer.”
I looked around.
“Thomas!”
His voice echoed.
“But you're asking the wrong question.”
“What question?”
“Who are their parents?”
Silence.
Then:
“Because Claire…”
His voice became almost amused.
“Those children weren't born to you.”
I froze.
“They were created from you.”
My stomach turned.
“What does that mean?”
The speakers went silent.
Adrian looked at me.
“I think we need to go to Chicago.”
I nodded.
But Ethan didn't move.
“There's something else.”
I turned.
“What?”
He looked at Adrian.
“The children aren't in Chicago.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“Then where?”
Ethan swallowed.
“They're at Blackwood Medical.”
I stared at Adrian.
His face went pale.
“That hospital is mine.”
Ethan nodded.
“Exactly.”
My heart stopped.
Someone had hidden my children inside the one place Adrian controlled.
May you like
And Adrian had never known they were there.
Or had he?
