Chapter 70

Chapter 70


Julian did not like it.

Not the call. Not the timing. Not the way Adele had said it so calmly, like she had already made peace with something he hadn’t even processed yet.

He stood by the window, phone pressed to his ear.

“You’re not meeting her alone,” he said.

“I’m not asking for permission,” Adele replied.

Her voice was steady again. That same steadiness that worried him more than panic ever could.

“Adele—”

“I need to hear her,” she cut in. “Not through you. Not through Liam. Not through Selene. From her.”

Julian closed his eyes briefly. “You don’t know how she works.”

“I do now,” she said quietly. “And that’s exactly why I’m not scared in the way you think.”

That made him pause.

Not scared in the way you think.

There was something different in her tone. Not naive. Not defensive.

Clear.

“I’ll be there,” he said finally.

A small silence.

“Okay,” Adele said. “But you don’t speak unless I ask you to.”

Julian almost laughed. “That’s not how this works.”

“It is today,” she replied.

And then she hung up.

Julian stared at his phone for a second.

Then exhaled.

“This is a bad idea,” he muttered.

Liam, leaning against the wall across the room, didn’t disagree. “Yeah.”

“Yet we’re going to let it happen,” Julian said.

Liam shrugged slightly. “We’re not letting it happen. We’re controlling how it happens.”

Julian glanced at him. “You trust that?”

“No,” Liam said honestly. “But I trust Adele more than I trust Katherine.”

That was the only argument that mattered.

Katherine chose the location.

Of course she did.

A quiet lounge, dim lighting, the kind of place where conversations stayed low and private. Neutral ground on the surface. Strategic underneath.

She arrived early.

She always did.

Sat in the corner, back to the wall, eyes on the entrance. A glass of water in front of her she hadn’t touched.

Her phone rested face down.

She had already ignored Isabel’s messages.

Three calls. Five texts.

She didn’t need to read them to know what they said.

Panic.

Guilt.

Weakness.

Katherine exhaled slowly, pressing her fingers together.

Isabel had become a liability.

And liabilities needed to be handled.

The door opened.

Katherine looked up.

Adele.

Alone.

For a split second, something flickered across Katherine’s face. Surprise.

Then it was gone.

Replaced with something softer. Controlled.

“Adele,” she said, standing. “I’m glad you came.”

Adele didn’t smile.

She walked over slowly, taking in everything. The space. The exits. Katherine.

“You picked a nice place,” she said.

Katherine tilted her head slightly. “I thought you’d appreciate something calm.”

Adele sat down across from her. “Calm is not really the word I’d use for any of this.”

Katherine sat as well, folding her hands neatly. “That depends on how you choose to handle it.”

Adele studied her.

Really studied her.

This was the woman she had let into her space. Trusted. Confided in without realizing it.

And now she looked… the same.

That was the unsettling part.

“You don’t look nervous,” Adele said.

Katherine smiled faintly. “Should I be?”

Adele didn’t answer immediately.

“You tell me,” she said finally. “Should you be?”

Katherine leaned back slightly. “That depends on what you think I’ve done.”

Adele let out a small breath. “I think you’ve done a lot of things. I just don’t know how much of it you’re willing to admit.”

Katherine’s eyes sharpened slightly. “And if I say none of it?”

“Then this conversation ends very quickly,” Adele said.

That landed.

A pause stretched between them.

Katherine tapped her finger lightly against the glass. “You’ve been talking to Selene.”

“Yes.”

“And Julian.”

“Yes.”

“And Liam.”

Adele didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

Katherine nodded slowly. “That’s a lot of voices in your ear.”

Adele leaned forward slightly. “And none of them are yours.”

That was the first direct hit.

Katherine smiled again, but tighter this time. “You’re angry.”

Adele shook her head. “I was. I think I’m past that now.”

“Past it?” Katherine asked. “That was quick.”

Adele held her gaze. “When something is clear, it doesn’t take long.”

Katherine studied her.

Something about Adele felt different tonight. Not fragile. Not uncertain.

Grounded.

And that made her harder to manipulate.

“You think I targeted you,” Katherine said.

“I know you did,” Adele replied.

Katherine’s lips pressed together briefly.

“And why would I do that?” she asked.

Adele didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, she asked, “Do you even see me as a person?”

That question hung there.

Katherine blinked once.

Then smiled faintly. “Of course I do.”

Adele nodded slowly. “That’s interesting.”

“Why?”

“Because people don’t usually do what you did to someone they see as a person.”

Katherine’s expression shifted. Just slightly.

Careful.

“You’re assuming intent,” she said.

Adele let out a quiet laugh. “No. I’m observing patterns.”

Katherine leaned forward now. “And what pattern have you observed?”

Adele met her eyes.

“Control,” she said. “You don’t like things you can’t control. And I was something you couldn’t control.”

Katherine’s gaze darkened.

“That’s not entirely true,” she said.

Adele tilted her head. “So you admit you tried?”

Silence.

There it was.

A small crack.

Katherine exhaled softly. “I tried to stabilize a situation.”

Adele blinked. “By destabilizing me?”

Katherine didn’t answer.

Adele sat back slightly. “That’s… impressive. The way you justify things.”

Katherine’s voice cooled. “You think this is simple. Good versus bad. It’s not.”

“I don’t think it’s simple,” Adele said. “I think it’s deliberate.”

Another pause.

The air between them felt sharper now.

Katherine picked up her glass, finally taking a sip. Buying time.

“You…”