Chapter 145 Adeline

Chapter 145 Adeline
Adeline's POV

After that text from Ilya, Alex hustled us home. I insisted that he talk to Percy first to see how it was going on his end and to tell him what had just happened, but he said there was no need.

"Alex, what if this is important?" Zara asked.

"I would never put any of you at risk, so trust me when I say that text was another attempt to throw us off from the fact that he has nothing but these weak jabs?"

"What about that affidavit that lawyer Rowan was talking about?" Evelyn asked.

"Mrs. Whitmore, I can assure you that we will take care of it. For now, my job is to take you lovely women back home safely."

To further assure us that we were not walking into a trap in the penthouse, he sent a unit ahead of us to do a full sweep and to put more security measures in place.

By the time we returned to the penthouse, it no longer felt like a fortress anymore. It felt like a glass cage, considering all the men that were out in the hallway.

I sat on the velvet sofa, my legs tucked under me, watching the rain streak across the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The deposition and the unexpected claim of evidence Rowan pulled out of his ass had drained me of everything I had. My brain felt like a bruised muscle, still trying to process the cold, shark-like smile of Rowan Crawford.
Lawyers like him had no issues with turning a family's trauma into a legal weapon. It disgusted me so much to see a lawyer that was all dirty and no ethics.

Percy was still gone. Ilya hadn’t sent any more messages after the last text, and the silence was more deafening than the explosion at the warehouse.

"You’re doing it again," a soft voice said.
I looked up to find Zara standing in front of me, holding two mugs of steaming tea.

She looked more tired than usual, and it wasn't even fashion week or anything related to it. She had changed into one of my joggers with Alex’s hoodie to keep the cold at bay. She sat down beside me, handing me a mug.

"Doing what?"

"Counting the minutes," Zara said, her shoulder bumping mine. "You’ve looked at the elevator three times in the last sixty seconds. Percy is fine, Addie. He’s probably just... being Percy."

"Being the king," I corrected with a weary sigh.

"I hate it, Zara. I hate that the second things get real, he retreats into that version of himself. I don't want the King. I want my man, and I hate Ilya more for making him like that."

"He's being the king because he doesn't know how else to protect you." Zara said quietly. She glanced toward the foyer, where Alex was standing. "It’s how men like them handle fear. They turn it into a wall."

The quiet was interrupted by the sound of a door clicking open. Melissa stepped into the living room. She looked smaller than she had a few days ago, the vivacious mother I’d grown up with replaced by a woman who looked like she had finally stopped running.

Zara stood up, giving us a small, encouraging squeeze before heading toward the kitchen, where I saw her pause briefly next to Alex. A moment later, she hugged him, and he quickly returned the favor before she turned her away from his gun.

Melissa sat in the armchair across from me. "I thought you'd go back to the firm."

"I wish I could, but after that deposition, I don't think I can. Besides, Alex wouldn't let anyone out."

"That lawyer, what he said, that was the reason it was cut short, right? Those things he was saying."

"Mom, lawyers like Crawford would sell out their families if it meant beating their opponent in court. We both know the monster he's working for right now."

Melissa flinched at the mention of her ex-husband being called a monster. It didn't matter that they had been separated for a while now.

She looked down at her hands, her voice barely a whisper. "I used to think that if I stayed, I could temper him. That if I stayed with Ilya, I could be the shield between you and his darkness."

"Why did you stay, Mom? Really?" I asked. It wasn't an accusation anymore, I genuinely wanted to know. "Rowan said you were an accomplice, but I know you. You aren't a criminal."

"I was a woman in love with a career criminal. Ilya, for all his faults, accepted me when I had nowhere to go. I always wanted a family, and when I couldn't make him a father, it threw us apart. When he bought you home, I thought it was what would bring him back to me, but it was a lie," Melissa said, finally looking up.

"He was beyond redeemable at that time. Ilya told me that if I ever tried to leave with you, he’d make sure neither of us crossed the border. He was influential in his own way, so it wouldn't be hard to do at all, so we were both stuck with him."

"You believed him."

"I stayed because I thought I was the only thing keeping you alive," she whispered. "And now... now he's using the same fear against you. I wonder if all these would have happened if I had left with you."

I reached across the gap between us and took her hand in mine. "He can't use it anymore because we aren't alone this time."

"He sent the onesie, didn't he?" Melissa asked, her gaze dropping to my stomach. "He knows about the babies."

"He knows," I said, my voice hardening. "But he’s forgotten that I’m not a scared little girl who's afraid of him anymore. I’m practically married to a man who won't stop until Ilya is a memory."

We sat there for a long time, the two of us finally finding a bridge over the twenty-seven years of secrets. It wasn't perfect. The pain was still there, the sense of lost time was still a dull ache in my chest.

"Forgive me, Adeline," she sobbed, her head bowing. "Not for the lie. For the time I took from you and for the name I didn't let you bear."

"I already have," I whispered. I moved closer to her so we could hold each other.

The moment was broken by the low chime of the elevator. My heart hammered against my ribs as the doors slid open.

Percy stepped out. He looked exhausted, and his coat was damp with rain, but all that vanished the moment his eyes found mine.
He walked across the room and pulled me into his arms.

He didn't say a word about the witness or the warehouse. He just held me, his face buried in my hair, his hands trembling slightly as they rested on the small of my back.

"I'm here," he murmured. "I'm right here."

But as I looked past his shoulder, I saw Alex and Silas exchanging a look that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, but I could worry about that later.