Chapter 74 Adeline
Adeline's POV
True to her words, we went straight to her tailor, and the next two hours were a blur of different materials and fabrics and measuring tape.
Zara dragged me into an exclusive, appointment-only workshop hidden behind an unmarked door on a side street. She completely bypassed the racks of standard dresses and marched me straight to the back, pulling out sharp power suits in deep and unique colors that I'd never dream of wearing before.
She spoke fast, giving rapid instructions to the tailor, her hands moving constantly as she pinned and tucked fabrics around me.
"No more hiding behind boring outfits, do you hear me?" I thought I was already pushing myself when it came to fashion, but to this fashion diva, I was only playing.
When she was done, she turned me around so I could look at myself in the three-way mirror, and I couldn't believe my eyes. I looked like a woman who could stand next to Percy Akilov and rule an empire. She had elevated me from my lawyer look to a woman who could rule beside her man.
"I love it," I breathed, turning slightly to admire the sharp cut of the blazer.
"Of course you do; I picked it," Zara grinned, clapping her hands together in childlike excitement. "We’re taking five of these in different cuts and a silk slip dress for a dinner date with your man or if you have a gala to attend. I know you lawyers do a lot of that."
By the time we finally walked back out onto the street, my hands were full of shopping bags that Tiny immediately took from me with a respectful nod.
"Thank you, Zara," I said, turning to face her. "Seriously. For the clothes, but mostly, just for the brunch. It was really nice to just be normal for a day."
Zara smiled. It was a soft, genuine expression that stripped away the fast-talking woman that was always excited about everything. "You're a good person, Adeline. You carry a lot of baggage. I can see that, but you don't always have to carry them alone. Call me this week. We’ll get coffee."
"I will," I promised and slid into the back of the SUV, waving to her through the window as Tiny pulled away from the curb.
The adrenaline and joy of the afternoon bubbled warmly in my chest the entire ride back to the penthouse. I felt grounded. I felt like I had a piece of my own life completely separate from Percy’s world that I could hold onto.
Because good things rarely last and I was stupid to think that I could have a stretch of good times, I didn't anticipate what was waiting for me once I got back to the penthouse.
Percy was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room when I stepped in. He wasn't pacing or anything. Instead, he stood perfectly still with his hands clasped tightly behind his back as he stared out at the city. Just from that stance, I could instantly tell that something was terribly wrong.
"Percy?" I asked softly, dropping my purse on the coffee table.
He turned around to face me, and his dark eyes were shadowed by a cold dread that I hadn't seen since the night Mason was released from prison.
"Tiny said you had a good time," Percy said flatly, which was an unusual reaction from him seeing as we had been apart for hours.
"I did," I said, taking a slow step toward him, my heart beginning to hammer in my chest. "Percy, what’s wrong? What happened?"
He didn't move or try to reassure me that everything was okay. He just stared at me, pinning me to my spot with his eyes.
"Detective Miller just called," Percy whispered. "They found a body in the East River an hour ago."
My breath hitched. "Who?"
Percy closed his eyes, but his jaw remained clenched so hard that I feared he'd grind his teeth to dust.
"It was Vance, Adeline. Mason’s lawyer. Your father just resurfaced."
For a full minute after he said those words, or maybe it was longer. I couldn't breathe or talk. I just stared at him wordlessly.
"Adeline, baby, talk to me." Percy was instantly in front of me. He put his hands on my cheek and shook me gently.
"Vance," I repeated when I came to, the name tasting like ash in my mouth. The memory of the afternoon that had kept me floating quickly dispersed as I fully comprehended what he just told me. This afternoon with Zara quickly became some fantasy while this became my reality.
My mind instantly began connecting the terrifying dots. Vance was Mason’s lawyer. Vance was the man who had flipped under the threat of federal solitary confinement, giving Detective Miller the location of Ilya Kozlov’s abandoned warehouse location.
"He’s tying up loose ends," I whispered, the reality settling over me. "Ilya knows Vance talked to the cops. He knows he ratted him out. "I didn't want to think about how he quickly disposed of Vance when he and I were guilty of the same crime. We had both ratted him out."
"Baby, what are you on about?'
"He killed him for ratting him out. I can't help but think the same fate awaits me; after all, I was the reason he was in prison in the first place."
Percy didn't answer immediately, but he got moving. He crossed the living room in long, aggressive strides, picking up his special encrypted phone from the coffee table. The romantic fiancé who had taken me out for ice cream forty-eight hours ago was entirely gone, replaced by the scheming, calculative man standing in front of him.
"Tiny," Percy barked into the phone, not even waiting for a greeting. "I want the building locked down. No one enters or exits the private elevator without my explicit verbal agreement. Double the perimeter around the lobby and get two men stationed outside Adeline’s office for Monday morning. If the Russian is back in play, he’s going to make a move."
He hung up, tossing the phone back onto the table, and ran a hand through his dark hair.
"Percy," I said, stepping into the living room. My heart was hammering, but somehow, my voice was perfectly calm. "Where did they find him?"
"Washed up near the Brooklyn Navy Yard," Percy said grimly, turning to face me. "Miller called me the second the body was identified. They pulled him out of the water an hour ago. Miller’s forensics team is running the autopsy right now to determine the exact cause of death, but Vance hasn't answered his phone since Thursday night."
I wrapped my arms around my waist to steady myself but also to feel his body warmth because I was suddenly shaking from dread.
"I shouldn't have gone out today," I murmured, staring at the floor. "I was sitting out in broad daylight drinking with Zara. Oh, God, Zara, what if I've stupidly put a target on her back? I was completely exposed. If Ilya were tracking us then..."
"Stop," Percy commanded softly as he buried his face in my hair. His grip was almost painfully tight, but that was just how I liked it. "You are not to blame for living your life, Adeline. You are safe, I promise, and I will burn this city down before I let him anywhere near you."