Chapter 3 - A Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Adrian’s mansion stood above Blackridge like a fortress pretending to be a home.
Lily noticed the cameras before the paintings.
She noticed the security guards before the chandeliers.
Children who had grown up protected saw beauty first.
Children who had learned danger saw exits.
Adrian noticed her noticing.
That bothered him.
Dr. Evelyn Hart arrived twenty minutes later.
Bear needed treatment immediately. The dog had a deep infection in his hind leg, severe dehydration, and signs of prolonged malnutrition.
Lily refused to leave him.
“He stays where I can see him.”
Evelyn looked at Adrian.
Adrian nodded.
So the veterinarian treated Bear on the rug of a sitting room worth more than most houses in Blackridge.
Lily sat beside him wrapped in three blankets.
Meanwhile, Adrian stood near the fireplace holding Elena’s locket.
Tomas entered quietly.
“I checked the fire.”
“And?”
“House registered to Daniel Mercer.”
“Not Marcus?”
“No.”
“Body?”
“Fire department recovered one unidentified adult male.”
Adrian turned.
“Alive?”
“They haven't confirmed.”
“What about Elena?”
Tomas hesitated.
“There’s something else.”
Adrian’s expression darkened.
“Say it.”
“Daniel Mercer didn't exist before nine years ago.”
Adrian stared toward Lily.
Nine years.
Lily was eight.
A reconstructed identity.
A hidden child.
A dead man living under another name.
“What about Sloane?”
“His people have been asking about the girl since before the fire was extinguished.”
“So they knew she existed.”
“Yes.”
“And we didn't.”
Tomas understood what Adrian was thinking.
Someone inside their organization had hidden Marcus, Elena, Lily, or all three.
Someone had succeeded for years.
Lily looked toward Adrian.
“Is Bear going to die?”
Dr. Hart answered before he could.
“No, sweetheart.”
Lily's face changed.
Hope frightened her almost as much as bad news.
“You promise?”
“I promise I'm going to do everything I can.”
Bear weakly licked Lily's hand.
Adrian looked away.
Hope was dangerous.
He knew that better than most.
Later, Lily ate tomato soup at Adrian’s kitchen island.
She devoured the first bowl too quickly.
Adrian quietly told the cook to make another.
“Why are you watching me?” Lily asked.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Adrian looked at his coffee.
“Apparently you're very observant.”
“My dad says that's how you stay alive.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“What else does your dad say?”
Lily became suspicious.
“Why?”
“Because I knew him.”
Her spoon stopped.
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“Was he your friend?”
Adrian considered the question.
“Once.”
“What happened?”
“We disagreed.”
“That's what grown-ups say when something really bad happened.”
Tomas coughed to hide a laugh.
Adrian glared at him.
Then he looked at Lily again.
“Your father was accused of betraying me.”
“Did he?”
“I thought so.”
“And now?”
“Now I'm not certain.”
Lily reached beneath her borrowed sweatshirt and touched the locket.
“Daddy said people can make lies look like truth if they have enough money.”
Adrian felt something cold settle behind his ribs.
That sounded exactly like Marcus.
“Did he ever mention a name?”
Lily lowered her voice.
“He called somebody the Architect.”
Adrian and Tomas exchanged a glance.
“The Architect?” Adrian repeated.
Lily nodded.
“He said the Architect made everything happen.”
“What things?”
“The fire. The lady disappearing. Daddy getting shot.”
Adrian sat opposite her.
“Lily, did your father tell you where Elena is?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you if she's alive?”
Lily's face changed.
“He said maybe.”
One word.
That was enough.
Adrian had buried hope twelve years ago.
Now an eight-year-old had dug it out with a spoon between bites of tomato soup.
Before he could ask more, the mansion alarm sounded.
Lily dropped the spoon.
Bear tried to stand.
Adrian was already moving.
Tomas checked his phone.
“East gate.”
A security guard rushed in.
“Sir, someone left a package.”
“No vehicle?”
“Motorcycle. No plates.”
Adrian ordered Lily taken upstairs.
She refused.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“You promised you would find my dad.”
“I did.”
“Then don't hide things from me.”
Adrian stared at her.
God help him, she really did remind him of Elena.
“Stay behind me.”
The package was a small black box.
Inside was a phone.
Nothing else.
It rang.
Adrian answered.
“Vale.”
A distorted voice responded.
“You should have left the child in the alley.”
Adrian looked toward Lily.
“Who are you?”
“You've spent twelve years asking the wrong question.”
“Which question should I ask?”
“Why Elena disappeared.”
Adrian’s hand tightened.
“What do you want?”
“The locket.”
“No.”
“Then more people die.”
The line disconnected.
Tomas immediately began tracing it.
Lily looked pale.
“That was him.”
“Who?”
“The man who came to our house.”
Adrian crouched.
“You heard his voice?”
“He used a machine then too.”
“You saw him?”
She shook her head.
“But Daddy did.”
Adrian leaned closer.
“What did your father say?”
Lily's eyes moved toward the staircase.
“He said, ‘I should have known it was you.’”
That meant Marcus recognized the Architect.
Adrian stood.
The traitor was not merely someone inside his organization.
It was someone old enough to have known Marcus personally.
The following morning, Adrian summoned the five people who had been closest to him twelve years earlier.
Tomas Reed.
Financial adviser Raymond Cole.
Security chief Malcolm Price.
Attorney Samuel Voss.
And Adrian's uncle, Gregory Vale.
Gregory arrived last.
He embraced Adrian warmly.
“You look terrible.”
“Good morning to you too.”
Then Gregory noticed Lily watching from the upper landing.
His smile faltered.
Barely.
Adrian saw it.
Gregory recovered instantly.
“So the rumors are true.”
“What rumors?”
“That you've adopted a street child.”
“Rumors travel fast.”
“This city survives on gossip.”
Lily descended slowly with Bear beside her.
The dog had been bandaged and cleaned, though he still limped.
When Gregory saw the locket around her neck, his face changed again.
This time Lily noticed too.
She stopped.
Bear growled.
Adrian heard it.
So did everyone else.
Gregory laughed uncomfortably.
“Animals never like me.”
Lily stared at him.
“I've seen you before.”
The room went silent.
Gregory’s smile disappeared.
“Excuse me?”
Lily stepped backward.
“You were at our house.”
Adrian turned toward his uncle.
Gregory looked offended.
“This is absurd.”
Lily shook her head.
“Not inside.”
She pointed.
“You were sitting in a car.”
“When?”
“The night before the fire.”
Gregory looked at Adrian.
“She’s frightened and confused.”
Maybe.
But Adrian had survived by believing details other people dismissed.
“Gregory,” he said quietly. “Where were you two nights ago?”
His uncle smiled again.
“Surely you aren't interrogating me based on something an eight-year-old imagined.”
Adrian's expression remained calm.
“Then answering should be easy.”
Gregory's smile finally vanished.
May you like
And for the first time since Lily entered Adrian’s life, Bear stopped looking frightened.
He looked ready to attack.
