Chapter 12 - Adrian WardEvelyn couldn't move.
“My father is dead.”
Vivian shook her head.
“Which one?”
Silence.
“Michael Ward died seven years ago,” Vivian said.
“But Adrian never did.”
Damen stepped forward.
“Where is he?”
Vivian laughed.
“Why would I tell you?”
Nolan grabbed her arm.
“Because if he's alive, you need him.”
Vivian looked at him.
“You still think this is about power.”
She turned toward Evelyn.
“It is about control.”
Vivian revealed the truth.
Adrian had survived the assassination attempt.
He disappeared.
He built a new identity.
He watched Evelyn from afar.
He had been manipulating events for years.
Even Nolan's relationship with Evelyn had been part of his plan.
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.”
Vivian nodded.
“You were never meant to have a normal life.”
“Who is he?”
Vivian smiled.
“Turn around.”
Everyone froze.
A man stood in the doorway.
Older.
Gray hair.
Scar across his cheek.
Eyes that Evelyn had seen reflected in the mirror all her life.
She couldn't breathe.
The man looked at her.
“Hello, Evelyn.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Dad?”
Adrian Ward smiled.
“Yes.”
Damen raised his gun.
Adrian looked at him.
“You look like your father.”
Damen's jaw tightened.
“You should be dead.”
“I was.”
He walked into the room.
“Then I wasn't.”
Evelyn stared.
“Why didn't you come back?”
Adrian looked at her.
“To protect you.”
She laughed through tears.
“Everyone says that.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“I know.”
“You let me believe Michael was my father.”
“He loved you.”
“So did you?”
Adrian's silence was painful.
“I loved you enough to stay away.”
“You call this love?”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“I call it cowardice.”
Evelyn wanted to hate him.
But she couldn't.
Not yet.
Adrian handed her a photograph.
It showed her as a child.
Sleeping.
He stood outside her bedroom window.
Watching.
She looked at the date.
Christmas Eve.
“That was the last time I saw you.”
She swallowed.
“You've watched me all these years.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the people who wanted me dead wanted you even more.”
She looked at Damen.
“Did he know?”
Adrian answered.
“Yes.”
Her heart sank.
“Of course.”
Adrian frowned.
“What?”
Damen stepped forward.
“I didn't know he was alive.”
Adrian's gaze hardened.
“You suspected.”
“Yes.”
“You kept her close.”
“To protect her.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“You became exactly like your father.”
Damen's eyes darkened.
“And you became exactly what you hated.”
Silence.
Adrian looked at Evelyn.
“The ledger was never meant to expose those people.”
“What was it meant to do?”
“To identify the final enemy.”
Evelyn frowned.
“You.”
She looked at him.
“What?”
Adrian pointed toward Damen.
“The black crown isn't the symbol of my organization.”
“It belongs to his.”
Damen froze.
Evelyn felt the floor disappear beneath her.
Adrian continued.
“Damen's father didn't build the network.”
“He inherited it.”
“And Damen…”
He looked at him coldly.
“…inherited it too.”
Evelyn turned toward Damen.
He didn't deny it.
“Is it true?”
Damen's voice was quiet.
“Yes.”
She stepped away.
“Then why did you save me?”
“Because I don't want to be like them.”
“Can you promise that?”
“No.”
He looked directly at her.
“But I can choose.”
Adrian smiled.
“That's what I wanted to hear.”
Damen frowned.
“Why?”
Adrian looked toward the windows.
“Because Victor isn't the final enemy.”
Everyone went still.
Adrian spoke slowly.
“He has never been in control.”
“Who is?”
Adrian looked at Evelyn.
“You.”
She stared.
Then every light in the estate went out.
A gunshot came from upstairs.
Adrian fell.
Evelyn screamed.
Damen caught her as another voice echoed through the darkness.
“You were never meant to meet him.”
May you like
A woman's voice.
Her mother's.
