Chapter 17 - BLOOD AND WATER
I looked her straight in the eye.
"Grace was my family," I said. "Lily is my family. You… you are nothing but a name."
My mother’s face hardened. She nodded to the men.
"Take him."
They moved. I didn’t stay to fight. I turned and ran through the back door, down the familiar path through the woods I had known since childhood, hearing their footsteps behind me. I knew these trees. I knew every root, every stone, every bend. They didn’t.
I reached my car, jumped in, and peeled away just as one of them burst from the trees. I didn’t stop. I drove fast, heart pounding, hands shaking on the wheel.
My own mother. The woman who had sung me lullabies. Who had bandaged my knees. Who had wept at Grace’s funeral. She had ordered Grace’s death. She had sent Marcus. She had been pulling every string.
And now she was coming for Lily.
I called Clara as I drove. She answered on the first ring.
"Adrian—thank God. Someone’s here. Two men. They’re asking for you. They say they’re police."
My blood ran cold. "Do not open the door. Not for anyone. Lock everything. Take Lily to the hidden safe room. The one behind the library. Lock the door from the inside. Do not make a sound. I’m ten minutes away."
"I’m going now," Clara whispered. "Hurry, Adrian. Please hurry."
I drove faster. Every second stretched into an hour. I pictured my mother’s men breaking in. Finding Lily. Taking her. Raising her as their heir. Teaching her to hate her own mother’s memory.
I arrived at the mansion to find the front door hanging open. Glass shattered on the porch. I drew the weapon I kept locked in the glove compartment—Grace’s old revolver, the one she had insisted I keep after the threats began—and stepped inside.
The house was silent. Too silent.
"Clara?" I called out softly. "Lily?"
No answer.
I moved toward the library. The door was closed. I pressed my ear against it. Voices. Low. Angry.
"Where is it?" one man demanded.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Clara said. Her voice was trembling, but steady.
"The girl," the other said. "And the bear. Hand them over and we won’t hurt you."
I gripped the revolver tighter. They were looking for Teddy. Not just Lily. Teddy. The memory card. The evidence. Grace had known. She had hidden something deeper. Something even Marcus hadn’t found. Something my mother was terrified would come to light.
I kicked the door open. Both men turned, surprised. I raised the gun.
"Step away from them," I said.
The larger man smiled. "You won’t shoot."
I fired into the ceiling. The sound boomed through the room.
"Try me," I said.
They hesitated. That split second was all I needed. I stepped inside, keeping the gun trained on them. Clara stood by the bookshelf, bruised but unharmed.
"Go," I told them. "Tell her. Tell her I know. And if she ever comes near my daughter again… I won’t send a note. I’ll come myself."
They exchanged a look, then backed out the door. I didn’t lower the gun until I heard their car start and drive away.
Only then did I rush to Clara. "Where is Lily?"
Clara pulled the bookshelf aside, revealing the hidden door. Lily sat inside, clutching Teddy, eyes wide but calm. She ran to me and threw her arms around my neck.
May you like
"I was quiet," she whispered. "Just like you said."
I held her tight, burying my face in her hair. "You were perfect. My brave, brave girl."
