Chapter 2 - Adrian Kane's Secret
“Private room. Now.”
Adrian didn't raise his voice.
He didn't need to.
Within seconds, we were inside a secluded lounge adjoining the dining room.
Marcus remained outside.
Only Adrian, Evan, and I entered.
Adrian locked the door.
Evan looked irritated.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
“Marcus looked like I was.”
“Marcus always looks like that.”
Evan considered this.
“True.”
Under any other circumstances, I might have laughed.
Adrian pointed toward a sofa.
“Sit down, Evan.”
The boy obeyed.
Adrian turned to me.
“Explain.”
“I already did.”
“Explain everything.”
So I did.
“When I was twenty-nine, I was developing surgical robotics in California. Meridian didn't exist yet. I was dating a man named Richard Vale.”
Something flashed in Adrian's eyes.
“You knew Vale?”
“You know him?”
“Continue.”
I folded my arms.
“When I became pregnant, Richard changed. He said people were threatening him because of business debts. He told me the baby would be used against us.”
Adrian's expression darkened.
“What kind of debts?”
“He never told me.”
“Because he wasn't in debt.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
Adrian ignored the question.
I continued.
“After I gave birth, Richard arranged a private adoption. I didn't want it. He convinced me our son would die if I kept him.”
My voice tightened.
“I held my baby for less than four hours.”
Evan had gone completely still.
Adrian glanced at him.
“Evan, perhaps you should—”
“No.”
“Son.”
“You said I'm not in trouble.”
“You aren't.”
“Then I'm staying.”
Adrian looked ready to argue.
I spoke first.
“He deserves the truth.”
Adrian's gaze snapped toward me.
“You don't decide what my son deserves.”
The words stung.
I stepped closer.
“And you don't get to decide whether he's mine.”
Silence.
Evan whispered, “Father?”
Adrian turned away.
For several seconds, the most feared man in Chicago simply stared through the window.
Finally he spoke.
“Seven years ago, Richard Vale contacted me.”
My stomach dropped.
“He said he had information about someone targeting my organization. We arranged a meeting.”
“What does that have to do with Evan?”
“Vale never arrived.”
Adrian looked at me.
“A woman did.”
“What woman?”
“Her name was Sophia Kane.”
I frowned.
“Your wife?”
“My younger sister.”
Evan looked confused.
Adrian continued.
“Sophia found a newborn in a hotel suite registered under Vale's name. There was a note.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“A note?”
“It said the child's mother had abandoned him and that Vale wanted nothing to do with him.”
“That is a lie.”
“I know that now.”
“Why would your sister take him?”
“Sophia had recently lost her husband and infant daughter in an accident.”
His voice softened slightly.
“She found a baby alone in a room. She couldn't leave him.”
I looked at Evan.
“You raised him?”
Adrian nodded.
“Sophia planned to adopt him. Before the paperwork was completed, she was killed.”
“How?”
“Car accident.”
Evan looked down.
Adrian continued quietly.
“He was eleven months old. After Sophia died, I became his legal guardian. Eventually, his father.”
My eyes filled despite my effort to stop them.
“Why didn't anyone look for me?”
“We did.”
“You didn't look very hard.”
Adrian's stare sharpened.
“We had Vale's documents. They identified another woman as the biological mother.”
I understood.
Richard had erased me.
Evan touched the necklace.
“So Ms. Carter is…”
Nobody answered.
He looked at me.
“Are you my mother?”
I couldn't lie.
“I don't know yet.”
His face fell.
I crouched in front of him.
“But I know I gave this necklace to my baby.”
“Could there be another one?”
“No.”
“Why?”
I turned the crescent over.
“There.”
I showed him the tiny star.
“I engraved that myself.”
Evan looked toward Adrian.
“Father?”
Adrian stared at me.
“There will be a DNA test.”
“Today.”
“Agreed.”
“And I choose the laboratory.”
“So do I.”
I almost laughed.
“You don't trust me.”
“I don't trust anyone.”
Evan raised his hand.
We both looked at him.
“Can I choose?”
Adrian blinked.
“Choose what?”
“The laboratory.”
For the first time, I saw Adrian Kane genuinely caught off guard.
Evan shrugged.
“You're both being weird.”
I smiled.
Adrian almost did.
Almost.
Then someone knocked.
Marcus entered.
“Mr. Kane.”
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
He handed Adrian a phone.
Adrian read the screen.
His face went cold.
“What happened?” I asked.
He looked directly at me.
“Someone photographed you with Evan.”
“So?”
“The photograph is already online.”
Marcus added quietly, “And Richard Vale just called.”
My blood turned cold.
Adrian handed the phone back.
“What did he say?”
May you like
Marcus hesitated.
“He said Ms. Carter should have stayed away from the boy.”
