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Liam -
You always thought you were so much better than us. Always thought that that little brain of yours would take you places. And what now? Whatever happens next, remember that it happened because of you. Had you just turned over the fucking program and handed it over, none of this would have happened.
Ada would have still had her fucking child.
You would have been released from your contract.
And Joey would have still been fucking by my side.
I was tempted to call him, my eyes widening at the last line. Joey had left Liam? They had been the perfect fucking couple but Joey had always been softer with him. Knowing what I knew now about my brother, I had no doubt that Joey had picked up and left, unable to handle Liam’s lies. It made me wonder how much more support I would have received if Liam hadn’t been trying to break me down.
My phone vibrated again and I looked down to see that Liam had sent a link to a Google search. It could have been a trap but I saw ‘Ada Fraser’ and I immediately clicked it. Every news station and article from my city surrounded Ada Fraser and Hawk International. I wasn’t even sure how the information had been leaked but it could have been any number of people, including my own brother who seemed to constantly only be looking after himself.
Headlines popped up in my feed about Ada Fraser and her transgressions. Headlines involving an unnamed corporation that had overstepped its boundaries. Multiple stations called it an egregious assault on human rights and technology advancement, a warrant out for her arrest and many other names I recognized but couldn’t put a face to.
My advisor’s name was on that list and funny enough, so was Owen’s.
We didn’t have a lot of time if Tia was going to say goodbye to her mother.
I just hated that I had to break Tia’s heart. Slowly, I moved toward the TV and stole Tia before sitting down on the floor and pulling her into my lap. Paval barely noticed, still pointing out triangles and trying to describe the different angles, his words running a mile a minute.
“Hey, Tia.” Her bright smile pained me as I wasn’t going to be delivering good news. “Do you want to see your mom? She’s asking for you?” I wanted at least one of us to have closure.
Tia bowed her head, her little hands playing with my shirt for several seconds. Her brows furrowed, her fingers tightening before she looked up at me. “Mommy did really bad things. That’s why Gran-pa took me away.” Her body deflated in my arms as she sighed, her eyes glazing over with tears. “Gran-pa sounded mean but he was taking care of me. Gran-ma too. She didn’t say much. I miss them.” Her words tumbled out in a mess as the first tear slipped down her cheek. I held her tight, rocking her back and forth until she spoke again. “I want her to tell me what happened. Why did Mommy do bad things?”
I sniffled, trying to keep it together for her. Tia curled in a little tighter just as Paval moved closer and offered his hand. Tia stared at it for several seconds before grabbing it and tucking it into her chest.
“I’ll talk to Mommy but I don’t want to go with her.”
“And you won’t have to,” I promised her, hoping that circumstances wouldn’t make a liar out of me.
Chapter thirty-eight
RHYS
Tia didn’t want to be anywhere near Ada when they met. She wanted answers but I could tell that the longer she spent away from her mother, the more terrified she was of her. It broke my heart. Ada had never been easy to get along with and I knew from just watching their interactions that the strict rules and lack of friends had slowly taken a toll on my niece. Gianni and I piled into the car with Tia at my side in her car seat.
Valentyn laid one last kiss on Dmitri’s lips who was holding Paval before walking down the front path and climbing into the driver’s seat of a car in front of us. I didn’t understand the need for two cars but I kept quiet, Tia firmly holding my hand in the backseat. She needed comfort and confidence right now, neither of which included me leaning into the growing panic in my chest.
I was still jet-lagged and in pain but I knew this could be the defining moment, a crucial piece to dictate how everything else was going to go. The fact that all of this could be in placeof that program I refused to write meant that this could be the beginning of the end.
Our cars came to a stop several moments later in a little parking lot adjacent to an abandoned mall. Overgrown brush encased us in, the only other car in the lot telling me that Ada had come alone. She was anxiously waiting by the driver’s side, wringing her hands as Valentyn slid out of our car. Gianni twisted around and patted my thigh, trying to calm what he thought was anxiety. It wasn’t. It was rage, rage at the woman who had completely destroyed my life for some vain expedition of hers. My sister came into view and I lunged forward, Gianni laughing as he climbed out and threw the door open only to catch me by the waist and sit me back down. I’m not even sure what I thought I was going to do from the comfort of the backseat.
“Rhys, I know you hate her. God, I do. But there’s an order to things and you raging at your sister in public is going to draw attention. Deep breaths. There you go,” His hands ran up and down my sides. “Now, let’s go meet the bitch one last time, eh?” Tia nervously giggled at the word bitch before we slipped out of the car, standing between my sister and my niece.
Ada moved closer but I just shook my head. “She doesn’t want to see you,” I spat.
Ada scoffed, “She’s my fuckingdaughter. You have no right.”
The sound of a buckle being undone had me on high alert as Tia crawled across the seat and peeked out from behind me. Her little hands settled on my shoulders as she pulled herself to her feet so that she could see her mother.
“You did bad things. Really bad. Mommy…” My niece sobbed, curling her arms around my neck, “You… I don’t like you anymore.” I wondered what she had really seen or what my father had told her to make her hate her mother so much.
I couldn’t imagine what it took for a kid to say that let alone to her mother, but the hurt on Ada’s face was genuine. Her face contorted back into an evil frown, “Too bad. You don’t get a fucking choice. I came here for my daughter and I’m taking her with me.”
It didn’t surprise me that Ada didn’t say that to Tia. She almost seemed like she was alerting us about her plans. This really was a power trip for her. Valentyn moved to my side and strung his arm around my waist, keeping me from flying off the handle. Gianni stepped behind me and tucked Tia back into her seat before closing the door and standing on my other side. “Actually she does have that choice. With the crimes youwillpay for, she won’t even have a mother. Your crimes are out in the open and being on the run with that beautiful little girl is going to ruin her life. A quick court order and you’ll be barred from seeing your daughter anyway.”
She huffed in frustration but didn’t move to break down our protective wall to see Tia again. “I will call Liam and-”
