Chapter 2 - The Safe House With No Safe Feeling
The protected residence was nothing like I expected.
It was not a mansion.
It was a restored brownstone in Rittenhouse Square with reinforced doors, bullet-resistant windows, hidden cameras, and enough security technology to make a military facility jealous.
Adrien walked me through the first floor himself.
“This is your bedroom.”
“Where's yours?”
“Across the hall.”
“That close?”
“Security.”
“Of course.”
He didn't smile.
“You can lock your door.”
I looked at him.
“Can I leave?”
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“No.”
I laughed.
“So I can't leave.”
“You can leave with security.”
“You hear yourself, right?”
“Yes.”
We reached the kitchen.
There were groceries already stocked.
Not random groceries.
The exact brands I bought.
The crackers I liked.
The tea I drank.
The yogurt I ate when my stomach turned.
I stared at the shelves.
“How did you know?”
“You ordered the same things every week for nine months.”
“You tracked my grocery purchases?”
“Business card.”
I turned around.
“I hate you.”
“I know.”
For the first time, his mouth moved slightly.
Almost a smile.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His expression became serious.
“Talk.”
A voice spoke.
Adrien looked at me.
“Say that again.”
The caller repeated something.
“Where?”
Another pause.
“Don't touch anything.”
He hung up.
“What happened?”
“Your apartment.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Someone entered.”
My mind immediately went to the baby clothes hidden in my bedroom closet.
“My things?”
“Nothing stolen.”
“Then what?”
“They searched.”
“How?”
“Your mattress was cut open.”
I felt sick.
“What were they looking for?”
Adrien's eyes met mine.
“Proof.”
“Of the pregnancy?”
“Yes.”
I wrapped my arms around myself.
“They could have found the ultrasound.”
“Did you leave it there?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He walked toward me.
“Did you tell anyone?”
“No.”
“Your doctor?”
“Yes.”
“Family?”
“No.”
“Friends?”
“No.”
“Anyone from the office?”
“No.”
He stared at me.
“Then someone found out another way.”
That night, I couldn't sleep.
I stared at the ceiling and listened to the sound of guards moving outside.
At 2:11 a.m., I heard footsteps in the hallway.
I reached for my phone.
A soft knock came.
“Norah.”
Adrien.
“What?”
“Can I come in?”
I opened the door slightly.
“Why?”
“Your building security feed was compromised.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What now?”
“We're moving to another location.”
“Again?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“You don't need to know.”
“I hate that answer.”
“I know.”
He entered.
I noticed the tension in his face.
“You're scared.”
“No.”
“Yes, you are.”
He looked at me.
“I'm angry.”
“That's not the same thing.”
His expression softened.
“I'm afraid of failing you.”
I didn't expect that.
“Adrien.”
“I've spent years believing I could control every variable.”
He looked toward my stomach.
“I can't control this.”
“You don't have to.”
His eyes returned to mine.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
He sat on the edge of the chair.
“When I was nineteen, my younger brother died because my father believed money could fix everything.”
I hadn't known he had a brother.
“He was seventeen.”
Adrien stared at the floor.
“Someone kidnapped him to get to my father. My father refused the ransom.”
I held my breath.
“They sent us his watch.”
He touched his wrist.
“Ever since then, I have believed that people use family as weapons.”
His voice was quiet.
“So when I realized you were pregnant…”
“You thought history was repeating.”
“Yes.”
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then he asked:
“Do you regret Chicago?”
I swallowed.
“No.”
“Neither do I.”
The honesty surprised me.
I looked away.
“What happened that night?”
He smiled faintly.
“A blizzard.”
“That's not an answer.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“It was the first time I forgot who I was.”
I remembered.
The power outage.
The hotel.
The whiskey.
His tie loosened.
My shoes by the window.
The silence after.
It was not a mistake I wanted to erase.
I just hadn't expected the consequences.
Adrien stood.
“You should sleep.”
“Will you?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because someone knows about the baby.”
I stared at him.
“And until I know who?”
“I stay awake.”
He turned toward the door.
“Adrien.”
He stopped.
“Thank you.”
He didn't answer immediately.
Then:
“You don't have to thank me for protecting my family.”
The word hung between us.
Family.
I couldn't breathe.
“Don't call it that yet.”
He looked over his shoulder.
“Why?”
“Because we don't know what this is.”
His expression softened.
“Then we'll find out.”
He left.
The next morning, my pregnancy became impossible to hide from him.
I woke with nausea.
Adrien was already in the kitchen.
He heard me before I reached the doorway.
“Sit.”
“I'm fine.”
“You're pale.”
“I get morning sickness.”
He pushed a plate toward me.
Toast.
Fruit.
Ginger tea.
“You researched this?”
“Yes.”
“You are frighteningly thorough.”
“I had a doctor explain it.”
I smiled despite myself.
Then the front door opened.
Gabriel entered.
“Boss.”
Adrien immediately straightened.
“What?”
“We found one of the people who accessed Norah's file.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who?”
Gabriel hesitated.
“Your head of compliance.”
Adrien's expression became stone.
“Bring him.”
Two hours later, a man named Ethan Cole sat across from us.
He was sweating.
Adrien asked:
“Who paid you?”
“No one.”
“Don't lie.”
“I didn't.”
Gabriel placed evidence on the table.
Bank deposits.
Hotel records.
Encrypted messages.
Ethan stared.
“They threatened my family.”
“Who?”
“I never saw him.”
“What did he want?”
“The medical records.”
“Why?”
“He said the pregnancy changed the succession.”
I frowned.
“Succession?”
Ethan looked at me.
“They're saying your child could inherit Falco assets.”
Adrien's eyes narrowed.
“Who is saying it?”
Ethan swallowed.
“Everyone who knows about the old agreement.”
“What agreement?”
No answer.
Adrien stood.
“Take him.”
The guards removed Ethan.
I turned to Adrien.
“What old agreement?”
He didn't answer.
“Adrien.”
“My father.”
“What about him?”
“He created an inheritance clause before I took over.”
“For your children?”
“For the first legitimate heir.”
I stared.
“You're not married.”
“No.”
“Then why would there be a clause?”
He hesitated.
“Because my father expected me to marry eventually.”
“And?”
He looked at my stomach.
“And because your child may now become the heir to everything.”
That explained the fear.
It also explained the man watching me.
The child wasn't simply Adrien's baby.
It was a threat to everyone who wanted his empire.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Norah?”
A woman's voice.
“Congratulations.”
My skin prickled.
“Who is this?”
“Your baby's grandmother.”
I froze.
Adrien heard it.
The woman laughed.
“You should ask Adrien why his father never trusted him.”
The call ended.
I looked at him.
“Your mother?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Adrien's face had gone pale.
“My father's second wife.”
I had heard of her.
Vivienne Falco.
She had disappeared after Adrien took control.
Nobody knew where she lived.
Or what she wanted.
Now we knew.
May you like
She wanted my baby.
And apparently, she was willing to start a war for it.
