Chapter 7 - The blueprint of a lie
The drive back to the estate was suffocatingly quiet. Nora had fallen asleep, her head resting against Adrian’s broad shoulder in the backseat while Claire watched them with a mixture of awe and residual fear. Adrian’s face was unreadable, his micro-expressions locked down tightly. He had seen Marcus watching them in the restaurant. He had seen the exact moment the lieutenant recognized the ghost of James Cole sitting in the booth.
When the heavy iron gates of the estate closed behind the SUV, Adrian handed the sleeping child to Claire.
"Take her upstairs," Adrian said, his voice calm but layered with a dangerous edge. "Lock the door. Do not open it for anyone but me."
Claire nodded rapidly, holding Nora tightly to her chest as she hurried up the grand staircase. Adrian stood in the foyer, watching them disappear into the shadows of the second floor. He slowly unbuttoned his suit jacket and walked back toward his study.
Mrs. Holloway was waiting for him inside, standing nervously by the fireplace. The senior housekeeper wrung her hands against her white apron. She had served the Cole family for thirty years. She had practically raised Adrian and James after their parents died.
"You knew," Adrian said quietly, closing the study door behind him. "You knew she was his child for three years, and you let me mourn him thinking his bloodline was completely gone."
Mrs. Holloway closed her eyes, tears leaking through her wrinkled eyelids. "I had to, Adrian. I found Claire crying in the laundry room the night the news broke about the harbor explosion. She told me everything. I knew James had enemies. I knew there were ambitious men in your crew who wanted to wipe out your family line to make a move on the throne."
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Adrian stepped closer, his imposing figure towering over the older woman. "Who, Mrs. Holloway? Who were you protecting them from?"
The housekeeper took a shaky breath, opening her eyes to look at the man she viewed as a son. "From Marcus. James found out Marcus was stealing from the family accounts. He was going to expose him to you the morning after the harbor meeting. Marcus blew up the boat to keep his secret, and I knew if he found out about little Nora, he would kill her too."
