Ada"Grayson," I say his name, my voice hardly above a whisper, "what is this?"He doesn't say a word to me in return and instead, lets me go through all the papers he gave me. At first, they don't make sense to me, but that's only because I wasn't expecting this at all. I go through them again, my eyes searching."Do you know who that is?" he asks. "Yes," I reveal. I've seen her face once before, in a picture with Max. "This is his ex-wife. The one who died in an accident while—""Pregnant," he finishes for me. "Yes, that's her."In the papers he gave me, which seem to be photocopies of the actual pictures, I see her, Cora, I believe is her name, with none other than Reynold Loxley. In intimate settings. There's absolutely nothing remotely decent about this. In one of the photos, they're in a hotel room. She's seated, in lingerie, while he's standing over her, his fly undone. Then, they're in the car, their faces inches apart. In another photo, they're kissing. I mean, looking at
Maximilian I look back and forth between the two of them, but only because it hurts to look at Ada for too long. This burn starts in my chest and spread outward whenever our eyes lock.The three glasses of liquor I drank a few moments ago have done nothing to numb the pain. “So, this is what you’ve been doing this whole time?” I ask her, my voice gruff and laced with bitterness. She starts to say, “This isn’t—”“No, it is,” I interrupt her. “It is.”“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Max,” Grayson cuts in. “Ada is innocent in all this. You’re the one who’s made a mistake.”A cruel sound leaves my lips. “Really? And how do you know so much about that? Were you in on whatever it was she was doing?”From the corner of my eye, I see her hide her hands behind her back. She’s holding a few papers—I saw it right as I entered. I’m not sure why she looks like she’s panicking so much. Or rather, I do. It’s because she’s been caught red-handed. Then again, what did she expect? She’s
MaximilianI frown as I stare at the papers in my hand. At the damn images all over them. What is this? What am I looking at, here?I glance at Ada’s face and note that her eyes are downcast. My gaze returns to the images, and my heart turns to ice in my chest as I truly take them in.“What…” I begin, unable to finish the sentence. My eyes finally land on her again, and I bunch the papers up in my hand before asking, “Where did you get these? Where, Ada!?”“Grayson gave them to me,” she replies meekly. Before she has the chance to say something else, the elevator door opens up on my floor. I step out of the elevator, the confined space beginning to make me feel claustrophobic. Ada follows me, her eyes on my face. Searching. After a beat, the door closes, leaving us both in the middle of the hotel’s hallway. I have to look at the images again. I see Cora and my father in various places, and even kissing in one of the images. What is this? What the hell is this?The pages slip from m
Ada I feel extremely sorry for Max. I wipe the tears spilling down my cheeks. His head is hanging low, and he constantly rubs his face. We haven’t said a word to each other in a long time. The silence is so deafening that I’ve lost complete track of time. I don’t think there’s anything that I could say to him that would make this situation better. Max then says, “My father…I didn’t think that he was this way, Ada. I never thought that he would betray me like this. For so long, I admired him. Looked up to him more than a normal son would look up to their father.”“I know,” I say, and I do. It was his high opinion of Reynold that made me change my mind about him killing my father. Now, I’m not so sure. Grayson was implying and hinting at so many things. I don’t know if he knows the truth about what happened to Theo and just father. How could he? I’ve never met him before in my life and it’s highly unlikely that he’s connected to me. Unless he did a deep background check on me, so d
AdaBefore we know it, things start to escalate and become more heated. His kiss becomes more aggressive and his hands start to roam my body. I missed this. This heat—this feeling—that only he can give me. I missed the way his hands felt on my body. The way his mouth could devour mine so completely. Missing him would keep me up at night sometimes as I tired to recall the way he made me feel, both physically and mentally. I don’t want this to ever stop. Ever. His hand pulls the hem of my dress up and over the curve of my ass before he grips the flesh in his hand, almost affectionately. Like he’s getting reacquainted with an old friend. My whole body is covered in goosebumps, and my heart is threatening to beat out of my chest. Before I know it, the dress has been pulled over my head and I’m in just my underwear. His fingers find the clasp of the bra behind my back and he effortlessly unclasps it, freeing me heavy breasts. “I missed this,” he says against the curve of my neck, ge
AdaWhen my eyes spring open, the hotel room is dark, and I’m alone on the bed. Sitting up, I panic completely, but that’s before I see him sitting on the edge of the bed. I rub my eyes and say his name. “Max?”His head tilts slightly to the side but not enough for him to look at me. “It’s alright. Just go to bed, alright?”“Are you sure?” I ask as I crane my neck to get a better look at what he’s doing. He then moves closer to me, lying back down on the pillows, and pulls me close to him. “I’m sure,” he claims. “Don’t worry about me, alright? I’ll be fine. This is a bad moment that’s going to pass. Like everything else.”Satisfied with his answer, I drift off to sleep in his arms. I sleep well—dream of lovely things. It’s the best sleep I’ve had in a very long time. I wake up feeling rested and happy, but once more, Max isn’t by my side. “Max?” I say his name loudly as I turn in bed. I look around the room and don’t spot him anywhere. I check the time. Seven? Where did he go so ea
Ada I have an astounding number of missed calls on my phone by the time I get home. I haven’t been able to return anyone’s calls. Funny enough, I didn’t even think about giving my mother a heads up when I decided to stay the night with Max at the hotel. Things just…happened. It honestly feels like I had no control over them whatsoever. Which is true. How would I remember texting my mom and telling her I’m alright when I was too busy facing the most difficult moment of my life? I think it’s safe to say that they were all right—especially Harry—when they said that Reynold Loxley was a horrible man. He killed my father, alright, even if there’s no way to prove it. I guess I was fooled by him like everyone else. Even his kids. What kind of father could do that to a son? Sleep with his wife and get her pregnant before killing her? That’s one of the worst things I’ve ever heard. I shudder every time I think about it. He looked and sounded like such a sweet man. I push the front door
Maximilian “Son, please,” my father says as the nurses take him toward the door. He’s sobbing. “Please, don’t abandon me. Don’t send me away. I need you and your sister more than ever. Please, Max. Rebecca. Please. I know I made mistakes. I—”Finally, he’s gone, and I can’t hear a thing he’s saying. I rub my face, sighing in a world-weary way. Rebecca sniffles and quickly dries the tears spilling down her cheeks. I cut her a glance and ask, “Having regrets?”“No,” she replies coldly. “Not a chance. This was the right thing to do.”I think so too but I don’t feel triumphant; on the contrary. I feel strangely hollow. I think it would be a mistake to celebrate something like this. Our lives will never be the same again. So what’s there to be happy about?“He’ll probably die when he’s all alone,” she mentions. When I look at her face, I see that she’s crying even harder now. Then, she starts to sob. I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around her, pulling her close and rubb
Ada"Nothing much," Max claims. "It's just that, well, I feared that you'd insist on speaking to your mother. You know. About the whole thing."I chew my bottom lip. "Why did you think that?""I don't know. I guess I just assumed you would.""I don't think I would," I admit. "Actually, I didn't think about it. I don't know what I could say to her. Maybe at a later date. But I'm reluctant to leave the cabin. I don't want Damson to get anywhere near us."Max sounds relieved when he says, "Yeah, that's what I had in mind.""I'm shocked by her arrest," I claim. To imagine my mother behind bars isn't something I've done before. It doesn't make me feel particularly glad—I think I've gotten to the point of not caring anymore. She's getting what she deserves. Fine. But of course, the questions I've always wanted to ask her do still exist in my mind. I want to know why she as a mother always put me down and prioritized Damson and Harry. Thinking of it now, that was exactly what she did. In
AdaWe’ve been working closely with the court to make sure that Abby gets everything she needs. It seems that he had a fake birth certificate of hers, one he forged just to get her registered in certain places, like in school. Even hospital visits. Her name is Abigail Patricia Port, and it infuriates me that she’ll have to carry that woman’s name her whole life. We do have the chance to change everything about her name, so we changed her middle name to Marie instead, and of course, her surname is Loxley now. It’s just the right thing to do. We didn’t explain these changes of her but in due time, she’ll become aware of them, and I’m really hoping that the psychologist is going to help us get through to her. It’s been a few days now and she’s still locked in that room. She refuses to come downstairs and of course, we don’t push her. The psychologist claimed that we shouldn’t force ourselves on her. Everything should be done naturally and we’re meant to wait on her guidance. “The t
Maximilian “Sure. Let’s talk.”“First of all,” he begins coarsely, “I want you to know that I’m someone who holds grudges, and I didn’t like how you abandoned my sister for seven fucking years when she needed you most, alright?”The words hit me right where it hurts. I nod, swallowing. “I understand that.”“I had to talk her through the whole thing,” he adds angrily, taking another step toward me. “I was there and you weren’t. Why is that? Why did you abandon her?”“It’s complicated. I wanted to…I wanted to prove to her that I wasn’t a total fuck-up and that I’d find our daughter. I kept waiting. Day after day. I never stopped looking for that son-of-a-bitch. And time just kept flying. Before I knew it, too much time had passed and I didn’t know how to approach her anymore. I know that might not sound like the truth but it is.”Silence falls upon us. He looks to the side, breathes deeply, then looks back at me. “And now you’re back in her life. Is this something permanent, or will yo
MaximilianFor the past few days, nothing remarkable happened. Damson didn't show up from out of nowhere to torment us. However, Ada's mother was caught and imprisoned. So at least one good thing happened. She was allegedly buying a plane ticket to leave the country and that's when they captured her. I was beyond pleased with the news and wished it had been Damson instead. I'm not complaining, though. The fucker is still hiding and though I'm not actively looking for him, I'll have more help starting today. Theo, Ada's brother, is arriving from Argentina today. The extra help will be much appreciated. I only hope that the coward didn't leave the county yet. If so, then we're fucked, at least for now because he'll definitely be back when we least expect it. We can't live like this. With the fear of his return hanging over our heads. With luck, Patricia will reveal exactly where he is. I'm not sure what the procedure is but she assisted in a kidnapping and so had to be imprison
Ada “Hi, Theo.”“That text you sent me,” he begins, “is it true? You found her?”“Yes,” I reply, biting my lip. “She’s here with us. But Damson is still on the loose. Max can’t even meet us where we are because he’s afraid Damson will follow him and come torment us here. It’s a never ending nightmare with him. I just wish he’d die.”“Jesus,” he exhales. “She’s been found? I can’t believe this. How was it? Your reunion?”I rest my forehead against the window in the living room. Rebecca is upstairs so I’m all alone down here. The sight of the dark forest all around us is reassuring to me, because the one thing I can think about is how Damson will never be able to reach us here, not on his own. This is the one place where I know we’re safe. “She doesn’t know us,” I say to Theo. “She won’t even look at me and I’ve tried to tell her I’m her mother. I guess this is expected.”“What did she think Damson was? Her father?”“Yes. And there’s more.”“Fuck. What?”“Patricia,” I say, refusing
MaximilianSome hours later, I leave the station. But that doesn’t mean our problems have magically come to an end. Apparently, we could face some charges, and Rebecca could be charged with kidnapping, as ironic as that sounds. But the lawyer assured me that the jury could show sympathy to our case since it’s been cold for years. And I mean years. Seven, to be precise. We saw our chance. We took it. Why involve law enforcement when they’ve sat on their asses for years?I’m supposed to be heading to where they are. I’m so anxious to see everyone and actually hold Ada now that we’ve found our daughter, but we have a serious matter in our hands. Damson. He’s still on the loose and I’m pretty sure he could be watching me. So, why the hell would I drive there when there’s a chance he’ll follow? No, I refuse to do that. I won’t risk Victoria’s life again. Not ever again. And I’m not going to them until Damson is found. Enough of living in this hell. I know he’ll come for me eventua
Ada “I don’t understand it, Rebecca,” I say, sniffling. We’re downstairs now, seated at the marble counter on high stools. I have a glass of water in front of me and we’re both crying. Our hands are clasped. “I just don’t get it.”I spent about twenty minutes in that room, trying to get Victoria—no, Abby—to talk to me. But she kept covering her face and crying. She seemed scared. When I returned to my senses, I realized that she had every right to be terrified. She doesn’t know us. We’re all strangers to her. “We had a plan,” she admits. “Me and Max.”“You’re talking now?” Did he mention it? If so, I can’t remember for some reason. Then again, my head is so full, and so much has happened in the last twenty-four hours. “Yes,” she reveals. “It all happened very recently. I approached him because someone recommended this private investigator to me, and vowed that he was good. So, I assigned him to this case. He used to work with the military before. Some ultra shady shit. Moving on,
Ada I’m numb. The whole car ride, I’m numb. When Rebecca’s driver came to me and told me I had to leave with him, I thought it was some kind of trick. I was so suspicious. Then, she called me and explained to me as carefully as she could that it was all over and that I didn’t have to worry about a thing. That the driver was going to take me to her and the place where Victoria was. Victoria. I couldn’t believe it and still can’t. I have this feeling like maybe I’m dreaming this whole thing up or it’s all a figment of my shattered imagination, something my mind is coming up with to cope with all the loss. Because when Damson hung up after telling me that I’d never see my daughter again, I believed him. That broke me entirely and I think there are still fragments of me on the sidewalk, where I knelt for the longest time before the porter came and helped me inside. He wanted to call the police or an ambulance but I told him I was fine and just received bad news. Like ten minutes l
Maximilian But something happens. A miracle. Rebecca arrives, and I see her parking right across the street from where I’m on my knees on the ground, head spinning so fast that I have the urge to vomit. Right before I pass out, I see her race after Ada’s mother and Victoria, and I only allow the darkness to take over when I see Rebecca grab a hold of her and carry her to the car. Yes.Fucking yes. I pass out right on the road, and when I wake up, I’m being nudged. Someone’s tapping at my arm repeatedly too, and when I open my eyes, blinking rapidly until my vision clears, I see that someone’s tapping me with their foot. Slowly, I look up, and see that it’s an officer who’s tapping me with his foot. His face is a blur but slowly starts to clear up. However, my attention is pulled away from him when I remember Rebecca and Victoria. Ada’s mother. Panic seizes me. How long have I been out?Rebecca’s car isn’t parked across the street like it was before I fainted. Could it mean she