Chapter 3 - THE HOUSE ABOVE THE CITY
The house wasn't what Grace expected.
She had imagined gates, armed men, cameras, and some enormous mansion designed to make ordinary people feel small.
Instead, Adrien brought her to a private penthouse overlooking the Chicago River.
It was still intimidating.
But it was quiet.
The elevator opened directly into a living room framed by glass.
The city stretched beneath them.
Grace stepped out slowly.
"Wow."
Adrien removed his coat.
"You can sit."
"I think I'm still processing the fact that I went from salmon to being hunted by armed men."
"You didn't finish your salmon."
She looked at him.
"That's what you noticed?"
"Yes."
A faint smile touched his face.
Grace shook her head.
"You're strange."
"So I've been told."
Victor remained near the elevator.
Adrien turned.
"Get everyone off the floor."
Victor nodded.
"All of them?"
"Everyone."
"Understood."
The elevator doors closed.
Grace turned toward Adrien.
"Are we safe?"
"For tonight."
"That's not reassuring."
"It's honest."
She walked toward the windows.
The city looked beautiful from above.
"How many people work for you?"
"Enough."
"How many enemies?"
"More."
She smiled faintly.
"You're very informative."
"I don't talk much."
"I noticed that too."
He poured sparkling water into a glass and handed it to her.
She accepted.
"Thank you."
"You should eat."
"I'm not hungry anymore."
"You will be."
She looked at him.
"Do you always tell people what to do?"
"Usually."
"And do they always obey?"
"Usually."
Grace took a sip.
"I don't think we're going to have that relationship."
Something in his expression softened.
"No."
The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable.
It was unfamiliar.
Adrien was used to rooms becoming silent because people feared speaking.
This silence was different.
Grace wasn't afraid of the quiet.
She simply occupied it.
After a while, she asked, "Who is trying to kill you?"
"Someone inside my organization."
"Victor?"
"No."
"You trust him."
"I do."
"How?"
"He's had opportunities to betray me."
"And didn't?"
"Not yet."
Grace looked at him.
"That's a depressing way to define loyalty."
"It's a realistic one."
She set down her glass.
"My father used to say trust was something you gave once and spent the rest of your life regretting."
"What happened to him?"
"He died."
Adrien's eyes changed.
"I'm sorry."
"He wasn't a good man."
"That doesn't make losing him easier."
"No."
Grace looked out over the city.
"My mother died when I was twenty-two."
Adrien remained silent.
"She was the reason I write children's books."
"Why?"
"Because she believed children needed stories where someone showed up when things got frightening."
He studied her.
"Did someone show up for you?"
Grace smiled without humor.
"Not always."
The answer stayed between them.
Then the lights flickered.
Adrien immediately moved.
Grace noticed.
"What?"
"Stay here."
The penthouse went dark.
A second later, emergency lights came on.
Adrien pulled a weapon from beneath his jacket.
Grace's heart began pounding.
"Someone cut the power?"
"Maybe."
The elevator chimed.
Adrien raised the weapon.
The doors opened.
Victor stepped out.
"Clear."
Adrien lowered the gun.
Victor approached.
"Sir, we found something."
He handed Adrien a photograph.
Adrien stared at it.
Grace saw the color drain from his face.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer.
Victor did.
"It's Grace."
She stepped closer.
The photograph showed her leaving the library earlier that afternoon.
But there was another photograph beneath it.
One of her apartment.
Taken through her bedroom window.
Grace stopped breathing.
"Someone has been watching me."
Adrien looked at Victor.
"How long?"
"Three weeks."
Grace looked at him.
"Three weeks?"
Victor nodded.
Adrien folded the photographs.
"Pack a bag."
Grace stared.
"For what?"
"You're staying here."
"No."
"Grace."
"You don't get to decide that."
"I do when keeping you alive requires it."
Her eyes flashed.
"I'm not property."
Adrien stepped closer.
"No."
His voice softened.
"You're a responsibility I didn't ask for."
She looked at him.
"And if I refuse?"
He held her gaze.
"I'll still protect you."
Something in her anger faltered.
Then she heard a sound.
A soft metallic click.
Not from the hallway.
From inside the penthouse.
Adrien turned instantly.
A laser dot appeared on the glass wall behind Grace.
"Down!"
He lunged.
The first shot shattered the window.
Adrien pulled Grace to the floor as glass exploded over the room.
Victor fired toward the opposite building.
Grace clung to Adrien's sleeve.
He covered her with his body.
For several seconds, the world was nothing but rain, alarms, and breaking glass.
Then silence.
Adrien lifted his head.
Grace looked at him.
Blood ran from a cut near his temple.
"You got hurt."
"It's nothing."
She touched his face.
He went completely still.
"You can't keep saying that."
Her fingers remained against his skin.
For the first time, Adrien Voss looked less like a feared man and more like someone who had just realized he could lose something he had never expected to find.
The next morning, Grace woke to the smell of coffee and the distant sound of someone arguing.
She opened the guest-room door.
Adrien was standing in the kitchen.
He wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms.
The intimidating suit was gone.
He looked younger.
More tired.
More real.
A teenage boy stood across from him.
Ethan.
He had dark hair like his father and the unmistakable expression of someone who had inherited his stubbornness.
"You're the woman from the restaurant," Ethan said.
Grace looked at Adrien.
"You told him?"
"No."
Ethan smirked.
"Victor did."
Adrien frowned.
"Victor talks too much."
"Victor talks when you don't."
Grace smiled.
Ethan looked at her.
"You're not scared of him."
"Should I be?"
Ethan laughed.
"Definitely."
Adrien gave his son a warning look.
Grace sat.
Ethan joined her.
"So," he said, "what happened?"
"She sat at my table," Adrien said.
Ethan stared.
"By choice?"
"Apparently."
Ethan looked at Grace.
"You're brave."
"I'm hungry."
"Same thing."
Adrien placed breakfast on the table.
Grace looked at him.
"You cooked?"
"No."
"Good."
Ethan laughed.
His father glared.
"What?"
"You look happier."
Adrien's expression became serious.
"Eat."
Ethan did.
For several minutes, the room felt almost normal.
Then Adrien's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
"Where?"
Grace watched.
"How many?"
He listened.
"Don't touch anything."
He ended the call.
Ethan looked up.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
Grace gave Adrien a look.
He sighed.
"A man was found outside the restaurant."
"Dead?"
"Yes."
Ethan pushed his plate away.
"Was he one of ours?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Adrien looked at Grace.
"Someone who had been following you."
Her stomach dropped.
Ethan stood.
"Why is someone following her?"
"I don't know yet."
Ethan looked at his father.
"Then find out."
Adrien nodded.
Grace saw something in Ethan's face.
He wasn't frightened.
He was angry.
She understood then that being Adrien Voss's son meant growing up surrounded by danger until danger felt ordinary.
After breakfast, Grace found Adrien on the balcony.
"You shouldn't involve Ethan."
"He already is involved."
"He's seventeen."
"He's my son."
"Exactly."
Adrien looked at her.
"You think I should send him away."
"I think he deserves a chance to be seventeen."
Adrien stared at the city.
"I don't know how to give him that."
Grace stepped beside him.
"Start by letting him eat breakfast without hearing about dead bodies."
He almost smiled.
"Fair."
She looked down.
The street was busy below.
Normal people.
Normal lives.
She wondered how many of them knew how fragile normal could be.
Adrien's hand rested on the railing near hers.
Their fingers almost touched.
Neither moved away.
Then his phone rang again.
This time, the caller was unknown.
Adrien answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
"She doesn't belong to you."
Adrien's expression became ice.
"Who is this?"
The voice laughed.
"You really don't remember."
The call ended.
Grace stared at him.
"What did they mean?"
Adrien looked at her.
"I don't know."
But his voice said otherwise.
The next morning, Grace woke to the smell of coffee and the distant sound of someone arguing.
She opened the guest-room door.
Adrien stood in the kitchen, sleeves rolled to his forearms. The intimidating suit was gone. He looked younger, more tired, and almost ordinary.
A teenage boy stood across from him.
Ethan.
"So you're the woman from the restaurant," Ethan said.
Grace looked at Adrien.
"You told him?"
"No."
Ethan smirked.
"Victor did."
Adrien frowned.
"Victor talks too much."
"Victor talks when you don't."
Grace laughed.
Ethan looked at her.
"You're not scared of him."
"Should I be?"
"Definitely."
Adrien placed breakfast on the table.
"Eat."
Ethan sat.
Grace joined him.
For a few minutes, the room felt almost normal.
Then Ethan looked at her.
"What happened last night?"
Grace hesitated.
Adrien answered.
"Someone was trying to reach me."
Ethan's eyes hardened.
"And she got caught in it."
"Yes."
"Why is she here?"
"Because her apartment isn't safe."
Ethan looked at Grace.
"Do you have somewhere else to go?"
"Not right now."
He nodded.
"Then you can stay."
Adrien looked at him.
Ethan shrugged.
"What?"
"You just invited a stranger into my home."
"She already lives here now."
Grace smiled.
Adrien sighed.
"You've known her for five minutes."
"Apparently that's enough for Dad."
Grace laughed.
Adrien almost smiled.
The sound was so rare that Ethan noticed.
"You look happier."
Adrien gave him a warning look.
"Eat."
Later, Grace found Adrien on the balcony.
"You shouldn't involve Ethan."
"He already is involved."
"He's seventeen."
"He's my son."
"Exactly. He deserves a chance to be seventeen."
Adrien looked toward the city.
"I don't know how to give him that."
"Start by letting him eat breakfast without hearing about dead bodies."
He smiled faintly.
"Fair."
Grace stood beside him.
Their hands rested on the railing a few inches apart.
Adrien looked at her.
"You've been here less than twelve hours."
"I know."
"And you're already giving me advice."
"You seem to need it."
He laughed quietly.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
"She doesn't belong to you."
Adrien's face became cold.
"Who is this?"
"You really don't remember."
The call ended.
Grace stared at him.
"What did they mean?"
Adrien looked at her.
"I don't know."
But his voice said otherwise.
Adrien spent the next hour searching the old records himself.
He found another photograph.
This one showed Margaret standing beside a younger version of his uncle.
On the back were three words.
HE KNOWS EVERYTHING.
Grace read it over his shoulder.
"Who?"
Adrien stared at the photograph.
"I don't know."
"Then we'll find out."
He looked at her.
"You say that like it's simple."
"It isn't."
She closed the box.
"But complicated doesn't mean impossible."
Adrien smiled.
"You always this optimistic?"
"No."
"When aren't you?"
"When I'm hungry."
He laughed.
Then he reached for her hand.
She let him.
Neither mentioned the gesture.
Neither needed to.
Outside the library, Ethan paused in the hallway.
He saw them.
For the first time, he didn't interrupt.
May you like
He simply smiled and walked away.
Maybe his father was finally learning how to let someone close.
