Chapter 12 - Adrian
Adrian looked like my father around the eyes.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The second was how comfortably he held the gun.
“Phone on the table,” he said.
I placed it down.
Victoria whispered, “Adrian, we can work this out.”
He laughed. “You said that before you tried to marry him and steal the trust for yourself.”
Her face twisted. “You were going to cut me out.”
“So you bruised a child?”
For one strange second, even Adrian sounded disgusted.
I said, “You shot Eric.”
“He should be grateful I missed his liver.”
“Did he kill Rebecca?”
Adrian’s expression shifted.
“Eric wants you to think he’s weak. He isn’t.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
He stepped closer.
“Rebecca was going to destroy the company. Your father believed thousands of employees would lose their jobs. Eric believed he would lose his lifestyle. Everybody had a reason.”
“And you?”
“I wanted my name.”
The simplicity of it stunned me.
“All those years,” he said, “Charles Mercer paid my mother to keep me hidden. Then he built statues to you and Eric. I wanted a seat at the table.”
“So you helped him cover up murder.”
“I helped him cover up a scandal.”
Victoria suddenly threw her coffee mug.
It struck Adrian’s wrist.
The gun fired.
Glass exploded behind me.
I lunged.
We hit the floor hard. Adrian slammed his elbow into my jaw. Victoria kicked the gun under a table.
“Run!” I shouted.
She ran toward the kitchen.
Adrian shoved me off and chased her.
I grabbed his coat. He turned and punched me once, twice, then drove me into a booth.
Outside, tires squealed.
Police sirens approached.
Adrian froze.
I smiled through blood. “My phone was recording.”
His face went cold.
Then he smiled back.
“You think this is about me?”
He pulled a second gun from his ankle holster.
“By now, someone else is already inside your house.”
My phone lit up on the table.
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HOME SECURITY: FIRE ALARM - EAST WING.
Noah was in the east wing.
