Chapter 12 #2
Ready to break free.
But once again—
something held it back.
I glanced at Airis, searching his face for answers.
His attention never left my parents.
Turning back to them, I spoke coldly.
“I saw what happened to the house, but honestly, I don’t really care which one of you got hurt or how.”
That was only half true.
I wanted details.
I wanted to know how dangerous Harold Moss’s people really were.
But my pride wouldn’t let me ask.
“I need to know how I ended up with you.”
“What do you mean?” my mother arched a brow.
“I mean, what made you decide to adopt me?”
“And what makes you think you aren’t our biological daughter?” my father finally spoke.
A bitter laugh nearly escaped me.
The arrogance in his voice was almost impressive.
“Because it’s obvious,” I snapped. “I don’t look anything like either of you, and you’ve always treated me like some unwanted orphan.”
“Blaming us for everything has always been your favorite hobby,” my mother replied with a sly smile.
I wanted to throw fire at her.
Not to hurt her.
Just to scare her.
To wipe that sickly sweet smile off her face.
“Enough dodging my questions,” I said sharply, fixing them with my best murderous glare. “Because if you keep pushing me, I won’t be responsible for what happens next. How did I end up with you?”
“And what exactly are you going to do if we don’t answer?” my mother asked lazily, leaning back against the couch and crossing one leg over the other.
“I assure you, she won’t lay a finger on you,” Airis said after a short pause.
“I can’t promise the same for myself.”
The usual coldness was gone from his eyes.
Something far worse had taken its place.
It felt like death itself was staring back at them.
Oddly enough, that didn’t scare me.
What frightened me more was how indifferent I suddenly felt toward it.
I didn’t understand why he suddenly looked ready to kill for me.
Or why that aggression burned so fiercely in his eyes.
“You do realize there’s a security system here for situations like this?” my father asked cautiously.
“I’m afraid they won’t make it in time,” Airis replied calmly, nodding toward my mother.
Her expression darkened instantly.
Both hands flew to her throat.
She couldn't breathe.
I froze, unable to say a word.
But my father finally realized what was happening.
“Fuck! Let her go!”
He grabbed for my mother, only to pull back a second later when he realized there was absolutely nothing he could do.
“We’ll tell you everything,” he said quickly, staring at us as though his life depended on it.
“See? That wasn’t so difficult,” Airis replied.
A second later, my mother doubled over, coughing violently as she dragged desperate breaths back into her lungs.
“How did I end up with you?” I repeated, my voice no softer than before.
Today, I wasn't afraid of them.
And maybe that was because Airis was standing beside me.
I felt him there like a shield.
Both physically and mentally.
“One night,” my father began quietly, “some mutilated... terrifying creature brought you to us. There was something deeply inhuman about it.”
“And we never would’ve taken that cursed cradle with some unknown child inside if it hadn’t threatened us,” my mother added, carefully watching my reaction.
She probably expected her words to hurt me.
Unfortunately for her, I’d spent my entire life building walls too thick for anyone to reach what was behind them.
“And how exactly did it threaten you?” I asked.
Maybe its abilities would help me understand what world it came from.
“Living shadows,” my mother muttered bitterly. “They wrapped around my throat.”
“You should feel honored,” Airis said with a detached shrug.
“Did that creature explain why it chose you?” I asked my parents. “Why you specifically?”
“No,” my father answered. “It only said we had been chosen.”
“And since we never planned on having children,” my mother added coldly, “we considered that ‘honor’ more of a curse.”
A quiet scoff escaped me.
“Judging by the fact that you still decided to have Adeline afterward, I’d say that curse taught you something.”
Neither of them answered.
Of course they didn’t.
They would never admit I had served any purpose in their lives at all.
“What else did it say?”
My father hesitated.
“It mentioned that you were connected to its bloodline.”
My thoughts immediately began racing.
According to my parents, the creature controlled shadows.
What world did that kind of magic belong to?
Darkness?
Death?
And what if it could control fire too?
What if it possessed more than one ability—
just like me?
“We were always afraid of you,” my mother admitted suddenly.
I could see the hatred in her eyes.
“But we tried to understand you right up until the moment you almost burned down our lake house.”
I swallowed hard.
The guilt from that incident had never completely left me.
“That was an accident,” I said quietly.
Then I asked the question that still refused to make sense.
“Why did you take me to a psychiatric hospital four days ago? Were you trying to get rid of me—or burn the entire building down with me inside?”
My mother frowned.
My father stared at me in confusion.
“What the hell are you talking about?” my mother scoffed. “We’ve been at a ski resort for almost a week. We only came back yesterday.”
She gestured toward her bandaged arm.
Now it was my turn to stare.
“You’re joking, right?”
My voice sounded distant.
“Four days ago, you invited me to lunch. When I arrived, someone shoved me into a car, drugged me, and the next thing I knew, I woke up strapped to a hospital bed.”
I swallowed.
“You were even waving goodbye through the window like you’d finally gotten rid of a problem.”
I studied their faces carefully.
No satisfaction.
No guilt.
No mockery.
Only confusion.
Shock, even.
“Adeline can confirm it,” my mother said.
I glanced at Airis.
He was still watching my parents with that unreadable expression.
“I couldn’t have imagined all of this,” I said quietly.
Then I looked back at them.
“And what happened at the house?”
“What do you mean, what happened?” my mother frowned.
“The backyard looks like an actual murder scene,” I replied, no longer bothering to sound detached. “The pool water is crimson, and judging by the smell... it was blood.”
Neither of my parents moved while listening to me, though I noticed my father’s hands trembling slightly around the magazine he was still trying to hold.
“I thought that’s why you left Adeline with Aunt Elisa.”
“Not because of that,” my father replied slowly. “I started feeling sick at the ski resort, so I decided to get checked out.”
“And I chose to stay here with my husband,” my mother added before narrowing her eyes at us. “What the hell is going on? Which one of you got involved in something dangerous?”
I sighed.
“Margo, I quit everything illegal years ago,” my father muttered defensively.
His eyes widened a second later before shifting toward me.
I glanced at Airis.
His expression remained cold and unreadable.
At this point, it was obvious the destruction at my parents’ house had been caused by Harold’s people.
But then—
who had really kidnapped me and locked me away in that psychiatric clinic?
Who had pretended to be my parents?
“Airis?” I asked quietly, ignoring my parents as they continued explaining their theory that the creature who had brought me to them had finally returned.
“I don’t understand what’s happening yet either,” he admitted softly. “But I’ll figure it out.”
Then he looked at me.
“Do you still have any questions for them?”
He nodded toward my parents.
I shook my head.
“Then let’s go.”
His hand closed around mine.
Warm.
Steady.
The exact opposite of how I felt.
“There’s nothing left for us here.”