Chapter 62
CURITIBA PARANá
Maxim picked up on the third ring.
“Adria?”
“You have ten minutes.”
Her mother was in the sitting area, a staff member on her knees painting her toes.
“Who are the Serras?” Adria said, storming into the room.
Her mother didn’t seem to notice her tone. “Did you get Cole? What did he bring us?”
“Cole’s safe and Eric is in the car,” Adria said, arms crossed. After what she had learned in the church, there was no way she was bringing Cole here. Instead, her and Eric had left him with Sage.
Cole not being there seemed to get her mother’s attention. “Adria, these things are time sensitive. We need to move forward with the plans in order to keep you and your partners safe.”
Adria didn’t move. “I defended you.”
Her mother waved the woman at her feet away, speaking in Portuguese, telling her to leave. “I haven’t done anything to warrant a need for defense, so don’t get on your high horse just because you did something I didn’t ask you to.”
“I trusted you,” Adria said quieter.
“I didn’t ask for that either.”
Adria said again, “Who are the Serras.”
Her mother picked off a flake of polish on the outside of her big toe while responding, “They are your ancestors. Your great-great-great-great grandmother was married to your father’s great great-great-grandfather.”
Adria shook her head. “Ew.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. That long of a line of ancestors, there was practically no relation between myself and your father.”
“But there was some relation, and I’m guessing you knew that, and that’s why you changed your last name.”
“You didn’t pay attention to my attempts to teach you your family history, did you?” Her mother pinned her with a cold stare.
Adria’s voice was pure stone. “I was four.”
“You remember, you just don’t want to. Just like you remember that day with Maxim.”
Adria shook her head.
Her mother got up and moved towards her in two full strides. “Except for you won’t remember it, will you? You’re still too afraid to admit the truth to yourself. Same as you always were, only wanting to see what you want to see.”
Tears filled behind Adria’s eyes, but she refused to show emotion. Maxim had helped her remember in the car ride over. Turns out he worked with sex-trafficked children. His specialty being finding them and helping them put their assaulters away.
He asked her to close her eyes. To remember the smells and sounds in the room. She remembered Maxim standing over Alexey, knife in hand. Cutting him.
Except, with Maxim’s voice in her ear, the memory changed and when she looked at it now, it wasn’t Maxim holding the knife, it was her mother.
And it wasn’t her mother’s words that guided her away from the gruesome sight. That was Maxim.
Adria could feel his hand sliding into hers and his voice saying, “You don’t need to see that, let’s go find something to eat.”
“I remember,” Adria said, looking at her mother. “Why did you kill him?”
Her mother sneered, “He knew about me and Maxim, maybe even my escape. Maxim thought he would be on our side. Lexey always loved you. I just didn’t think it was worth the risk.”
“Why torture him?”
Her mother just shrugged. “It sends a message.”
Adria didn’t need to ask who the message was for. She already knew. It was for the only other person in that room.
Maxim.
“But you got caught, anyway.”
Her mother laughed. “Still haven’t figured that one out yet?”
Pieces fell into place, and Adria stared at the stranger in front of her. “You wanted to get caught. You already had Xander in your pocket.”
Her mother touched the tip of her nose. “In the Nine, we don’t ask for what we want.”
Adria watched, dumbstruck, as Sophia poured herself a drink.
“The Federovs stole that seat from us,” her mother said.
Sophia took a long drink. “Your eyes are not just green because of your father’s.
They are also from Isadora Serra’s. This was hers.
” Her mother pulled the silver locket from her neck.
“Along with that fucking ring that I cannot find. I knew the moment you were born. The instant I looked into your eyes. Esperanca, that you were the one.”
Hope.
“So, this whole thing is all one big play for a seat at the table.”
“IT WAS MY SEAT,” her mother yelled.
Her mother’s sudden anger should have unsettled Adria, but she was too busy trying to figure out the last piece.
“Why didn’t you bring me?”
Sophia looked at her with a placating look. “Adria, please, we’ve had such a great trip down memory lane. Can’t we just move on? You know now.”
“WHAT DO I KNOW?” Adria shouted into the room.
“Keep your voice down,” her mother hissed.
“Or what? You’ll paper cut another staff member to death?”
Her mother huffed. “You always had a flair for the dramatics.”
“Mom, you had this all planned out. Why leave me? You were married to him. You must have known what type of person he was.”
“Don’t do this, Adria, trust me. Get that dream boat Cole in here and let’s get our ducks in order.”
Her mother wasn’t going to answer, which could only mean one thing.
“You wanted to leave me behind,” Adria whispered.
Her mother glared at her. “I’ll go get Cole myself.”
She moved to walk out of the room, but Adria was faster. Getting into her path, she shot her arm out, planting her hand on the threshold.
“Why?”
“There isn’t always a reason, darling. Sometimes things just happen and we can’t help that.”
Her mother tried to move towards another door, but Adria caught her by the wrist. “But not with you. With you, everything that happens has a reason. You tell me right now or I call Eric and you will never find Cole.”
Her mother arched an eyebrow. “Threatening me now?”
“Tell me.”
Her mother was quiet for a long time. Adria could see her weighing every option. Anger bubbled inside her. Adria was sick of being a pawn in this game. This ended now.
“TELL ME,” Adria shouted into her mother’s face.
Her mother ripped her wrist away and shouted back, “HE WAS YOUR FAVORITE!”
Adria blinked, confused, but her mother continued.
“It wasn’t fair. I played the part. The doting mother, the Fedorov wife. You think you had a hard time; I had to date that piece of shit. Impress him. Marry him and have a baby with him.”
Her mother paced around the room, the words spilling from her now. “The plan was simple, have an heir and when he was old enough, we could kill Ivan together.”
Adria didn’t understand.
Her mother looked at her, and her face was tinged with a crazed expression. “But you loved him so fucking much. You couldn’t see him for the monster he was.”
Cold air prickled at Adria’s skin.
“My grandmother Inês. She said my heir would have the Serra’s green eyes. Except as you grew older, your eyes started to look like his.”
“He was my father.”
The sneer her mother held made Adria’s heartbeat faster.
“I knew if I stayed, you would always be his. You would grow up being a Federov, never knowing the monster he truly was. You would never side with me, and you would never be a Serra.”
Sweat broke out on Adria’s skin.
“What are you saying?”
“Sometimes, to find your way home, you need to scrape your knee on the path. I knew if I left, you would see. And you would find your way home.”
Adria shook her head, tears burning into her eyes. “You knew what he would do to me when you left.”
Her mother reached out for her. “But now when I look into your eyes, I no longer see Ivan in them. You’re a Serra now, Adria. It took a while, but now that you finally know the truth, we can move forward. No more secrets.”