Elena’s POV
Adrian didn’t call ahead.
He drove with both hands on the wheel, eyes fixed on the road. The trees along the estate drive passed in a green blur. I kept my hands folded in my lap and watched the way his jaw stayed locked the entire way.
Margaret opened the front door before we reached it. She took one look at Adrian’s face and stepped back without a word.
“Study,” she said.
Richard stood at the tall window with his back to the room. When he turned, the polite expression he usually wore slipped. He saw Adrian’s eyes and went still.
“Adrian. Elena. I wasn’t—”
“The trust,” Adrian said. Flat. Quiet. “Grandfather’s name. The payments that started last month. The ones that paid the man taking pictures of my son.”
Richard’s face changed in stages — first the color leaving, the
