Family Reunion
988 Words
Ricardo and Madalena looked at each other before Ricardo spoke.
"You're sitting here today because we never gave up over the past twenty-one years. We never stopped searching," he said. "We hired investigators and examined every adoption record in the state."
"It always led to dead ends until James found a strong lead four years ago. After that, we had Selena observe for the next three years to make sure we weren't making any mistakes and to trace how you ended up in the hands of the Fredericks."
Adrian clenched his fists, rage flooding through him.
"The Fredericks."
"Yes." Ricardo's voice hardened. "We researched them thoroughly, and we know what they did to you. Had they not already gone bankrupt, I would have ruined them myself."
"Selena already did that," Adrian said with a chuckle.
Ricardo looked at Selena, who simply shrugged.
Madalena leaned over and held Adrian's hand.
"You're safe now. That's all that matters."
"Am I, though?" Adrian asked, leaning forward as he pulled his phone from his pocket.
"Someone sent me a threatening text today. Apparently one of my cousins. And I didn't even know I had more than one cousin until an hour ago."
Ricardo's expression darkened.
"Show me."
Adrian handed him the phone. Ricardo read the message before passing it to Madalena. Her face turned cold.
"This is intolerable," she murmured. "There will always be enemy factions, but it's too early for something like this to happen."
"There's nothing to worry about." Ricardo locked eyes with Adrian. "But we'll find out who did it. And when we do, there will be consequences."
He rose from his seat, walked to his desk, pulled out a phone, and spoke rapidly in Spanish. Adrian caught only a few words, but one of them was definitely cousin.
Ricardo ended the call and returned to his seat.
"We've already started an investigation. In less than twenty-four hours, we'll know who's behind this."
"And then what happens?" Adrian asked, his eyes shifting between his father and his mother.
"That depends on who it is and what they want. But understand this, Adrian.....you are a Vale. You are our son, and we protect what's ours."
Madalena took his hand again and gently pulled him to his feet.
"Come. Let us give you a small tour of what would have been your childhood home, had you not been taken from us."
His father fell into step beside them as they left the room.
"We created three bedrooms for you. One for when you were a baby, another for what we imagined your room would look like in your pre-teen years, and the last decorated for your teenage years."
Hearing those words made tears sting his eyes.
"Why would you do something like that? Isn't it like punishing yourselves?"
Madalena tightened her grip on his hand.
"We wanted to make sure that no matter what age we found you, you'd always have a room waiting for you."
She stopped before a massive oaken door and, after taking a deep breath, pushed it open.
Adrian stepped inside, a cold ripple running over his skin and raising goosebumps along his arms.
It was the largest nursery he'd ever seen. It looked more like a playground than a bedroom.
The walls were covered with his baby pictures.
He stopped in front of one, staring into the tiny eyes in the photograph. He remembered asking Mrs. Frederick for his baby pictures and the blank excuse she'd given him.
When he turned around, he realized his parents had quietly given him space.
He walked back to them.
"You keep saying that family could be my greatest threat. Who's to say it wasn't family that separated me from you in the first place?"
"I believe that too." His father slowly nodded. "In our world, blood doesn't always mean loyalty. You need to learn that quickly."
A chill ran down Adrian's spine.
"Selena will teach you how to be cruel." Madalena's voice was as hard as steel. "Learn to perceive danger before it becomes dangerous. Bring your enemies closer. Use them. Learn from them. Then destroy them. That's the only way you'll survive in our world."
Adrian thought about Damon, Maya, the Frederick family, and everyone who had ever looked down on him.
His shoulders finally straightened.
They had taken too much from him.
But now...
"I don't want to be weak anymore," he said quietly.
"Good." Ricardo's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Then we'll make sure you never are again. But first things first.....you need security. You must have personal protection immediately."
Adrian suddenly felt overwhelmed.
"I don't need bodyguards."
"Yes, you do," Ricardo declared. "Especially after that threat. I'm not asking, Adrian. This is non-negotiable."
Adrian looked back at Selena and Sinclair, who were following them at a respectful distance, but Selena simply nodded.
"Your father is right. You need protection."
Adrian sighed.
Ricardo smiled slightly.
"Good. I'll have two of my finest men report to you tomorrow morning. But that's not all."
He squeezed Adrian's shoulder as they arrived outside his parents' room.
His mother reached into her bag, pulled out a checkbook, wrote something, tore out the check, and handed it to him.
The moment Adrian saw the number, his vision blurred.
Five hundred million dollars.
"This is yours," Madalena said. "Invest it however you see fit. Selena will advise you, but the decisions are yours. In one year, the money should have doubled through the investments you've made."
Ricardo clapped him on the back.
"Show us what you can do with it. If you impress us, we'll reward you with something far greater."
"What?" Adrian managed to ask, his hands trembling as he held more money than he had ever imagined.
Madalena smiled.
"The Vale family heirloom. But you'll have to earn it first."
"I won't let you down," he swore.
"We know," Ricardo said.
"Because you're our son. And Vales don't fail."
- Writer
