Chapter 9 - The House on the Hill
The West estate did not look real.
It had white columns, green lawns, fountains, gardens, and windows bigger than the entire front wall of Monica’s old shack. Grace pressed her face to the car window as they arrived.
“Do rich people live here all the time?” she asked.
“Yes,” Monica said cautiously.
“Why?”
Nobody had an answer.
Adrian had offered them a guesthouse on the property while Monica found stable work and the girls returned to school. He said there would be no strings attached.
Monica did not fully believe him.
Neither did Emily.
But the guesthouse was warm.
It had bedrooms.
A bathroom with towels that smelled like flowers.
A kitchen full of food.
Grace opened the refrigerator and stared.
“There are too many yogurts,” she whispered.
The first few days felt strange.
Emily did not know how to sleep in a bed that did not have springs poking through it. Grace did not know how to use the shower without Monica helping. Monica kept checking the locks at night as if someone might take it all away.
Angel lived in the main house with Adrian, surrounded by nurses and doctors.
But every morning, Adrian brought him to the guesthouse.
“Emily,” he would say, “someone has been asking for you.”
Angel would stare at her with dark, curious eyes.
Emily held him carefully.
The baby always settled faster in her arms.
One afternoon, Adrian found Emily sitting on the back porch with Angel. Grace was in the grass, laughing as she chased a gardener’s dog.
“You’re good with him,” Adrian said.
Emily shrugged. “He likes being held.”
“Most babies do.”
“He likes being held by people who don’t leave him.”
Adrian went quiet.
Emily immediately regretted saying it.
But he sat beside her.
“You’re right,” he said.
She looked at him.
“You’re not mad?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you have every reason to be angry.”
Emily looked down at Angel.
“Are you going to take him away from us?”
Adrian’s face softened.
“He is my son.”
“I know.”
“But you saved him,” Adrian continued. “You and Grace gave him warmth when he had none. You gave him a chance to survive.”
Emily’s eyes filled with tears.
“We didn’t want him to be alone.”
“I know.”
“Can we still see him?”
Adrian looked at her for a long moment.
“Always.”
That word sounded too big to trust.
Then trouble came again.
One evening, Monica received a letter left at the guesthouse gate.
There was no return address.
Inside was a photograph of the girls outside their new school.
On the back, someone had written:
Victor Hale may be in jail. His friends are not.
Monica’s hands trembled.
Adrian read the note and immediately called Marcus.
But Emily had already seen it.
The old fear returned.
Maybe the house was big.
Maybe there were cameras and guards.
Maybe Adrian West had enough money to protect them.
But dangerous people could still find them.
That night, Emily heard voices downstairs.
She crept to the hallway and saw Adrian speaking to Monica.
“You should take the girls somewhere else,” Monica said.
“No,” Adrian replied. “Running will only teach them they have no home.”
“They could die because of us.”
“They could die because of me,” Adrian said. “And I will not let that happen.”
Monica looked at him with anger and exhaustion.
“You cannot control everything, Mr. West.”
“No,” he said. “But I can make sure Victor’s people understand something.”
“What?”
Adrian’s voice turned hard.
“That nobody touches this family again.”
Emily stood in the shadows, holding Angel’s silver bracelet in her hand.
For the first time, she wondered if Adrian meant what he said.
Not just about Angel.
May you like
About all of them.
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