Chapter 4 - The Enemy Inside the House
Adrien stormed into Victor Holloway’s office the next morning without knocking.
Victor barely looked up from his desk.
“I assume you received the eviction notice.”
“You went around me.”
“I protected the company from your emotional instability.”
Adrien slammed the notice onto Victor’s desk.
“You served eviction papers to children.”
“I served legal notices to unauthorized occupants of a condemned building.”
“There are children living there.”
“There are always children somewhere, Adrien.” Victor’s voice was calm, almost bored. “That doesn’t mean we stop building.”
Adrien’s hands curled into fists.
Victor stood and walked toward the window overlooking the city.
“You’ve forgotten what built this company,” he said. “Your father understood. He knew sentiment was expensive.”
“My father also died believing he had no real friends.”
Victor glanced back. “That is the price of power.”
“No,” Adrien said. “That is the price of becoming like you.”
Victor’s expression hardened.
“You think this woman is special because she feeds children with your leftovers? Fine. Fund a shelter. Put your name on a building. But don’t destroy a deal worth hundreds of millions because you suddenly discovered empathy.”
Adrien stepped closer.
“You’re suspended pending an internal investigation.”
Victor laughed.
“You can’t suspend me.”
“I’m the majority shareholder.”
“And I have the board.”
Adrien’s phone buzzed.
A message from his assistant.
Emergency board meeting. Victor has called for a vote regarding your leadership.
Victor smiled.
“Actually,” he said, “I think you’re the one who should worry about being suspended.”
That evening, Grace did not go to the mansion.
Adrien learned why when he arrived at the Eastwood building.
Two city inspectors stood outside. Yellow warning tape stretched across the entrance.
UNSAFE STRUCTURE. DO NOT ENTER.
The children stood on the sidewalk with Grace, holding backpacks, blankets, and plastic bags filled with their belongings.
Sophie was crying.
Mateo looked terrified.
Grace saw Adrien and walked toward him, her face pale.
“They shut us out,” she whispered. “They said the building is dangerous.”
Adrien looked at the inspectors. “Who ordered this?”
One inspector shifted uncomfortably. “Sir, the structural report came through this afternoon.”
Adrien grabbed the report from his hand.
It was signed by a consulting firm he recognized.
A firm owned by Victor Holloway’s brother-in-law.
The report claimed the building was at immediate risk of collapse.
Adrien looked at the building.
Yes, it was old. Yes, it needed repairs. But immediate collapse?
He didn’t believe it.
“This is fabricated,” he said.
Grace’s eyes searched his face. “Can you prove it?”
“I will.”
“But where do we go tonight?”
The question silenced him.
There were twenty-three children now, he counted. Twenty-three frightened faces in the rain.
Adrien looked at Grace.
Then he made the only decision he could live with.
“Come with me.”
Grace blinked. “What?”
“All of you.”
“To your mansion?”
“Yes.”
A few children gasped.
Mateo whispered, “The prince’s house?”
Adrien almost smiled.
“Not a prince,” he said. “But I do have extra rooms.”
Grace shook her head. “Adrien, we can’t just—”
“You can. And you will.”
She looked at the children, then at the rain-soaked street.
Her pride fought with her fear.
Finally, she nodded.
That night, the gates of Kingsley Manor opened for twenty-three children from Eastwood.
The mansion had never been louder.
Children ran through hallways lined with priceless art. They stared at chandeliers. They pressed their noses against windows overlooking the gardens.
Sophie stood at the bottom of the staircase, staring upward.
“It looks like a castle,” she whispered.
Grace stayed close to the children, apologizing constantly.
“I’m so sorry. They aren’t used to places like this.”
Adrien watched Mateo race through the hallway wearing socks that slid across the marble floor.
“I’m not used to children like this,” Adrien admitted.
For the first time, Grace laughed.
It was a real laugh.
Warm. Unexpected.
And Adrien realized he would do almost anything to hear it again.
But upstairs, Eleanor Kingsley stood in the doorway of her room, watching the chaos with a troubled expression.
“Adrien,” she said quietly, “Victor will use this against you.”
“I know.”
“And the board?”
“I know.”
“And if you lose control of the company?”
Adrien looked down at the children gathering around Grace.
Then he looked at the home that had felt empty for too many years.
May you like
“Then at least I’ll know what I was fighting for.”
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