Chapter 9 - THE FAMILY MEETING
William demanded a meeting at the Norman company headquarters. Bella came with him, wearing her father’s locket beneath her shirt. Lilith stayed out of sight.
Adrian greeted them in the boardroom. William’s aunt Margaret sat at the far end of the table, her face drawn. She had helped raise William after his parents died.
“What did my father do?” William asked.
Margaret shut her eyes. Adrian answered for her.
“He renewed the contract. Every Norman heir does when he comes of age.”
“I didn’t.”
“You would have,” Adrian said, “if Lilith had done her job.”
William turned to Margaret. “You told me he died trying to end it.”
“He did try,” she said. “Years after he signed. By then he was afraid you’d pay for his mistake.”
Adrian placed a folder on the table. It held photographs of Bella, William, and the doctor’s office.
Bella felt William’s hand find hers.
Adrian watched them both. “The collector told me about the twins. Give me the locket, Bella. I’ll make sure you and the babies can leave this city.”
“You don’t speak for him,” Margaret said.
“No,” Adrian replied. “I paid him.”
The boardroom doors swung shut. The collector appeared beside them. William pulled Bella behind him, but Bella had already spotted the fire alarm on the wall.
She threw a glass at it. The glass missed. William’s coffee mug struck it a second later.
The alarm shrieked. Sprinklers burst overhead. Employees started hammering on the doors from outside.
Lilith appeared beside the collector and drove him back long enough for William to break the lock.
In the crowded hall, Margaret caught Bella’s arm.
May you like
“The locket opens the door,” she whispered. “But William has to choose what happens inside.”
Adrian heard her. He shoved through the employees, grabbed Margaret, and dragged her toward the service elevator.
