"Good morning, everyone." Adam said hello and began to serve himself. He was starving. He couldn't remember eating anything apart from the broth that Jenna brought and made him eat, and despite what he would do to her, and he was sure she knew it, she kept walking behind him until his plate was empty. She was the only woman there who deserved his consideration. He would try to be kind while he killed her.
Everyone responded to her greeting. Kate and Sarah remained silent, as if they were afraid of some unexpected reaction from the boss. The men, on the other hand, chatted normally. But they talked about the places they would be covering that day, none of the usual jokes or laughter.
Adam watched everything that was going on around him, without any of them noticing. There was an atmosphere of relief between them and Adam knew that he had burdened the Werewolves with his useless feelings for too long. After eating two loaves of bread with butter, and leaving for the third, he started talking to Kate without looking at her. He made as if to say casually.
"Kate... The night Anna ran away, you told me you'd rule something out, and I can clearly see that you haven't. May I ask why?"
He spoke so naturally that everyone stopped, curious.
Kate smiled with relief. She immediately remembered Sarah.
"I thought you wouldn't like it, after all, they say that werewolves can't be without one..."
"Nothing would please me more than not having to live with that... Thing." He said, interrupting her.
"I'll do that later today..."
"Stay out of sight downstairs today... Tell the maids not to leave their place after lunch. I'm going to have an unpleasant visitor who'll want to know everything about the people who work with me. And if you think I'm bad, you can believe that he's ten times worse. But he's an idiot."
"And why are you having someone like that in your house?" Kate asked, startled.
Adam exchanged glances with the men and then turned to Kate
"Because he's my uncle's representative. Because I want him to see everything I have, so he knows that everything I take from him will be for pure pleasure, and not out of necessity."
"Won't you need someone to serve you?"
"I've been planning everything with my werewolves for a few weeks now. Everyone will play their part..." He turned to Caricature. "Thank you." He said and Caricature nodded. "I'll do as you say. I'll make my men loyal to me."
Adam said and got up, and walked out of the mansion with his cell phone.
He didn't know whether to call Anna's father or ask Jenna directly what he was doing in the face of everything that was happening. So he thought it over and called his brother.
He was a lawyer, and was now the youngest judge in the country in which he lived. He answered promptly.
"Hello, Adam. How long..." He seemed happy to talk to his brother.
"Maxwell... Is he still living with you?"
"Yes, but he's in the United States at the moment. He's looking for his daughter that you lost. Our 'product'. What incompetence, Adam. This is the first time in history that a 'product' has escaped. I confess I'm disappointed." Her voice was full of amusement, which irritated Adam, but he controlled himself. They always ended up fighting at the end of their conversations and he hoped this time would be different.
"Strange... He hasn't come to me..."
"Of course not. If he finds you, he might shoot you in the head. He won't kill you, but I'd like to see it."
"Why is he angry with me?"
"Brother, you'll have to ask him that."
"I don't know how to find him."
"I'll ask him if I can pass on his private number to you. I don't want to risk him turning on me, either." His brother's voice was so amused that Adam had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying what he deserved to hear.
"Do it, please." Adam said and hung up.
Anna's father was an ally he wasn't willing to lose. He was powerful and knew more about the mafia than anyone else, and he was also a personal friend of Maxwell's biological mother.
Adam felt his cell phone vibrate in his hand and looked at it. His brother had texted him. He opened it and saw Anna's father's contact details, as they called him intimately. He didn't think too much about giving up and called him.
"Hello?" Adam smiled as he recognized the voice on the other end.
"It's me. Adam."
"Adam... What have you done to my daughter, man?"
"Things I'm not proud of. But now I need to find her and... There's no going back on what I did... But I'm going to make it up to Anna."
"No, Adam. You won't see her anymore. I trusted you and allowed you to keep her because you promised me you would protect her. Don't look for her anymore."
"Why do you say that? You know she's the last mist, and that Allister has left orders for any of his men who come across her to kill her immediately. You can't protect her like I can. I have werewolves."
"And yet, she escaped. I'm taking her out of the country with me as soon as I find her."
"You can't do that. We have an agreement."
"Adam..." He started to say and fell silent. Adam waited. "If I find her, and she talks about coming back to you, I'll take her to you myself, but otherwise... Well, I'll do her bidding."
"I like you, Henry, but don't challenge me. I know your family. Your parents. I know everything, and if you take Anna away from me, I'll hand over your location and your identity to the police, and there won't be a place on the planet where you can hide."
"Don't threaten me. That doesn't work with me anymore."
"I'll put detectives on her."
"Adam, I can sense your desperation in your voice. Do as you say. Seek professional help. If I don't look for you, it's because I found her, and she didn't want to come back."
"She won't want to come back, but she's mine! She's my wife and... She needs to come back!" Adam said sadly.
"Let some time pass, then. Then go after her and tell her how you feel."
"She knows how I feel. I've told her several times."
"You'll need to remind her of that, then. If you find her first, I won't intervene in what you decide, as long as you don't hurt her."
"And if you find her first?"
"In that case, I'd ask you to wait a while. Give her time to assimilate and understand her own feelings, and then go to her. I'll keep her in her brother's apartment."