The silence that followed Adam's departure was awkward. Maxwell waited a few minutes, then got up, too.
"I'm going to work. Do you want a ride to the hospital?" He asked Anna, ignoring the others at the table.
"Can we have lunch together?" Anna asked worriedly.
"If you don't mind waiting... I don't know how long the trial will last."
"I'll go to the courthouse as soon as the consultation is over. I'll take the ride." Anna said decisively, and stood up.
"Why are you going to the doctor? Are you pregnant?" The hope in Bonnie's voice was unmistakable.
"No, Bonnie. It's just a routine check-up." Anna replied and turned to her father. "Can you look after Ian, please? Can I trust that I'll find him here when I get back?"
"Of course, my child. Don't treat me as if I'm unreliable."
"You can't be trusted, Dad. You'll need to regain my trust." She said and left with Maxwell.
Bonnie looked at Anna's father and found him very handsome.
"Could you call a taxi? I need to pick up my clothes."
"I can ask one of my men to pick you up from the hotel you stayed in as soon as you got here."
Bonnie stared at him intently, and knew that she was facing the most dangerous man she had ever met, and that immediately thwarted her plan to kidnap and kill the boy, who would be a link between Adam and Anna forever, regardless of whether they got together or not, that boy would serve as a constant reminder of Adam's former love. She knew she was facing the man who would kill her smiling and make her beg for death. She also knew that she didn't want to be his target. Adam was unaware that this man was as deadly as the poison of a room dragon. She began to sweat. She had never felt this kind of fear. He must have been worse than her.
"I'd like to go myself..."
"You can ask in the kitchen and they'll call a taxi for you."
Bonnie stood up, anxious to get away from him, and made her way to the dining room door.
"Of course you can't come back here. If you leave this apartment, you must stay at the hotel."
"I'm Maxwell's guest..."
"Bonnie, I know who you are. I know everything there is to know about you. Don't make me teach you torture that you've never even dared to think about. Do you think you're creative and cruel enough? Challenge me, and I'll prove to you that there are many things about torture that you don't know yet." He said calmly. He said calmly. "Now go and do what you want." He said and took his grandson by the hand and left with him. He was going to take the boy to the nearby shopping center, where there were electronic toys, which he loved.
Bonnie thought about leaving anyway. Her hands were tied. She couldn't do anything to the child, and only indirectly against Anna, if she went back with Adam. But she knew she would. Adam's confidence was very solid. He had a plan. He had thought about the details for three years. But he couldn't leave it there alone if he didn't have enough arguments to convince Anna to come back with him. Adam could have thought of many different situations, but she was sure that her motherhood was not something he was prepared for. And now he would have to be held hostage there, in that apartment. If she left, she wouldn't be able to come back, and she wouldn't have any news of what was happening to her loved one. With a lot of hatred in his heart, he went back to his room and turned on the television. She was staring at the screen, but her thoughts were far away, when she saw a note on the dresser. He got up and opened it.
"A surprise will reach you before dinner."
It wasn't Adam's handwriting. Could it be a threat? She couldn't ignore that message. He sat down on the bed and thought about what he would do next.
...
Adam went to the hotel where he had been staying, before learning that Anna had formed a greater bond with Maxwell than he had imagined, and also with the child who could not be anyone else's. Ian was, without a doubt, her son. It wasn't hard to be sure, because although he and his brother looked a lot alike, and it was only natural that the boy should resemble him, Adam knew that Maxwell wasn't a werewolf and neither was Anna. And Ian was a werewolf.
He put on clean clothes after a long shower and called Vicenzo to arrange a time and restaurant to meet. He couldn't wait to find out what he'd discovered.
Once the meeting was arranged, he heard someone knocking on the door and went to answer it. They were men who worked for Anna's father. They had come to take the suitcases to the apartment. Adam hadn't really thought about staying there, but it seemed that the universe was trying to send him a message, so he let them in and took the suitcases. He went to the restaurant bar in the hotel and was offered a cocktail. He accepted and liked it. The waiter gave him the ingredients so that he could make it in the United States. This reminded him of Anna. She used to make dishes from all over Scotland and said that she remembered her mother offering them to her. Which was very strange, as her mother was an immigrant from Ireland. These are mysteries that he has discovered to reveal to Anna when the time is right.
Adam finished his drink, left a generous tip for the waiter, went to reception, handed over the keys to the suite and went out into the frosty morning. One of his Werewolves was waiting for him, and getting into the black car, he drove to the restaurant where he would meet Vicenzo.
He liked the restaurant, and the waiter guided him to his table, which faced a square and was completely enclosed in glass. He ordered a cognac and waited for his friend, who didn't take more than fifteen minutes to join him.
They placed their orders, talked about their lives and Adam told him everything that had happened since he met Anna. Vicenzo listened attentively and with interest. In his mind, he pitied Maxwell, whom he also befriended, but in his heart, he hoped that Adam would succeed in getting his beloved back, even though he had made it clear that he disapproved of what he had done to her in the hospital when she had escaped.