Chapter 3

Bella's POV

As I passed Marielle, I stopped. She instinctively shrank closer to Caspian, refusing to meet my eyes.

I studied her delicate, wounded expression and found the whole performance almost laughable.

"Since the four of you are so fond of teaching people lessons…" I turned to Evander, my voice as casual as if I were discussing the weather. "Be at the office at 9:00 am tomorrow. You'll hand over every project you're currently managing.

"Then, we'll see how much authority you have left once the Vale family stops handing it to you."

I didn't spare their darkening expressions another glance. With my arm around Adeline, I walked straight out of the bathroom.

We had barely made it down the hall when Zet's dismissive voice drifted after us. "Forget it, Evander. She's bluffing. Give her three days. She'll be begging us to come back and clean up the mess."

My heels struck the polished marble floor in crisp, steady beats as Adeline and I walked away.

...

Adeline spent the entire ride home curled into the corner of the back seat. Her fingers were wrapped tightly around the edge of my coat, clinging to it like a frightened animal.

"Mom, I didn't bully her." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Marielle came up to me and asked to borrow the designer gown I'm wearing to my coming-of-age ceremony next month. I told her I couldn't lend it out because it was made especially for the event.

"That's when she deliberately spilled her iced coffee all over my shoes. I didn't yell at her. I just told her she needed to be more careful. Then, Evander and the others showed up with those people."

I rubbed slow circles over her back, but the coldness settling inside me only deepened.

So, these were the four weapons I had chosen so carefully. I had spent ten years sharpening them. And now every blade was pointed at my own daughter.

Ten years ago, I walked into a foster home in Southmere and noticed four boys immediately. They were bruised and battered, but there was nothing defeated about them. Every one of them had a vicious spark in their eyes.

Evander was 12 years old back then. I'd watched him pick up a brick and take on a boy 17 years old over half a dinner roll.

Caspian was only eight years old, yet one bitter winter, he'd managed to lock a staff member who had been tormenting him inside an unheated storage shed.

Those were the boys I brought home.

On their first day at the Vale residence, I led them to the nursery and pointed to the baby sleeping peacefully in her crib.

"From this day forward, Adeline comes first. If anyone lays a hand on her, you protect her. No matter what."

Evander had been the first to kneel beside the crib. "You gave us a home, Mom. You gave us a future. If anyone ever hurts our sister, they'll have to go through us first."

I could still remember every word. And now, the four people hurting Adeline were the boys who had once sworn to protect her.

Early the next morning, I had the butler, Oliver Bane, cancel every supplementary credit card in their names. Then, I had all eight of their supercars removed from the garage.

A little later, Oliver came to me holding a stack of returned access cards, looking uncomfortable. "Ms. Vale, the boys moved into the lake house in Eastmere last night. Ms. Sloane went with them."

I took a sip of coffee.

He hesitated before continuing, "They also instructed the staff to clear out Ms. Adeline's private music room. Apparently, they want to turn it into a dressing room for Ms. Sloane."

My hand froze around the coffee cup. The lake house in Eastmere was supposed to be Adeline's 18th birthday present.

She had personally chosen everything inside, right down to the furniture and curtains. And her music room housed an antique cello she treasured more than anything else she owned.

It had belonged to her grandmother. It was the only thing Adeline had left of her.

"Bring the car around." I set my coffee down. "We're going to Eastmere."

By the time we pulled up outside the lake house, the front doors were wide open. A moving crew was carrying boxes out one after another.

I walked inside. The first thing I saw was Marielle lounging on the couch, eating a bowl of strawberries. She was wearing Adeline's favorite silk robe.

Evander sat beside her, reviewing a document on his laptop. At the sound of my heels against the floor, he looked up.

When he saw me, there wasn't even a flicker of guilt on his face. Instead, he gave me a mild smile.