جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 90

Elara’s Pov The knock came again. Three slow taps. Not loud. That somehow made it worse. I stood frozen in the middle of the living room, my phone pressed tightly against my ear while every instinct inside me screamed not to move. “Elara,” Adrian said sharply through the line. “Answer me.” My throat tightened. “Someone’s outside.” “I know. Step away from the door.” Another knock. Slower this time. Like whoever stood outside knew exactly what fear sounded like inside a quiet house. I took a step backward instinctively. Upstairs, I heard movement. Blue. No. God, no. “Lock your bedroom door,” Adrian ordered immediately, like he could hear my thoughts. “Now.” “I can’t leave Blue downstairs if—” “Elara.” His voice cut through me hard enough to stop the panic from taking over completely. “I’m two minutes away.” Two minutes suddenly felt impossible. The knock came again. Then silence. I backed toward the staircase slowly, forcing myself not to look through the peep

Elara’s Pov I woke up to silence. Not the tense silence from last night. Something quieter. For a second, I forgot everything. Then memory returned all at once. The messages. The man outside the house. Blue asking if people were mad because she was Adrian’s daughter. My chest tightened immediately. I sat up too fast, instinctively reaching beside me. Blue was gone. Panic hit instantly. I pushed the blankets aside and stood quickly…… Then froze at the bedroom doorway. Soft light spilled in from downstairs. And laughter. Small. Sleepy. Real. I moved toward the staircase carefully, still barefoot, my pulse uneven from the leftover fear clinging to me. When I reached the bottom step, I stopped completely. Adrian stood in the kitchen wearing yesterday’s clothes, sleeves rolled up messily for the first time in years. His tie was gone. His hair looked slightly disordered like he had been running his hands through it all night. Blue sat on the counter beside him, swingi

Elara’s Pov The house no longer felt private. That was the first thing I noticed after Ethan left. Not unsafe exactly. Just watched. Even with the curtains closed and the gates locked, I could feel it now—the pressure of attention sitting outside the walls: the reporters, Cameras. People waiting for our lives to become entertainment. Blue stayed quieter after the conversation about custody. She tried not to show it, but I knew her too well not to notice the change. She kept glancing toward the windows now. Toward the front door. Toward Adrian whenever another phone buzzed or vibrated. Fear had entered the house. And once fear enters, it never stays small for long. I stood in the kitchen, rinsing dishes that did not need rinsing, while Blue sat at the dining table, pretending to draw. Adrian remained near the living room window, phone pressed against his ear, voice low enough that he probably thought we could not hear him. “We are not releasing a statement written by legal

Elara’s Pov The house stayed quiet after Marianne left. Too quiet. The kind of silence that settles after damage has already been done. I stood near the living room window watching the black car disappear through the gates while Adrian remained motionless behind me. Neither of us spoke immediately. Because what was there to say? His mother had come into this house and spoken about Blue like she was a business problem. And somehow the worst part was that none of it surprised me. Years ago, it would have. Back when I still believed love could soften people like the Blackwoods. Now I understood something much darker. Power only reveals people more clearly. A soft creak sounded upstairs. Blue. Still awake and still listening. I closed my eyes briefly. “She heard everything.” Behind me, Adrian exhaled slowly. “I know.” There it was again. That quiet guilt he carried now like a second skin. I turned around finally. He looked exhausted. Not physically but emotionally

Elara’s Pov The next morning, the cameras were still outside. I saw them before I even opened the curtains fully. Two black SUVs were parked across the street. A reporter standing near the sidewalk pretending not to stare directly at the house. Another car further down with tinted windows that had not moved since dawn. They were waiting. I stood still for a moment, fingers tightening slightly around the edge of the curtain. I had spent years building a quiet life so carefully that sometimes it felt fragile enough to break if people looked too closely. Now strangers were circling it like vultures. Behind me, the floor creaked softly. “You’re watching them again.” I turned. Blue stood near the hallway wearing socks and one of my oversized sweaters, her hair still messy from sleep. She looked smaller lately. Not physically. Emotionally. Children carried stress in strange ways. “I didn’t want you near the windows yet,” I said gently. She walked closer anyway. “Are they