Chapter 3

Adeline collapsed onto the back seat of the vehicle, muscles aching and stomach grumbling. Normally when it came to training, it wasn’t that brutal, but Sebastian had never been one to let her off easy.

“Curse the day you were born, Sebastian Kason Brandover,” she groaned as she tried, unsuccessfully, to hold her water bottle still as she took a drink and Ivy started driving, resulting in a spattering of wet spots on her dress.

“Don’t be so dramatic.” He lowered the back of his seat, legs resting on the back of the passenger seat. “It can’t be that bad. I feel rather well-rested myself.”

“Of course you do! You didn’t do anything!”

“You don’t think I got this good-looking body by sitting around, do you? Because if you do, you probably still think your parents found you in a cabbage patch.”

“Oh, ha ha. Is it just me, or have you gotten dumber?” She glared at him over the top of the water bottle as she took a swig.

“It’s just you.”

Adeline rolled her eyes, deciding to let it go, and looked out the window.

“Here.”

Something hit her in the side of the head and she tensed, muscles screaming in protest.

“Ouch!” she yelped.

“There is no way that hurt,” Sebastian said, bringing the back of the seat to a sitting position as he did so. “It’s a Twinkie.”

“Shut up!”

“Don’t make me take that back,” he warned ominously, making the “my-eyes-are-upon-your-wretched-soul” gesture and declining the back of the seat again until his face was out of view.

Adeline ripped the plastic wrapper off and ate half of the Twinkie in one bite.

“They’re making these things smaller and smaller,” she said around the mouthful, contemptuously tossing the wrapper to the side. It didn’t go very far at all, and, frowning, she flicked it away.

“Or maybe you’re just getting bigger. And chew with your mouth closed—you’re getting crumbs all over my nice car!”

She glared at him as she placed the rest of the Twinkie in her mouth, not bothering to remind him that this was technically her car.

This is like heaven in its most non-nutritional form.

When they had passed through the city and were about a mile from her house, Adeline told Ivy to stop.

“I’ll walk the rest of the way home.”

Sebastian popped up. “That doesn’t sound like a good idea.”

“I really need to stretch my legs out or I’ll be in pain all day tomorrow,” she said. “And besides, the last thing I need is Jacob seeing me with people he hardly knows.”

“He knows me.” Sebastian frowned.

“Not well, he doesn’t.” She opened the car door, stepped out, and grabbed her backpack.

“I’m not letting you walk home by yourself.” Sebastian tried to open the door with his foot while bringing the seat back to a sitting position. He half-fell, half-rolled out of the vehicle and to his feet. “Ahem.” Clearing his throat, he straightened his jacket. “I totally meant to do all of that, by the way.”

“It’s fine! I need some time to myself to think over some things.”

“But you could get home late, and then what will Jacob think?” he asked, concerned.

“Certainly not that I’ve been selling black market weapons and training so I can beat someone in a fight.”

“Which you still can’t, by the way,” he threw in.

“There’s a car coming; you guys are blocking the road. See you tomorrow!” Adeline shut the car door and walked onto the sidewalk.

Sebastian sighed. “Fine, whatever.” Then he smiled. “Stay safe, Addy.”

“It’s my middle name!” she called.

“Um, no it’s not, it’s Kaizyle.”

What was my mother thinking when she named me?!

Sebastian and Ivy drove by, followed closely by another car.

Adeline yawned, trudging, towards home. The day had been so busy she still hadn’t had much time to process anything; though, the very thought of having to face Ava and her squad tomorrow at school made her stomach turn. Not that she was scared of them, but it was hard to keep her anger--and sanity--in check with someone like her around.

There was a slight breeze that caressed her sun-warmed face, and she took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet-smelling air.

Less than an hour later, Adeline was skirting around the back of the Killingsworth property. From the swath of trees several hundred feet from the back garden and pool, she could tell the lights in the back foyer and hallway were off. She started walking again, following the curve of the woods up around the right side. Here, the ornamental pines formed a wall of greenery that would hide her from the view of all but the windows on the top two stories. Since they were spare bedrooms that had been cleaned yesterday, there wasn’t that big of a chance that someone was in them.

Adeline slipped around the edge and hurried down the cobblestone path, past the side entrance that led to the kitchen. Weaving through the patio and pool furniture, she arrived at the back entrance. Slowly, she pulled the door open and stepped inside.

The spacious room was deserted.

“You know you can just walk in the front door like a normal person.”

Adeline jumped. Apparently not so deserted.

“Oh, hi, Jacob.” She smiled, fighting the instinct to hide her backpack.

“Where have you been all day?” Jacob flipped the lights on.

“The usual--hanging with friends.” She shrugged, set the backpack down, and unzipped and removed her high heels. “I really need a shower.”

“After all of that crawling around in the woods? I bet.” Even though he was grinning and seemed relaxed, a bit of suspicion lingered in his eyes. “But seriously, what were you doing?”

Adeline mentally kicked herself for being so stupid. “I was with friends, and I’m late getting home. I didn’t want Mom to notice.”

That was the truth. And Mom would be in the sitting room in her favorite spot by the window, where she could see the entire front of the lawn.

“I don’t know how she couldn’t—forest flora and fauna isn’t usually hot pink. I saw you right away, knew exactly what you were going to do.” He cocked his head to the side. “Granted, I was looking for you.”

“Like I didn’t know about the times you snuck out?” Adeline folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. “And why were you looking for me anyway?”

“First, I was much better at it than you, and I can actually take care of myself.”

Adeline was offended. Oh, please! You have no idea!

“Ah, ah, ah!” He held up a finger to stop her from retorting. “Secondly, Mom was worrying about you. Lastly, just come in the front door next time,” he sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Believe me, I will.” She frowned and plucked a twig out of her hair.

Jacob laid his hand on her shoulder as she walked by, stopping her. “And next time you go somewhere, let me or your mother know so she doesn’t worry about you.”

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. “Okay, Mother Jacob.”

“Shut up! You’re such an idiot.” He playfully shoved her.

She whirled around, heels clasped in one hand, the other pointing an accusing finger at him. “Child abuse!”

“Go get your stupid shower! I’ve got some work I have to finish up.” There he was, smiling again, eyes saying something wasn’t right. But this time, Adeline didn’t think it had anything to do with her.

She stuck her tongue out and scampered off, surprised that Jacob didn’t hurl an insult or warning after her.

It bugged her all through her shower to the point where she didn’t even notice how hot the water was or the fact that she used body wash as shampoo.

She pondered over it as she wrapped up in a towel and blow-dried her hair.

Is the documentary bothering him? Or is there something going on with the company, just like I’ve been suspecting? But if there is something wrong with Killingsworth Tech, our assets, or stock… wouldn’t Will or Sebastian have told me? Maybe he finally got himself a girlfriend, and he doesn’t know how to tell me.

Now, that brought a million other questions that she shoved away for the time being. Dinner was in fifteen minutes, and family dinner was something her mother was firm on.

Adeline stepped into the loose T-shirt dress and fixed her hair into a messy bun, finishing it up with the rose-gold dog tag engraved with her name—a gift from Jacob.

She checked in her closet for a pair of slippers she could have sworn were there yesterday but must have grown legs and sneaked off. The next place to look was her bed. Too lazy to get a flashlight, she had crawled halfway under when her phone chirped, startling her.

Adeline squirmed out and pounced on her bed, grabbing the phone that lay in the middle.

Go check the news ;D

She got off the bed and retrieved her laptop from inside the backpack.

“ ‘The news’ is very vague, Sebastian,” she muttered. “Whatever.”

There, right in the lower corner of her screen was a news alert--Senator Westford Exposed!

She clicked on it, chewing a fingernail while she waited for the story to load.

Just an hour ago, incriminating photos and videos were leaked to the public. The source is still unknown, but it remains abundantly evident that beloved Senator Westford has, indeed, been accepting bribes, profiting from the sale of illegal drugs, and had multiple affairs with various women employed in his service.

Adeline couldn’t read any more. This man truly sickened her.

What a disgusting pig!

She called Sebastian, who answered on the fifth ring.

“Yeah?” He sounded bored.

“I didn’t expect you to release all of that this quickly,” she said.

“Me either, but the more the team and I looked into it, the more we found, and the more disgusted I became. We weren’t waiting for a specific time or anything, were we?”

“No.”

“I figured we can let the FBI handle it from here.” He yawned.

“One of these days we ought to just let them earn their paycheck…” Adeline glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand. Two minutes until dinner.

“Yeah, but this is too much fun!” Sebastian argued.

“Agreed,” Adeline drug out the word. “I have to run, or I’ll be late for dinner, so talk to you later.”

“It’ll do--”

Adeline ended the call before he could finish his sentence with “you good.”

*******************************

“Hey, Addy, I need you for a minute,” Jacob called.

It was about a half-hour after dinner, and Adeline was going to watch some TV with her mother. She paused, halfway to the sitting room. “Sure.” Then, to her mother, “I’ll be back in a second, Jacob needs me.”

She joined her brother in the room they’d labeled the “lounge,” where she’d eaten breakfast just this morning. Jacob was pacing up and down the gray wood-patterned tiles. It instantly made her anxious, and she perched on the edge of a white couch.

“The Craybons have bought out several smaller tech companies.”

Adeline frowned. “We’re one of the top tech companies in the world; how does that affect us?”

“It doesn’t much right now, except the fact that they bought one we’d been considering for a little while. Abilities and Tech--it does relatively well, but they were struggling internally from poor leadership and management. Without any clear direction, poor advertising, and a less-than-desirable work environment, the future didn’t look very good. There was no way the company would last.” Jacob paused, the last of the evening sun throwing shadows across his face. “We had talked about buying it, and things were moving slowly in that direction. We had to get all of the owners on board, which was certainly easier said than done.”

“And then the Craybons came along and took it out from under our noses!” Adeline finished, fuming. Abilities and Tech’s newest laptop had been all the rage--slim and compact with a boatload of storage and processing power and much, much more.

“Exactly. I’m not sure how much more they paid than our initial offer…” He sighed, coming to a stop in front of one of the windows, staring out at the glowing city in the distance.

“I’m assuming there’s more for you to be telling me this?” Adeline dreaded his answer.

“Yes. The Craybons and Hapsburgs seem to have gotten rather friendly. While the Hapsburgs aren’t directly in competition with us, their extensive reach with advertising could be damaging. If one brand were to be promoted over another, eventually people would start buying the one that’s more advertised,” he explained.

Adeline went to stand by Jacob, wrapping her arm around his waist and leaning into him.

“Killingsworth tech is some of the best, most advanced tech out there; Mom’s clothing line is timeless and classy, and that’s not even scratching the surface of everything we’ve got our fingers in,” she soothed.

He grunted. “But for how long? A design for a new laptop we were going to be releasing soon somehow got leaked. We still don’t know how, and the only reason we know it happened was because Abilities and Tech released it a few days ago!”

Adeline gasped. “So now, if you release it, everyone will think we’re copying them! That’s not right! If I could get my hands on those filthy rotten pieces of--”

“Please stop.” Jacob finally returned her hug in an effort to calm her. “We’ll just modify what we have, see what legal action we can take, and find out how the info got leaked to stop it from happening again.”

“Can’t you sue or…or something?”

He sighed. “The Craybons just took over Abilities and Tech. They can easily claim they had no idea, and besides, they’ve already profited mightily off of it thanks to the excessive marketing it’s gotten from the Hapsburgs.”

“What else are the Craybons doing to mess with our stuff?” she growled.

“Let me worry about that, Addy. You need to focus on finishing school and getting into a good college,” he said into her hair.

Ugh! I’m not a little kid anymore! I can handle this stuff! She nodded. “Promise me you’ll tell me if anything else happens?”

Jacob sighed.

“Promise?” Adeline asked softer, his familiar smell and heartbeat gradually calming her.

“I promise,” he said at last.

They stood like that for a moment longer before Adeline broke away.

“I-I’m going to go bed now.”

“Okay.” Jacob nodded, watching her leave with worried eyes.

At the door, Adeline turned back around. “You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?

”

“What?” He was caught off-guard by the question, obviously surprised. “No, but if I did, you’d be one of the first to know.”

She studied him, confused by the look that had flashed over his face just now. Like he was telling her the truth, but leaving something out. “I better be the first to know, Jacob.”

“And I better meet him first, Adeline,” he teased. “That better not be why you’re sneaking around.”

She spun on her heel and left, laughing inwardly. Ha! Me, a boyfriend? I'm such a nervous wreck any time I'm around a crush that we'd never get to that stage. I'd look like an idiot...

But the momentary happiness dissipated at the fact that her brother still wasn’t telling her everything. And if that wasn’t enough, the Craybons weren’t satisfied with everything they’d done so far. It was clear to her they wanted to obliterate her family until they were nobodies. Maybe even ...dead.

Like my father.

She felt nauseous. Grief, anger, fear, and sadness all sweeping over her in a sudden wave, she swerved away from the sitting room. Her mother would just be yet another reminder of what the Craybons had done.

God, help me, Adeline prayed as she climbed the stairs, even though it seemed like He never listened to her. A lot of good God had done her so far.

She slammed her bedroom door behind her and crawled onto the bed. The fluffy pink comforter was warm and soft, and Adeline lay there, staring at the familiar patterns on the ceiling and not thinking about anything in particular. She didn’t bother changing or doing her nightly routine of face washing and teeth brushing.

At some point, she drifted off into a restless sleep for a few hours.

Three. It was three when she woke up, eyes and throat swollen from silently crying in her sleep.

I am so pathetic. Pull it together, Addy.

Adeline stretched out on her side, blinking rapidly until her vision became a little bit clearer. Then she sat up and looked around for her phone. It was only a few inches away, nestled in a fold of the blanket.

Squinting in the blinding glare of her phone screen, she clicked on her contacts and made a call. On the tenth ring, somebody answered.

“Uh? Who...mph...calling at....night?” the person mumbled incoherently.

“Hi, Sebastian. It’s Adeline.”

“I think (incoherent muttering) wrong numba (more incoherent mutterings).”

“No, it’s Adeline.”She patiently waited for him to wake up fully.

“You woke me up! You better have a good reason,” he growled several seconds later, voice still hoarse from sleep.

“I...I do.” I just don’t know how to put it into words.

“Are you confessing your love for me?” Sebastian asked slyly. “Because I’m listening.”

“No, blockhead!”

“Did Ava or Serena drop over dead, then?” Now he sounded mischievous.

Adeline swallowed. “No, but there is a lot going on with the Killingworth Group.” She quickly filled him in on everything Jacob had told her, including the fact that he claimed he didn’t have a girlfriend, but…

“That’s not good,” Sebastian said, concerned. “All of it. Though if I had to guess, Jacob’s advisors or strategists or whatever they call themselves probably are suggesting a marriage.”

“Marriage?! Okay, that’s a huge leap!”

“Hear me out--you of all people should know how the rich and powerful work. Jacob is young and eligible with the looks, money, and business smarts. Now all he needs is the daughter of another well-to-do group or company—say Charlotte Montcroix, Harper Hapsburg, Kenya Rhodenburg, Felicia Blanc—and the Killingsworths have it made. Then, to secure that, you just have to find yourself someone powerful, too.” He paused for a moment. “Though, it might be harder for you because you have neither the looks, the money, or the smarts.”

“Jacob would never agree that!” Adeline argued, ignoring his last remark. “And besides, he doesn’t need to! We’re still doing extremely well.”

“Don’t yell at me, I didn’t wake you up.” He sounded bored now and a little offended.

Adeline took a moment to collect her thoughts. “I’m sorry, I just had no idea…”

“It’s okay, really. If you ever need someone to talk to…” Sebastian trailed off and cleared his throat.

Warmth filled her chest. I’m so lucky to have someone like Sebastian. “Thanks. Um, I guess I’ll let you sleep...WAIT!”

“Ahh! Give me some warning before you scream into the phone, will ya?!” he asked indignantly.

“YOU KNEW ALL OF THAT ALREADY, DIDN’T YOU? AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME!”

Silence.

“Sebastian, answer the question,” she coaxed sweetly with the I-promise-I-won’t-get-angry-but-I’m-definitely-going-to-when-you-do-answer tone.

“It’s a trap!”

“SEBASTIAN!” she yelled.

“I’m sorry.” He sighed. “Yes, William and I found out less than a week ago, but we didn’t think we should be the ones to tell you. It wasn’t our place.”

Adeline flopped back onto the pillows. “I know, it’s just…”

“You’re tired of Jacob treating you like a little kid.” Sometimes, Sebastian’s perceptiveness was a little too on point.

“I...I guess.”

“Addy, I don’t think of you as a little kid. I never have. But I’m also not your older brother. If Will or I discover something that pertains to you while poking around, we’re going to tell you, but…”

“No, no, I know what you’re saying.”

They were both quiet for a few moments.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then?” Sebastian ventured.

“Yeah. Sorry for waking you up.”

“It’s not a big deal,” he said through a yawn.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Adeline let the phone drop and rolled onto her side.

I’m tired of things happening and not being able to do anything about it. I’m a Killingsworth, and you don’t mess with us.

The Craybons were going to regret the day they ever thought they could harm Adeline’s family and get away with it.