Chapter 4

THURSDAY

“You wanted to talk to me?” Serena plopped into the overstuffed leather chair, studying her nails.

“Yes.” Mr. Craybon gave an irritated sigh. “Honey, I know it’s been a long day, but could you at least give me your full attention?”

She rolled her eyes but obliged.

“Your modeling career is soaring; you’re young, beautiful, and likable. And with even more connections in high places, think of where you’ll go!” He smiled, planted his elbows on the desk, and rested his chin on his folded hands.

Curling her lip in disgust, Serena protested, “You don’t think I can climb the ladder on my own?”

“No, no, that’s not what I mean at all! But a few helping hands and you’ll climb it faster.” He leaned back.

“Well, you saw how that … that deal with Jace Xander turned out,” she spat. Massaging her temples with manicured nails, she closed her eyes.

“You both benefited from that—publicity, an attractive counterpart, and opportunities handed to you. What more could you want?” Mr. Craybon was at a loss.

“Oh, I don’t know, someone who will at least be grateful for what I do for him and not cheat on me?” Serena sat back and folded her arms over her chest. “Look, I don’t even know why we’re having this conversation. I’m quite capable of making friends in high places without your intervention. I have a runway show that I need to prepare for, and that’s going to take up several months. I don’t have time for a relationship, real or fake.”

Her words hung in the air for several tense moments.

“I’m not trying to imply you aren’t a talented, smart woman. But … may I remind you that not too long ago, Adeline Killingsworth could have breezed past you?”

“Shut up! She has never had anything on me!” Serena leaped to her feet. “She never will, and if you think for a moment I’m scared of her ‘surpassing me’, you’re wrong!”

She slapped her hand down on the desk, hard enough to chip a nail, but her father didn’t flinch.

“That may be the case…”

“Is,” she corrected ominously.

“... but it’s always a good idea to stay ahead and take any and all steps towards prevention.”

Serena returned to her seat and, with a huff, collapsed into it. “So what exactly do you have in mind?”

“I’ve been talking with the Hapsburgs about the possibility of a marriage between you and Ryker.”

“Marriage?” Serena.

“That’s normally what happens when people date for a while,” Mr. Craybon responded dryly.

Ryker was attractive. He’d done a little bit of everything from acting to music to modeling to dancing and garnered quite the fan base.

“What would I get out of it besides publicity and a hoard of tween girls sending me death threats?” she asked, considering.

An eager, greedy look filled her father’s eyes. “It’ll sky-rocket your career! You’ll be everywhere, everyone will want to know what your relationship is like. Not only that, our families can help each other’s companies reach new levels and markets. Most importantly, we’ll have a powerful ally.”

“Powerful ally?” Now that was an interesting choice of words. “Planning on starting a war soon?”

“Those things are not for you to worry about,” Mr. Craybon laughed, shaking his head. But he didn’t deny it.

“Whatever.”

Serena rose and stalked out, leaving the door hanging open.

FRIDAY

“You haven’t seen even one that you like?” Naomi Rilsburg gawked.

“No,” Adeline admitted. “I want something...perfect. I need to be in the mood to shop, too.”

And right now, I have other things to be worried about!

“No duh, we all want something perfect.” Naomi tugged her boxer braids, rolling her eyes. “Oh, I know what’ll get you in the mood! Let’s go to Angelica’s Formal Wear.”

If Sebastian were around, Adeline would rather die than go dress shopping. That was a jackpot of unlimited insults and cracks best avoided. She’d told him she wasn’t coming by the compound, as she’d be hanging out with friends. He didn’t need to know anything more.

Jessica scrutinized her from head to toe. “A pink or blue dress would compliment your hair and skin tone. Ooh, I saw this amazing one when I was looking through the website for Angelica’s.”

“My mom wasn’t planning on getting a new dress but I want to buy her one,” Adeline said. “It can be her birthday present.”

They’re not going to let me go, so I might as well make this worth it.

“I can’t wait for this party!” Naomi was all but jumping up and down, green eyes sparkling with child-like excitement. “I hear the Craybons are throwing a huge party to celebrate the release of The Dragon’s Ladder.”

Adeline threw her arms up in exasperation.“I swear, if I hear about that movie one! More! Time! I will do… something destructive.”

Naomi just laughed as she and Jessica entered Angelica’s Formal Wear, for all intents and purposes dragging Adeline between them.

“Welcome to Angelica’s! Is there anything I can help you ladies with?” an attendant greeted them.

“We’re looking right now, but thanks,” Jessica said. “Oh, wow.” Her attention pulled to a mannequin to their right, eyes wide. “Look at that!”

The dress was a deep purple that sparkled in the light, sheer layers of varying lengths forming its skirt.

“I have to try that one on,” she breathed. “Do you have it in a small?”

The attendant--her name tag read Ashley--nodded before disappearing. When she reappeared, an identical dress hung over her arm. “Here you go. The dressing rooms are right over there.” She smiled and pointed toward the back corner.

“Thanks!” Jessica carefully took the garment and scurried away.

“Be back in a second!” Adeline called after her. Then she said to Ashley, “I’m looking for a dress for my mom. Do you have any ocean blue dresses?”

“Ocean blue? There may be one or two in store, but most of these dresses come in different colors,” she said. “Any other specifications?”

Adeline shook her head.

“One moment, please.” A few moments later, Ashley was back with two different dresses. “These are the ones we have currently.”

The first one, a classic ballgown, had a lace bodice embroidered with faux jewels. It was stunning, to say the least, but it would never work. Not for a wheelchair.

What a shame. She sighed.

Without her even having to say anything, Ashley displayed the second dress.

“Adeline, are you coming?” Jessica called.

Several heads swiveled in her direction with startled and reproachful looks. Not that she noticed, as she breezed past, skirt hitched up to her knees.

“You’ll be the death of me,” Naomi groaned, covering her eyes in embarrassment.

Jessica skidded to a halt, releasing the fabric clenched in her fists. “I feel like a princess!”

Adeline couldn’t help but gawk. “Wow! You look like one!”

It was if the dress had been custom made to suit her athletic build and olive skin. The joy in her dark eyes was infectious, and Adeline smiled.

“Fancy running into you guys!”

And like that, Ava squashed the mood.

She sashayed up, smile pasted in place, a group of admirers and suck-ups trailing behind.

“Oh, hey, dress shopping, too?” Naomi asked.

“Yeah.” The corners of her mouth pulled down in confusion. “I just didn’t expect to find Adeline shopping at a place like this with you guys.”

“What is that even supposed to mean?” Adeline turned her back on Ava and rubbed the fabric of the second dress on the counter between her fingers.

“I thought you normally shopped at the high-end places with people more of your, uh, status.” There was that pretend innocence again.

I may enjoy shopping, but don’t think I’m buying that.

Naomi clenched her jaw, eyes narrowing. Unlike most students at Xavier Academy for Elites, she wasn’t there because of money. Her parents could never afford tuition. The only reason she was there was due to a scholarship she’d earned with her own hard work. But that didn’t matter to kids who tried only to gain things from others. Naomi didn’t have anything they wanted, so she was often the outcast and target of their bullying.

“I’m not sure who told you that.” Adeline laughed. “I don’t judge things by money; that’s pointless. I didn’t work hard to get this money, my parents did. So for me to act like I’m better than someone who has less than me... well, that’d be stupid. And besides, Serena and I used to hang out all the time.”

Ava’s right eye twitched as she shrugged and laughed. “That’s what I thought. I feel the same way.”

Of course you do.

“Naomi, Jessica, what do you think of this dress?” Adeline held it up, its skirt unfurling towards the ground. The bodice of the dress was a deep ocean blue, cinched in at the waist by a band of silver. The skirt faded out to white at the bottom.

“For your mother?” Naomi queried. “It’ll be perfect! The color will bring out her eyes.”

Jessica nodded, still enraptured with her own.

“Karie? Lillian? What do you guys think?” Adeline addressed the girls behind Ava.

“It’s a little simple, but definitely classy,” Karie said.

“You should get it, for sure!” Ava’s smile reminded Adeline of Mrs. Reich’s. “We’ve got a couple places we want to visit before we go to the movies, so we better be going!”

“Bye!” That was Lillian.

“See you!” Karie waved.

Ava, strangely, didn’t say anything at all, exiting without looking back.

At least she didn’t say anything about the documentary.

“I’m getting this one!” Jessica squealed and pulled Naomi into a tight hug.

“And I’ll take this dress, but could I get it shortened an inch or two?” Adeline asked Ashley. The last thing she wanted was the dress to get ripped on the wheelchair or anything like that.

“Yes, ma’am.”

While Adeline and Jessica made their purchases, Naomi wandered around the store. She snapped pictures of the dresses that caught her eye, most likely to show her mother to get her opinion.

“You’ll get a call when the alteration is finished, but it should only take a day or two,” Ashley said, handing Adeline her receipt.

“Thank you.”

“I can’t get over how beautiful my dress is!” Jessica clutched the bag to her chest.

Adeline smiled. “You look amazing in it! And you guys can come over to my house a couple of hours before so we can do makeup and hair. It’ll be so much fun!”

“I can’t wait two weeks; we should do a girl’s night out or something before then.” She started planning out loud, but Adeline wasn’t paying attention.

A familiar figure was striding by the store—it was Sebastian as casually stylish as ever, black jeans and unzipped jacket paired with red high tops and headphones around his neck. He didn’t even glance in her direction.

What’s he doing here? She frowned.

Another guy and a girl were with him. Both were average height with blonde hair, wearing nondescript clothes. Their movements were fluid and powerful.

They seem like the bodyguard type to me. Sebastian is overseeing the investigation about the leak at Killingsworth Tech. Do these two have something to do with that?

“Whatcha looking at? You zoned out on that hot guy who walked by,” Jessica teased, elbowing her.

“What? No!” Adeline protested, elbowing her back.

“Yeah, you totally did.”

“I zoned out, but not because I was drooling over some random guy!” Adeline tried to elbow her again, but Jessica blocked her.

“No need to get defensive over your feminine tendencies.” She laughed.

Adeline snorted, knowing her friend would remain unconvinced. “Whatever. Has Naomi picked one yet?”

“I’ve got it narrowed down to three, but I’m going to come back with my mom for some bonding time. Not that you guys aren’t great and all,” Naomi said, coming up beside them.

“We can head home now, right?” she asked, hopeful.

“Aren’t you going to get anything, though?”

“I still don’t have any idea what I want,” Adeline admitted.

“That’s why we’re at a dress shop!” Naomi rubbed her eyes, exasperated.

“Or are you too good for this place?” Jessica said in a high-pitched voice, wiggling her eyebrows.

Laughing, Adeline gave her a playful shove. “Please don’t do that, it’s creepy.”

“No, but seriously, I can’t believe she’d say something like that. Who does she think she is, trying to throw shade?”

“Uh, Ava Craybon?”

“Forget about her; we have to find Addy a dress,” Naomi cut in.

No, no we don’t!

“Yeah, but not here, ’cause Addy’s too good for this place,” Jessica repeated, linking arms with Adeline and pulling her out the door.

“Where are we going, then?” Adeline asked. “There’s nothing wrong with this store.”

“I want to see the dresses at Louise’s, so that’s where we’re going.”

“And milkshakes!” Naomi added.

Adeline sighed.

***

“I’m back, Mom!” Adeline called as she walked in the front door. “Jess and Naomi made—uh, helped—me pick out a dress, but I’m not going to show you because I want it to be a surprise!”

“I can’t wait!” Her mother’s voice came from the dining room.

“I’m going to go put it away now.”

“Okay, honey.”

After Adeline had tucked the dress away in the back of her closet, she called Sebastian.

″ ’Sup, dog?” he drawled. “Anything exciting? Oh, wait, that’s right—you don’t have a life.”

“That’s so 1600s, I’m suffering from second-hand embarrassment,” she remarked dryly. “Anyway, what should I know?”

“Tri-Shadows’ leader wants to meet with us, one of the biggest parties yet is being thrown to celebrate The Dragon’s Ladder’s release this Wednesday, and the Montcroix family opened that store I told you about several months ago. As for the leak in your company, we haven’t had much success in that area. But we’d expect him or her to cover their tracks well,” he finished.

“Tri-Shadows, huh?” That was a smaller underworld organization that wielded a bit of power, considering. Adeline brushed the pink curtains hiding her window seat to the side. She sat down, curling her legs under her. “An alliance with them could prove to be useful.”

“I know! Will and Jazz are currently working on the details.”

Adeline nibbled at her nails. “Anything else? Will texted me earlier about another arms deal.”

“Oh, yeah. This one’s not a big one, just another rich man looking for weapons to arm his thugs with.” Sebastian yawned. “Other than that, things have been kind of slow.”

Adeline yawned. “You got me doing it, too.”

“Peer pressure isn’t an excuse, Adeline.”

“Neither is stupidity, Sebastian.”

“And your point is...?”

“I saw you in the mall today,” she said abruptly.

“Where were you? I didn’t see you.” Now he sounded interested.

“With my friends, like I told you. Who were those two with you?” she asked. “I’ve never seen them before.”

“Old friends of mine.” He paused. “I guess I better get back to work. Some of us around here actually earn our paychecks. We don’t all have rich parents.”

Adeline laughed. “True. See you tomorrow.”

“Stay safe, try not to do anything stupid,” Sebastian admonished before hanging up.

She tossed her phone from hand to hand, gazing out at the front drive. Tri-Shadows could be a big help when it comes to the Craybons. I’ve heard a lot about them, but haven’t met anyone working for them. They must be looking for more connections here.

Adeline retrieved her laptop from the nightstand and returned to the window seat, setting it on her crossed legs. She chewed her lip while she waited for it to boot up. With an hour or so until dinner, she was going to do a little more research.

She typed in the password and clicked on the e-mail notification that popped up. The most recent e-mail contained a rundown on Tri-Shadows. Adeline clicked download.

“Bless you, Domino!”

About thirty minutes later, she’d read through the whole thing. As she had thought, they had few connections in the city, explaining their desire for an alliance. They hired out hackers, hit-men, and even bodyguards. But there was no doubt in Adeline’s mind about involvement in some far shadier things.

“Not that I’m one to talk,” she muttered.

Her eyes were dry from staring at the computer screen for so long, so she put eye drops in before heading downstairs. An unfamiliar voice reached her ears, coming from the lounge.

Adeline peeked into the dining room. “Hey, Mom, who’s here?”

Her mother looked up from folding napkins. “One of Jacob’s friends, Newton.”

“I don’t think I’ve met him.”

“Me either, but he seems nice.” Mrs. Killingsworth smiled. “Why don’t you go ask him if he’ll be staying for dinner?”

“Okay.” Adeline combed through her hair with her fingers and tried to pat down stray hairs as she walked away and crossed the foyer. No reason to look like she’d spent two nights in a running washing machine.

She slowed at the end of the hallway, right before the lounge. Since she couldn’t see anyone, Jacob and Newton were most likely sitting on the couches on the right. They were arguing about if putting glaze on a bagel made it a doughnut.

What?!

“Sorry to interrupt this, uh, ‘important discussion’. Mom said to ask your friend if he's staying for dinner,” Adeline said, entering the room.

“He’s staying,” Jacob affirmed. “Adeline, this is my friend, Newton; Newton, this is my sister.”

Newton looked to be around twenty, with hazel eyes and golden hair styled in a faux hawk. He’d apparently come from work because he was wearing a suit. Standing to his feet, he stuck out his hand for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you; Jacob’s always talking about you.” He smiled.

“Nice to meet you, too,” was all she could think to say. Wealthy, arrogant businessmen? Adeline could handle that. Brutal training session? Doable. Black market deals? Business as usual. Cute guys? Nope. “Well, I’ll leave before I embarrass Jacob.”

It was only a matter of time, after all.

And she needed to stay focused.