< CHAPTER 026
46
ADRIAN’S POV
Inside the spacious om, I moved closer, my steps slow and hesitant. My mother sat
by the window, her back slightly hunched, shoulders trembling. The dim light from outside cast a soft glow on her figure, highlighting the way she clutched our family photo to her chest.
I knelt beside her, my heart pounding. “Mom, talk to me.”
She didn’t react immediately, only tightening her grip on the photo. The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. Then, finally, in a voice so quiet it barely reached me, she whispered, “They took everything from us.”
Confusion knitted my brows. “Who?” I asked, searching her face for answers.
She didn’t reply. Instead, her hand moved, slowly reaching for something beneath the folds of her dress. I watched in growing dread as she pulled out a cold, metallic object. The moment I realized what it was, my breath caught in my throat.
A gun.
I jerked back, my body tensing. “Mom?” My voice barely came out. “What are you doing with that?”
She stared at the weapon in her hands as if mesmerized, her fingers tracing over the barrel. Her breaths came out shaky, uneven.
“How could I ever recover from this?” she murmured to herself as if I weren’t even there. “I… I can’t.”
Panic surged through me. My hands clenched at my sides, my mind racing for a way to stop this.
“Why are you talking like this, Mom? Put the gun down so we can talk, okay?” I kept my voice as calm as possible, even though my heart felt like it was going to rip through my chest.
But she didn’t seem to hear me. She flicked off the safety, and the soft click sent a jolt of terror through my spine.
“Jack!” I yelled, my voice desperate. I needed our butler, anyone, to come and help. My mother lifted the gun, pressing the cold barrel against her temple.
I swallowed, forcing my body to move toward her. “Mom, if this is some kind of joke, it‘ s not funny,” I said, trying to mask my fear.
At last, she looked at me. Her eyes, usually so full of warmth, were drowning in sorrow, Tears streamed down her face, but she smiled–a small, broken smile that shattered
A horrifying realization hit me. She wasn’t coming back from this.
“Mom, wai…”
BANG.
The gunshot echoed in the room, deafening. The sound slammed into me like a physical blow, and my whole body froze.
For a moment, everything stopped. My cars rang. My mind refused to process what had just happened.
I watched, paralyzed, as the gun slipped from her fingers, clattering to the floor. Her body slumped, her head tilting lifelessly to the side.
A strangled breath left my lips.
This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real..
My mother–my only family–was gone.
“Mom?” My voice cracked as I reached for her, grabbing her cold, lifeless hands. They didn’t squeeze back.
I stared into her now–empty eyes, the warmth draining from them as blood seeped
in
from the wo her head.
“No, no, no,” I whispered, shaking her gently. “Mom, wake up.”
She didn’t move.
My chest felt like it was caving in. My throat burned, but no sound came out except ragged gasps. Tears blurred my vision, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her face.
Footsteps thundered down the hall, and the door burst open.
“Madam!” Jack, our butler, rushed in, his face pale. His eyes flickered to the gun on the floor, then to my trembling hands still holding my mother..
Then he looked at me.
“What did you do?” he whispered, horror flashing in his eyes.
I whipped my head toward him, rage surging through my veins. “What did I do?” My voice was sharp and dangerous. “I called for you! I yelled for you to come help, but you weren’t there!”
Realization dawned in his eyes. His lips parted slightly as he took a cautious step forward. “Sir, I…I swear, this wasn’t my fault. Your mother dismissed all of us today. She sent us away. We were only following her orders.”
His words barely registered. I couldn’t process anything beyond the lifeless body in front of me.
“Why?” My voice was barely a whisper now. “Why would she do this to me?”
Jack didn’t have an answer.
20
CHAPTER 026
His hands fumbled for his phone, and he quickly dialed for emergency services. But what could they do? What could anyone do? It was already too late.
Minutes passed in a blur. The sound of sirens filled the air, followed by hurried. footsteps. EMTs rushed into the room. I barely noticed them. My hands were still clutching my mother’s as they tried to pull me away.
“Sir, please…”
“Let me go!” I struggled, my heart pounding erratically.
A strong grip held me back as they reached for my mother. My muscles tensed, but I was powerless against them. I could only watch as they placed her in a cadaver pouch.
The zipper closed.
Just like that, she was gone.
My legs buckled, and I sank to the floor, my fingers digging into the carpet. A suffocating emptiness swallowed me whole as tears flooded down my cheeks.
Then a familiar voice cut through the haze.
“Adrian.”
I lifted my head slowly. Standing before me was our family’s private investigator. His expression was grim, his presence solid and unwavering.
He crouched beside me, placing a firm hand on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said quietly.
The words didn’t feel real. Nothing did,
He hesitated before speaking again. “I’m going to do my best to find out what happened…what made her do this.”
His voice held certainty. A promise,
I swallowed the lump in my throat, using the back of my hands to clean off the tears. Something had driven her to this. Something had shattered my mother so completely that she saw no way out.
And I needed to know what it was.
