Chapter 136: ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX

NICHOLAS’S POV

I expected Adrian to be home long before he finally returned.

The other three had already settled into the sitting room, but I kept checking the time and looking toward the entrance whenever I heard a vehicle outside.

He had gone to the company hours ago for what was supposed to be a board meeting, and there was no reason for it to be taking this long unless something had happened. I tried to ignore the unease I felt, but after another half hour passed, I picked up my phone and called him.

He answered after a few rings, his voice slightly muffled by the noise around him. "Nicholas?"

"You’re still not home," I said, sitting up from the sofa. "What happened? You said you were going to the company for a meeting, and that was hours ago."

"I know. The meeting took longer than I expected. There were several things that needed to be dealt with before I could leave, and I had to make some decisions about the company while I was there."

I frowned. "Are you still at the company?"

He paused. "No, I’m on my way back now. Why?"

"Because you were taking too long." There was a pause, and I immediately regretted saying it like that.

Adrian’s voice softened with amusement. "Were you waiting for me?"

I looked toward the other brothers and lowered my voice even though they were too far away to hear properly. "You weren’t answering, and I wanted to know if something happened."

He hummed. "Nothing happened. I’m fine, and I’ll be home soon. You don’t have to worry about me sitting in a boardroom for a few extra hours."

"I wasn’t worried about you sitting in a boardroom."

"Then what were you worried about?" He teased.

I didn’t answer immediately, and I could practically hear the smile in his voice. "Nicholas?"

"I just wanted to know where you were. That’s all."

"Alright. I’m coming home." He chuckled slightly.

"Good." I replied with a clip tone.

"I’ll see you soon."

I ended the call and put my phone away, relieved that he was fine.

That put me at ease.

By the time Adrian walked through the front door, we were all already waiting for him in the sitting room. He removed his jacket as he walked in, loosened his tie, and dropped into one of the chairs with exhaustion written across his face.

Cassian was the first to ask about the meeting. "So what happened with the board? Did they actually try to discuss handing the company over to somebody else?"

Adrian leaned back and rubbed his forehead. "They considered it. Some of them argued that because I hadn’t shown much interest in the company before now, the board should consider selling it to people willing to take responsibility for it. Others were more concerned about keeping their positions and protecting the existing projects. None of them seemed particularly interested in what I wanted to do until I made it clear that I intended to take control myself."

"Good, did they accept that? I’m guessing there were complications, yes?" Roman asked from the dining room.

"They didn’t have much choice after I made my position clear. I’m going to head the company, but I’m not keeping it the way Father left it. Most of the current projects are being terminated, the structure is changing, and I’m going through the employees and executives properly. Anyone connected to corruption or willing to continue the way things were done before will be removed."

Elijah looked toward him. "That’s going to cause chaos."

"It already has." Adrian admitted.

Roman appeared from the kitchen carrying the first dishes. "Then you can tell us everything while we eat. I literally just finished this food and I don’t want it to get cold."

We moved into the dining room and settled around the table. Roman had prepared enough food for all of us, and once everyone had something on their plates, the conversation continued.

Cassian rested his arms against the table. "If you’re taking over the company, are you keeping the Blackthorne name?"

"No."

That answer made everyone look at him and Adrian continued eating before explaining, "I’ve decided to change it completely. I don’t want our surname attached to the company anymore. Whatever I build from this point forward shouldn’t carry Father’s name simply because he created it first. I’ll choose something more general and establish it as a separate identity."

Roman nodded as he served himself. "That will make the transition cleaner. People will still know it’s the same company, but eventually they’ll stop associating it with everything that happened under Father."

"That’s what I want."

The discussion gradually moved toward what each of us would do once the company was settled.

Elijah was the first to bring up school. He explained that he intended to return and finish what he had started, and when he said he wanted me to return with him, I immediately reminded him of the problem. Omegas weren’t accepted there. That rule was the reason I had been kept away in the first place, and I didn’t see how simply deciding to return would change anything.

Adrian listened before telling me that the rule would be dealt with. Roman agreed that it was something they could challenge, and Elijah said he would return with me rather than leave me behind.

I looked around the table. "You really think they’ll let me go back after everything? The school has always been clear about Omegas. It isn’t just some policy that the staff can ignore because we ask them to."

"We know," Adrian said. "That’s why we’ll handle it ourselves. You shouldn’t have to give up your education because of a rule that was never fair to begin with."

I lowered my eyes to my plate, letting that linger in my mind.

Roman then explained that he would help Adrian with the company affairs, especially the financial and administrative side while the restructuring was happening. There would be too much work for Adrian to handle alone, particularly with the number of people who would need to be replaced and the projects being cancelled.

Cassian, meanwhile, admitted that he didn’t have anything important waiting for him once the others had settled into their plans. He said he would figure something out as time went on rather than force himself into something simply because everyone else had a direction.

The rest of dinner passed with more random discussions about the company, school, and what needed to happen next.

After dinner, I went upstairs and returned to my room. I sat on the edge of my bed, took out my phone, and was about to put it on the table when a new message appeared.

It was from the unknown person who had given me information about my biological father. "Are you satisfied now?"

I stared at the message for a long moment before typing my answer. "No."

Far from it. I wasn’t happy yet.

The response came soon after. "Why?"

I looked down at the screen, thinking about everything that had happened over the past few weeks. My father’s death had been exposed. Blackthorne was dead. The people responsible for so much of what had happened to me were being dealt with. The company was changing hands, and I was finally being given the chance to return to school.

But there was still something that hadn’t changed.

I typed slowly. "Until the rule binding Omegas under Alphas is changed, I’m not satisfied."