Chapter 99: #NINETY-NINE

NICHOLAS’S POV

The moment Adrian ended the call with the security officers, my phone started ringing.

I looked down at the screen and immediately recognized the name.

Dad.

I didn’t answer. I simply turned the phone around so the others could see it.

Roman’s expression changed first. "Don’t pick that up. Whatever he wants can wait for now."

Right.

"I wasn’t going to," I said, watching the phone continue vibrating in my hand.

Adrian reached over and took it from me. He looked at the screen for a few seconds before placing it face down on the table. "He can call as many times as he wants. We’re not speaking to him until we’re ready."

The phone stopped and less than ten seconds later, it started again.

Cassian stared at it with a frown. "He’s persistent."

"That’s why we’re not giving him an opening," Adrian replied, picking up the phone and walking toward the other side of the room. "I’ll keep it somewhere he can’t reach you directly."

He eventually placed it inside one of the drawers and closed it.

I watched him return to the couch. "You’re really not going to answer him?"

"No," Adrian said firmly. "Not right now."

Elijah was already pacing around the room. "He knows something is happening. There’s no way he keeps calling this many times without realizing we’ve stopped answering."

"Let him wonder," Roman replied.

Adrian sat down and looked at the others. "I’ve already had someone watching his movements."

I looked at him. "You did what?"

"I hired someone to keep an eye on him without letting him know," Adrian explained. "I needed to know where he was going, who he was meeting and whether he was making any moves after we left. If he contacts anyone connected to Jayden or tries to leave the city, we’ll know."

Cassian nodded slowly. "That’s probably the smartest thing we’ve done so far."

Nobody answered after that and the room became quiet.

I looked at each of them.

Then I wondered if I should tell them what happened between me and their father. Every time I had come close to telling them, I had stopped because I didn’t know what would happen afterward. I didn’t want another argument and I was still ashamed about everything.

But now everything had already fallen apart.

I swallowed. "I need to tell you something."

All four of them looked toward me and Adrian immediately straightened. "What is it?"

I hesitated.

I had rehearsed the words in my head so many times that they should have been easy by now, but actually saying them felt completely different. My fingers tightened around each other as I stared at the floor. "I’ve never told you what happened between me and your father."

Cassian frowned. "What do you mean?"

I took a breath. "I mean before I was kidnapped. Something happened." I looked up. "Your father slept with me."

The room went completely still and Cassian stared at me as if he hadn’t understood the words. "What are you talking about?"

I could barely get the next words out.. "I didn’t tell you because I was scared of what would happen if I did. I knew what your father meant to your family, and I didn’t want to be responsible for destroying it. I was in heat, there was no one home. He got me into his room and—"

Cassian stood. "Wait. You’re saying Dad had sex with you?"

I nodded and Elijah immediately shook his head. "No. Nicholas, that doesn’t make sense. Why would he—"

"I know what you’re thinking," I interrupted, my voice shaking. "It makes no sense. After doing that, he still wanted me dead? I felt so weird after it and I didn’t know who to tell."

Elijah stopped talking and I wiped my palms against my trousers. "He used his position and the fact that I was living in the house to make me feel like I couldn’t say anything. I was afraid of what would happen if I told anyone. I thought you would all blame me or that nobody would believe me."

Cassian stared at me, his face tightening. "Why didn’t you tell us?"

"I was scared."

"Scared of us?"

"No," I said quickly. "He warned me to never mention it."

Cassian turned away and ran a hand over his face.. "How long ago was this?"

I hesitated before answering. "Long enough."

Elijah suddenly moved toward the door. "I’m going to see him."

Adrian immediately caught his arm. "You’re not going anywhere."

"Let go of me," Elijah snapped, trying to pull away. "If what Nicholas is saying is true, then I’m not sitting here while that man walks around like nothing happened."

"You’re angry, and that’s exactly why you’re staying here," Adrian replied, keeping his grip on him. "You won’t help Nicholas by walking into Dad’s house without thinking."

Elijah looked furious. "He did such unspeakable things to him."

"I heard him," Adrian said. "I’m angry too."

My throat tightened, and my eyes began burning. "I didn’t want to be the reason you hated your father."

Tears slipped down my face. "But now as I found out he was behind Jayden. I just can’t keep it in me again."

Nobody spoke for several seconds. Then Roman moved closer and sat beside me.

"You should have told us," he said quietly, his expression serious. "No one was going to judge you for that. You should know us better than that."

I wiped my face. "I’m sorry."

Cassian immediately shook his head. "Don’t apologize for what he did."

I looked at him. He was still visibly angry, but the anger wasn’t directed at me anymore.

Elijah finally walked back toward us, his breathing still uneven.

"I wanted to confront him because I don’t understand how someone can do something like that and then sit there acting like nothing happened," he said, lowering himself into the chair across from me.

Adrian nodded. "He shouldn’t have touched what was ours."

I looked at him. "What are you going to do?"

His expression hardened. "I’m going to make him answer for everything he’s done."

The others agreed. For the next several minutes, we stayed together while I tried to calm down.

Eventually, Adrian told me to get some rest and I nodded and went upstairs.

I took my phone from the drawer before heading toward my room. I had barely stepped inside when the screen lit up.

A new message had arrived and I looked at the name.

Mom.

I opened it and my heart almost stopped.

"Nicholas, please call me as soon as you see this. I need to talk to you about something your stepfather told me."