Chapter 184.

The hallway outside Kylie’s room had settled into a strange kind of stillness.

Christian stood beside the window.

His arms were folded across his chest. He hadn’t moved much in the last few minutes.

Adrian sat several feet away, with one ankle resting over his opposite knee, and his phone loose in his hand.

Neither man looked relaxed.

They weren’t. Christian kept glancing toward the door of Kylie’s room.

Every time he did, his expression changed slightly. The hard edge in his face softened whenever he remembered that she was awake.

That she had called for him.

He still hadn’t completely processed it. He didn’t think he would for a while. But beneath the warmth of that memory was something colder.

Noah.

Christian’s expression hardened again. He straightened. "You found him?"

"Yes." Adrian answered immediately.

"Where?"

"An abandoned property outside the city."

Christian’s jaw clenched. "And he’s alive?"

Adrian’s expression didn’t change. "Very."

Christian fingers slowly curled into fists. The image of Kylie lying unconscious in that hospital bed flashed through his mind.

The bruises on her neck, the mark near her temple, and the IV taped to her hand.

Adrian watched him carefully.

Christian finally turned back. "Did he say anything?"

"No."

"Has he told your men why he went after her?"

"Not yet." Adrian stood. His phone vibrated. He looked down at the screen. One of his men was calling.

He answered. "Yes."

There was a brief exchange.

Adrian listened without interrupting. Then his expression changed by the smallest degree.

"Keep him secured."

Christian looked at him.

Adrian listened again. "No. Don’t move him yet."

Another pause.

"Make sure he cannot contact anyone."

Christian’s eyes narrowed.

Adrian ended the call.

"He’s there?"

"Yes."

Christian stepped closer. "Then take me there."

Adrian’s gaze sharpened. "Christian."

"I want to see him."

"Not tonight."

"You think I’m going to walk into a room and kill him?"

Adrian said nothing.

Christian stared at him. "I won’t."

Another silence.

"But I need answers."

Adrian slipped his phone into his pocket. "You’ll get them."

Christian looked toward Kylie’s room. "She nearly died."

Christian rubbed a hand over his face. "For hours, I thought I might never hear her voice again." He looked toward the closed door. "And then she woke up."

His expression softened again. "She asked for me."

Adrian watched him.

Christian smiled faintly. "She actually asked for me."

There was something almost disbelieving in his voice.

Adrian’s mouth twitched. "Congratulations."

Christian gaze sharpened. "Why?"

Adrian said flatly, "You’re the one standing in a hospital corridor smiling because a woman asked you to come into her room."

Christian’s smile disappeared. "Back to Noah."

Adrian nodded. "I’ll have my men bring him in when it’s safe."

Christian’s jaw tightened. His voice dropped. "Ask your men to make him talk."

Adrian’s expression remained unreadable.

Christian continued.

"I don’t care how long it takes. I want to know everything. Who helped him get out. Who gave him information."

Adrian nodded. "They’ll get answers."

Christian’s eyes hardened. "Make sure they do. Waterboard him until I get there."

Adrian held his gaze. He stayed quiet for a few seconds. Then, he nodded. "I will."

Christian breathed out slowly.

Adrian put the phone away, and then he turned toward Kylie’s room. "I’ll check on Emilia."

Christian nodded.

Adrian took two steps, and then stopped. He turned around. "Christian."

Christian looked at him.

"Don’t go looking for Noah."

Christian’s expression was blank. "I’m not."

"I mean it."

"I heard you."

Adrian studied him for another second. Then he turned. He barely made it two steps when Christain’s voice paused him.

"Have you told Emilia about Dante?"

Adrian stopped. His shoulders went still.

For a moment, Christian thought he might pretend he hadn’t heard.

He didn’t.

Adrian turned sharply. His expression had changed. The controlled calm was gone. He looked around the corridor.

A nurse was passing at the far end, and a visitor sat near the elevators.

Adrian’s gaze moved back to Christian. Then he walked toward him. "Not here."

Christian followed him a few steps toward the quieter end of the corridor.

Adrian stopped. He lowered his voice. "What about Dante?"

Christian stared at him. "You know what I’m talking about."

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

Christian’s voice remained low. "She needs to know."

Adrian looked toward Kylie’s room. Then toward the door of Emilia’s room farther down the corridor.

"Not tonight."

"Why?"

"Because she just watched her best friend nearly die."

"That’s exactly why she needs to know what is happening around her."

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. "Christian."

"I’m not trying to hurt her." Christian took another step closer. "You’re keeping too much from her."

Adrian’s expression became colder. "I am protecting her."

"From what?"

"Dante."

"And how long do you plan to keep doing that?" Christain pushed. "That monster is her father."

Adrian didn’t answer.

Christian shook his head. "She’s not a child."

"I know."

"Then stop deciding what she can handle."

Adrian looked at him. His voice dropped. "What do you want me to tell her?"

Christian frowned.

"What do I tell her?" Adrian repeated the question.

Christian said nothing.

Adrian looked back at him. "I tell her that her father is alive?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

Christian’s expression changed.

Adrian continued. "I tell her he faked his death?" His jaw tightened. "That he disappeared because of his fraud and left his daughter believing he was dead?"

Christian remained silent.

"Do I tell her how many nights she cried because of him?" Adrian’s voice broke slightly on the last word. "Do I tell her that while she was grieving him, he was somewhere alive?"

Christian swallowed.

Adrian shook his head. "Or do I tell her that he was the reason I had to go to Blackwood?"

He looked back at Christian.

"That he was connected to the fraud that destroyed everything?"

Christian’s expression softened.

Adrian’s voice grew quieter.

"Do I tell her that her father’s actions were part of what caused my adoptive father’s death?"

He paused.

"My father’s heart failed when everything came crashing down."

Christian didn’t interrupt.

Adrian’s eyes lowered.

"Do I tell her that the man she mourned was the man responsible for some of the worst years of my life?"

He breathed out. "Tell me, Christian." His voice was almost a whisper. "What exactly do I tell her?"

Christian looked at him for a long moment. His lashes fluttered multiple times. He parted his lips and closed them twice.

Finally, he said. "The truth."

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

Christian continued. "Not everything at once."

Adrian looked at him.

"But enough."

A silence settled between them.

Christian’s voice became quieter. "Tell her Dante is alive."

Adrian’s eyes hardened.

"Tell her he was the one who sent those photographs."

Adrian said nothing.

"Tell her he’s still moving around." Christian swallowed. "And tell her he may come for you."

Adrian’s gaze shifted toward Emilia’s room.

Christian followed it. "She deserves to know."

"She deserves to know." Adrian’s face tightened. "But she doesn’t have to know."

Christian’s expression changed. "Adrian."

"I know what I’m doing."

"No."

Adrian’s eyes flashed. "I know exactly what I’m doing."

Christian didn’t back down. "You know what you’re trying to do."

Adrian stared at him.

"You can’t protect her from reality forever."

"I’m not trying to protect her from reality."

"Then what are you doing?"

Adrian looked toward the closed door. His voice was quiet. "I’m trying to give her one more night without it."

Christian said nothing.

Adrian’s shoulders lowered slightly. "She has spent her entire life believing her father died."

Christian listened.

"She learned how to live with that." Adrian’s eyes became distant. "She wrote to him every New Year’s Eve."

Adrian exhaled. "She told me she still does. And now you want to tell her the man she’s been writing to was alive the entire time."

Adrian closed his eyes briefly.

Christian’s voice softened. "That’s not a small thing, Adrian. But she deserves to decide what she does with that truth."

Adrian stared at him.

Christian continued. "You don’t have the right to decide how much pain she is allowed to feel."

Adrian’s jaw tightened. "I’m her boyfriend."

"Exactly." Christian stepped closer. "You’re not her guardian."

Adrian’s eyes sharpened. "Be careful, Christian."

"I’m being careful." Christian lowered his voice. "You love her."

Adrian said nothing.

"You love her enough to know she deserves the truth." Christian continued. "Dante might come for you soon."

Adrian’s expression hardened. "Maybe."

"And when he does, what happens if Emilia finds out that you knew he was alive?"

Adrian didn’t answer.

"How do you think she’ll feel then?"

Adrian’s face became still.

Christian knew he’d hit the point. He softened his voice. "She won’t only be dealing with Dante. She’ll be dealing with the fact that you knew."

A long silence followed.

Adrian’s eyes dropped to the floor.

Christian watched him. "I know you’re trying to protect her."

Adrian looked back at him.

"But sometimes protection becomes another kind of lie. A hurtful one."

Adrian’s expression tightened. "Don’t call it a lie."

"What would you call it?"

"Protection."

Christian shook his head. "Protection requires a choice."

Adrian stared at him.

"You’re taking the choice away from her. Don’t repeat the past mistake you made with the hearing."

Adrian didn’t respond. He simply stood there. Then, after several seconds, he said quietly, "She just got Kylie back."

Adrian went on. "She finally had a few days where she wasn’t thinking about Blackwood, Noah, or any of the things that have followed her since she came here."

Christian nodded.

"Her best friend is in that room."

"Yes."

"And you want me to walk into her room and tell her that the father she’s mourned for years has been alive this entire time?"

Christian took a slow breath. "Not because I want to hurt her."

Adrian’s eyes lifted.

"If Dante is coming back into her life, she needs to know what she’s walking into."

Adrian looked toward the room again.

Christian could almost see the argument happening inside his head. Love against fear. Truth against protection. Duty against instinct.

Finally, Adrian spoke again. "I’ll tell her."

Christian’s expression softened. "Good."

"Not tonight."

Christian didn’t answer immediately.

Adrian looked at him. "I need to choose the moment carefully."

Christian nodded. "Then choose it before Dante chooses it for you."

Adrian’s eyes met his. "Agreed."

Christian breathed out.

For the first time in several minutes, the tension between them eased.

"Take a rest." With that, Adrian turned toward Emilia’s room.