Chapter 3 - The SanctuaryThe address Dominic gave me led to a dilapidated brick building on the West Side of Chicago. The neighborhood was quiet, worn down by winter, with steam rising from sewer grates and rusted fire escapes clinging to the walls.
It was a far cry from the high-rise penthouses and gated mansions I was used to.
I climbed the narrow stairwell of the apartment building, the wooden steps creaking beneath my designer shoes. My heart hammered against my ribs—a feeling I hadn't experienced in years. I had faced down rival cartels without a flicker of fear, but standing outside door 3B, my hand hovered over the wood, trembling.
I knocked softly.
Silence. Then, the sound of soft footsteps and a faint, anxious voice inside. "Who is it?"
"Maya. It's me. Adrian."
A quiet gasp sounded from behind the door. "Go away, Adrian. Please. I called the landlord. If you don't leave, I'll call the police."
"The police won't stop me, Maya, and you know it," I said gently, leaning my forehead against the cool wood of the door. "Please. Just five minutes. I don't have guards with me. I'm alone. I just want to talk."
A long silence followed. I could hear her ragged breathing on the other side. Finally, the heavy iron deadbolt clicked, followed by two chain locks sliding back.
The door creaked open a few inches. Maya stood there, her hair pulled back, wearing a oversized faded sweatshirt. Her green eyes were rimmed with red, guarded and fierce.
"If you make a noise, you leave," she said coldly. "The kids are trying to sleep."
"I promise," I murmured.
She stepped back, allowing me into the tiny apartment. The space was modest, almost cramped, but it was filled with warmth. Colorful children's drawings were taped to the walls, a small mountain of stuffed animals occupied the corner of the small living room, and the scent of lavender and vanilla filled the air.
It was a home. Something I had never possessed in my entire life.
"They're sleeping?" I asked softly, my eyes instantly drifting toward the single closed bedroom door.
"They were exhausted," Maya said, crossing her arms defensively. "Running through the park scared them. They aren't used to drama, Adrian. They're used to a quiet, normal life."
"I came to apologize," I said, turning to look at her. "I spoke to my grandfather. I spoke to Camille."
Maya let out a bitter laugh. "And? Did they give you permission to feel guilty?"
"They told me the truth," I confessed, my voice cracking. "Camille’s father forged the financial records. My grandfather used them to convince me you were working with the Morettis. I was young, paranoid, and surrounded by snakes. I believed them. I sent you away because I thought you betrayed me."
Maya’s eyes softened for a fraction of a second, but the cold wall instantly rose back up. "It doesn't change anything, Adrian. You didn't fight for me. You didn't ask to hear my side. You threw words at me that broke my heart into a thousand pieces."
"I know," I whispered, taking a step toward her. "I know I was a monster. I spent four years dead inside, Maya. Every night I woke up thinking about you. But I thought you hated me, so I stayed away."
"I did hate you!" she cried softly, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I hated you when I was sleeping in a shelter! I hated you when I was in labor for fourteen hours with no one to hold my hand! I hated you every time I had to count pennies to buy diapers! But then I looked at their faces, and I saw you. And I realized I couldn't afford to hate you, because I had to raise three children who deserved better than the dark world you come from."
Her words sliced through me deeper than any knife ever could. The realization of her suffering while I sat in my luxury penthouse, drinking expensive whiskey and marrying a woman I despised, made me sick to my stomach.
"Let me fix it," I pleaded, reaching out to cup her face, but she flinched away from my touch. "Maya, please. I have billions. I have resources. I can give them everything. I can protect you."
"Your family is the danger!" Maya snapped. "You think money fixes this? The moment your grandfather realizes those children are legitimate heirs to the Vale fortune, he will try to take them from me! He'll turn them into colder, ruthless versions of you!"
"I won't let him near them!" I promised fiercely. "I am cutting ties with the family. I am canceling the wedding."
"You can't just walk away from a crime syndicate, Adrian!" Maya yelled softly. "They will destroy you! They will destroy us!"
"Mommy?"
A small, drowsy voice sounded from the hallway. We both froze.
Standing near the bedroom doorway was one of the boys, rubbing his eyes and clutching a small blue blanket. He looked up at me with those familiar steel-gray eyes.
My breath caught in my throat. I dropped to my knees right there on the worn carpet, bringing myself down to his eye level.
"Hey, buddy," I murmured, my voice trembling uncontrollably.
The little boy took a hesitant step forward, looking at me, then at his mother. "Mommy... is this the man from the park?"
Maya wiped her tears quickly, her voice softer now. "Yes, Liam. This is..." She hesitated, looking at me with a mix of pain and hesitation.
"I'm Adrian," I said, offering a small, warm smile, fighting back my own tears. "I'm... an old friend of your mommy's."
Liam walked closer, his small feet bare against the cold floorboards. He stopped inches away from me and held up his toy car. "Do you like racing cars?"
A tear escaped my eye and rolled down my cheek. "I love them," I whispered.
"Liam, baby, go back to bed," Maya said gently, coming over to scoop the boy into her arms.
May you like
Liam rested his head on her shoulder, staring at me as she carried him back to the bedroom. Before the door closed, he looked at me and said, "He looks like me, Mommy."
The door clicked shut, leaving me kneeling alone in the middle of the room, my heart utterly shattered and reborn all at once.
