“Hold on now, I don’t think we can be goin’ ’round sayin’ Adria’s an Original — the bloodline’s too long gone,” Sean said. “There’d have to be a more recent union for it to count.”
Adria wasn’t sure she wanted the bloodline recognized at all.
Helen brushed past Adria, pulling out a bit of paper on the desk. “Maybe something like this,” she said.
Adria watched in a daze as Helen held up a photo of Adria’s mother against the wall.
She was wearing the same locket as Isadora and the resemblance was unmistakable.
Sean glanced between the two images. “That is impossible…”
“We wondered why Alessandro risked everything to work with Callen,” Helen said. “Well, here’s your reason. Alessandro found out the truth and was desperate to keep it a secret. So much so that when Callen brought him the plan to get Adria killed, Alessandro couldn’t pass it up. He couldn’t risk the alternative.”
“Fuck,” Sean said, running his fingers along the outside of his beard.
“My mother told me her family’s plan was to get the Serra’s back at the table,” Adria whispered and all eyes turned to hers.
“She never mentioned any of this.” Adria gestured around her. “Or anything about a secret chamber.”
Sean’s eyebrows rose just a fraction before his expression closed into something contemplative. “I didn’t think I would be saying this, but this key is yours. As head of the Triune, I have the other. But when you are ready, we can open it.”
We.
Adria glanced at Helen who gave her the slightest shake of her head. It was a reminder. Adria was part of the Triune, but that didn’t mean she was safe. This room was a living embodiment of that. Alessandro had been secretly plotting around her for years. What he was planning wasn’t clear, butAdria was sure that he had been watching closely. And she knew from Cole’s records that he had been secretly opposing her since she was seventeen.
She hated to admit it, but if it hadn’t been for X she might have fallen for his plans a long time ago. Young, naïve and near sighted. Adria pressed into her center. What the fuck was she supposed to do with this information.
She took the key from Sean’s outstretched hand. The cool metal feeling heavy in her pocket.
They left the chamber with the plan that Sean would go through the rest of the documents. If there was any information that pertained to Adria, he would send it along. But Adria wasn’t naïve enough to believe him. If Sean thought it would help him, he would share it. If he thought it would hurt him, then he would bury it.
Helen gave her a soft hug as the pair separated in the parking garage above the chambers. Adria moved to pull away, but Helen kept her arms firm around her.
Her soft voice came subtle in Adria’s ear. “Be careful, Adria, that entire room was filled with information about you and your lineage. That type of obsession means something.”
Adria swallowed. Eric and Seth were still in the hospital. She didn’t need this right now.
Helen broke the embrace, but not before she slipped Adria a soft piece of paper.
It wasn’t until Adria got in the car that she looked at the two images Helen had given her. One of her mother and one of her great-great-great-great grandmother, Isadora Serra. The founding fucking member and Original of the Nine.
CHAPTER 73
ROME
The hospital room was dark and the sound of the monitors echoed in the now empty hallways. Adria had tried to sleep, but found she couldn’t take her eyes off Seth.
Kaydon’s heavy breathing in the recliner was impossible to ignore; Adria struggled to believe that Seth could sleep through all this racket.
Eric was recovering, and the doctors thought he would be able to leave in a few more days.
Dr. Bianchi was hopeful that Seth would be discharged tomorrow.
In the cave, when he had opened his eyes, she had been relieved. Only to feel the ground slipping out from under her when he passed out in the car. Thankfully, because of Eric, they were already on their way to the hospital.
Her mind drifted from the future to the past. So many things had happened. And in such a short amount of time.
Adria had learned the truth about her mother. As a founding member of the Triune, it made Adria’s family line an Original. On top of that, she had taken her seat on the Triune. Beingon the Triune was something she had always wanted, because getting a seat always meant safety for her mother.
