Adrien had never lived in a house this big before.
Sometimes, when he woke up, he forgot where he was.
The ceilings were too high.
The curtains too heavy.
The silence too quiet for a child who used to hear his mummy humming while she cooked.
But the toys helped.
His room looked like something out of a movie. Shelves filled with toys he had only ever seen on screens. Giant teddy bears bigger than him. Cars that moved on their own.
And clothes.
So many clothes.
Shoes in every color. Tiny jackets. Tiny suits. Tiny watches his daddy said were "special."
His daddy bought him something almost every day.
Adrien liked this life.
He liked the soft bed. The warm food. The big garden where no one shouted at him for running.
But at night, he still missed his mummy.
He padded downstairs in his socks, curls bouncing as he crossed the massive living room. The marble floor was cold, but the house smelled nice—clean, rich, like chocolate and flowers.
"Daddy!" he called happily.
Kieran looked up from the couch.
His expression changed instantly.
That look.
The one that made Adrien feel safe.
Kieran opened his arms, and Adrien ran straight into them. He was lifted easily, pressed against a chest that smelled like cologne and something sharp and comforting.
"There's my boy," Kieran murmured.
Adrien smiled.
Someone else was standing beside Kieran.
A woman.
Blonde hair, neatly brushed. Round glasses perched on her nose. Bright blue eyes that smiled too fast. She was the same woman at the hospital who tripped and Kieran caught her
Adrien stared at her.
Didn't like her.
Kieran noticed.
"This is who I told you about," Kieran said calmly. "Her name is Lena."
The woman bent slightly. "Hello, Adrien."
Adrien didn't answer.
"She'll be your caretaker," Kieran continued. "Not a maid. I already have many of those."
Adrien frowned. That part confused him.
His daddy had many people already.
"So why?" Adrien asked quietly.
Kieran hesitated for a second, then spoke carefully. "Because I want someone trained. Someone who knows how to take care of children properly."
Lena smiled wider. "I'm very good with children."
Kieran nodded. "She worked at the hospital. She was assigned to you."
Adrien blinked.
The hospital.
He tried to remember her face.
Nothing came.
Or maybe… something did.
He wasn't sure.
"I don't remember you," Adrien said slowly.
Lena's smile didn't move, but her eyes sharpened for just a second.
"That's okay," she said gently. "You were very sick. I was always there when you slept."
Adrien's fingers curled into Kieran's shirt.
He didn't like the way she said that.
"She'll help when I'm busy," Kieran added. "She'll make sure you eat. Read you stories. Take you to the garden so you don't get hurt."
Adrien shook his head immediately.
"I only want my mummy."
The words landed heavy.
Kieran crouched to Adrien's level. "She's not taking your mummy's place," he said softly. "No one ever will."
Lena stepped closer.
Too close.
"I can read bedtime stories too," she said sweetly. "I read very nicely."
Adrien's lip trembled.
"My mummy reads them best," he whispered. "I don't want anybody else."
Lena reached into her bag and pulled out a small blue teddy bear. "This is for you."
Adrien stared at it.
Then took it—
And threw it aside.
"I don't need it," he said firmly. "My daddy buys me many toys."
Kieran's tone hardened. "Adrien. That's rude."
Adrien glanced at Lena's face.
She was smiling.
But her eyes weren't.
That scared him more than if she had frowned.
"Don't worry," Lena said quickly. "We'll like each other very much."
Adrien didn't answer.
He climbed onto the couch beside Kieran and folded his arms, pouting.
Kieran sighed.
This would be harder than he thought.
Kieran's phone buzzed.
He answered without looking at the screen.
"Well?" His voice was already cold.
Adrien leaned against his side, small fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt.
On the other end, the voice hesitated.
"Sir… we've searched every location. Airports. Borders. Safe houses. There's no sign of him."
Kieran's jaw tightened.
"No sign," he repeated slowly.
"It's like he disappeared," the man continued carefully. "As if he vanished off the face of the earth."
Kieran exhaled sharply through his nose.
"Do you think I pay you to lose people?" he snapped. "Jason didn't evaporate. He's hiding."
Silence.
Then Kieran leaned forward, his tone dropping—dangerously calm.
"Find him," he said. "Or I will start finding you."
The threat was quiet.
Deadly.
The call ended.
Across the room, Lena froze.
Jason.
Her ears had perked up the moment the name left Kieran's mouth.
She kept her smile in place, nodding at nothing, pretending to straighten a cushion as if she hadn't heard a word—
—but her attention sharpened instantly.
Jason wasn't dead? Or was he?
Her heart thudded.
She moved closer to Adrien , crouching beside the couch.
"Are you comfortable, sweetheart?" she asked gently.
Her fingers brushed his arm.
Then—
She pinched him.
Just a little.
Not enough to leave a mark.
Enough to hurt.
Adrien sucked in a sharp breath, eyes widening. He looked up at her—
And she smiled.
Sweet. Pleasant. Innocent.
Like nothing had happened.
He shrank closer to Kieran instinctively, confusion twisting his small face.
Lena tilted her head, still smiling, as if daring him to say something.
Adrien didn't.