Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN ON THE PHONE
Adrien gripped the phone.
“Where are you?”
Celeste laughed.
“Still giving orders.”
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere safe.”
His jaw tightened.
“Safe from what?”
She ignored the question.
“I heard the children are speaking.”
Adrien went still.
“How?”
“People talk.”
He looked toward the security camera above his office door.
“Were you watching them?”
Silence.
Then Celeste said, “You always were slow to understand.”
Adrien's voice became dangerously quiet.
“What did you do?”
Celeste sighed.
“Don't be dramatic.”
“There's a locked room in my basement.”
“I know.”
“Children's blankets.”
“Yes.”
“A camera.”
“Yes.”
Adrien closed his eyes.
“Why?”
Celeste's voice hardened.
“Because children remember things.”
The line went dead.
Adrien contacted the investigators immediately.
The call was traced as far as legally possible.
The number had been routed through multiple services.
No reliable location emerged.
But the conversation changed everything.
Evelyn found Adrien sitting alone in the nursery later that evening.
The children were asleep.
He looked exhausted.
“She called.”
Evelyn stopped.
“Celeste?”
He nodded.
“She knew about the room.”
Evelyn sat beside him.
“What did she say?”
Adrien told her.
When he finished, Evelyn remained quiet.
Then said, “The children need stability more than ever.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
She looked at him.
“And you need to stop treating this like a problem you can solve through intimidation.”
His eyes lifted.
“Excuse me?”
“You can't frighten a memory out of a child.”
Adrien stared.
Evelyn continued.
“You can't demand trust. You have to build it.”
He looked toward the sleeping triplets.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Then whispered, “I don't know how.”
Evelyn's expression softened.
“Start by being there.”
The next morning, Adrien canceled three meetings.
He sat on the nursery floor.
Built a crooked tower.
Let Oliver knock it down.
Read Noah a story.
And allowed Lily to fall asleep against his chest.
He didn't ask them to speak.
He didn't ask about the cellar.
May you like
He simply stayed.
And for the first time in two years, the children began to look at their father without fear.
