Page 136 of Ruined Wrath
Silence stretches between us, heavy and suffocating.
I glance at the closed door, suddenly grateful Scout is nowhere near to hear this conversation.
“You really want to do this? You want a war?”
“I want my grandson. But if you insist on framing this as a war, I’ll finish it.”
My jaw clenches so hard it aches. “You won’t get him.”
“I will. Because I’m not rushing this. I’m prepared to be very patient.”
And that’s the part that scares me.
Adrian doesn’t need to win fast. He just needs to outlast me.
But when it comes to my son, he is severely underestimating the lengths I will go to in order to keep him safe.
“Do you think dragging Scout through the courts won’t damage him? Do you think he’ll forgive you for that?”
“I think that children adapt,especiallywhen they’re told the truth.”
The word lands like a blade between my ribs.
“What truth?” I demand.
“That you lied to him. That you kept his grandfather away. That you’re not who he thinks you are.”
I close my eyes for half a second, long enough to picture Scout’s face if he ever heard that.
“You’ll never touch him.”
“We’ll see… I’ll give you some time to think, but just know my patience isn’t endless, Cormac. I will come for what is mine.”
The line goes dead.
I lower the phone slowly, my hand shaking despite my best effort to steady it.
My pulse roars in my ears, drowning out everything else.
For a second, the room feels too small. Too quiet. Like the calm before something catastrophic.
Kieran doesn’t say anything at first, and he doesn’t have to. The tension in the room is thick enough to choke on. He watches me like he’s tracking a live wire, waiting to see which direction the explosion goes.
Finally, he grabs the liquor bottle and slides it across the bar. “What does he want?”
“He wants custody of Scout.”
Kieran barks out a laugh. But when he sees that I’m being deadly serious, he quickly sobers up. “He’s not bluffing?”.
“No. He’s not. He’s willing to fight me for him.”
I sink onto one of the stools, bracing my elbows on my knees, staring at the floor like it might offer answers if I look hard enough.
My thoughts fracture, spinning off in a dozen directions at once.
Lorcan wants my blood.
Adrian wants my son.
