Chapter 3 - An Unwanted Summons|
Ten minutes later, Evelyn found herself sitting in the back of a black armored SUV.
The interior was plush black leather, isolated from the noise of the city. The triplets sat in the middle row, strapped into their seats. Evelyn sat opposite Adrien Belandi, who was staring out the tinted window at the passing streetlights.
"I can't just leave my job, Mr. Belandi," Evelyn said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "I have rent due. I have bills."
Adrien didn't look away from the window. "You don't work at the Grand Aurelia anymore."
"You can't just decide that for me!"
Adrien turned his head slowly. His dark eyes were cold, but there was an underlying desperation that caught Evelyn off guard.
"My children have been mute for seven hundred and thirty days," he said, his voice flat and steady. "Dozens of doctors told me their vocal cords were fine, but their minds were locked. Today, my daughter spoke to a stranger making fourteen dollars an hour."
He reached into his breast pocket, pulled out a checkbook and a sleek fountain pen, and wrote a figure before tearing the slip out. He held it out to her.
Evelyn looked down at the paper. It was made out to her name for fifty thousand dollars.
"That is for your first month," Adrien said simply. "You will live at the estate. You will be their companion. You will talk to them, and when they speak again, you will tell me everything they say."
Evelyn’s hand hovered near the check. Fifty thousand dollars would pay off her debts, fix her apartment, and buy her a future. But taking money from Adrien Belandi meant stepping directly into the lion's den.
She looked at little Mia, who was watching her quietly from her car seat.
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"What if it was a mistake?" Evelyn asked softly. "What if she doesn't say another word?"
"Then you still keep the money," Adrien replied. "Because for one second tonight, you gave me my daughter back."
