Hidden Motives

Revenge Begins

Instantly I ran to Adyline and pulled her into a hug. She saw me and the tears rolled down faster. Mary was by her side. I looked at her and said "I'm so sorry"

Mary forced a smile and said "It's not your fault at all. We love you and this hurts you just as much as it hurts us. I can tell."

She was right. This hurt me badly. I had never really talked to Dave much, but I knew that he was risking his own life for my protection regardless. And Adyline and Mary were his family. It hurt to see a part of them taken. Kind of like how my mother was taken from me. I never knew what love felt like until I saw the bond between Adyline and her parents. It was purely a dream. Now everyone had woken up to broken fragments. A piece of them was gone forever. I knew Mary would never even consider me having a part in this, but it was my father. He wasn't going to take responsibility for his actions until it was too late. 

First my mother. His own wife. And now the person who was my 'father' figure. I was noticing a trend. He wanted to kill my little 'family'. The one without him in it. Adyline was next. I could feel it. Mary was safe since he took the life of my real mother, but the closest thing he could get to my father was Dave. And he would never lay a finger on Jace. Jace...I really missed him and Betsy. Every part of me wanted to reach out to them, but it wasn't safe to do so. I had to wait until my father was gone. Until then I had to find my father and end his game before it was too late.

Before he got to Adyline. 

He had a hitlist and at the bottom was me. Each time he was getting his end of the sword closer and closer. There wasn't much time either and this was definitely something I couldn't tell Adyline about. She would either freak out or act like she didn't care. That might lead her into his trap. 

This was something for me. Or at least me with the addition of Max.

Max had all the skills. My father didn't know him. Or at least I didn't think he knew him. Besides Max seemed willing to do anything for me. He was mysterious, convincing, and he seemed like the type of person my father would like. They were similar after all.

After I did some thinking I hugged Mary and Adyline goodbye. They couldn't know my next move. 

Max consoled Adyline and Mary for a bit before following me out. He still felt bad for them. Max had a heart even if it was small.

We got into his car and my eyes were red from crying. Max got in the driver's seat and said "I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn't have brought you here without calling first. Today's already been rough."

I looked at him and forced a smile with tears in my eyes the same way Mary did. "This isn't your fault at all. Never blame yourself for this. What happened already happened. Now we just have to make sure the person who hurt him never hurts anyone again. I have a theory and a plan. Are you in?"

Max inspected me for a second before saying "Anything for you Tsunami. Of course I'm in."