Papillon

Chapter 32: He Found Us

Francis

Glass shattered.

I ran into the living room.

Mama was staring at something in her hand, the front door wide open as she stood in a state of pure horror.

"Mama?" Panic bled through my voice. "Que s'est-il passé? Est-ce que tu vas bien?" What happened? Are you alright?

"Il nous a trouvés," she breathed. He found us.

My blood went cold.

"Mama," I said, as gently as I could manage.

Placing one hand on her shoulders, I took the mail from her hands. My gaze darted to the crumped sheets in her hands and every single nerve in my body seized.

There were just two words on a sealed envelope: Adelaide Moreau.

Once my body's reflexes finally kicked in, I grabbed Mama's hand and ushered her to my car. She didn't say a word, just sobbed gently in the passenger seat.

I wanted to say something comforting. Tell her it was going to be okay. But I couldn't come up with anything other than, "Il ne vous fera pas de mal. Je jure, Mama." He's not going to hurt you. I swear.

Desolate green eyes stared back at me. "Je m'en fiche s'il me fait mal, mon bijou. Je ne veux pas qu'il te touche." I don't care if he hurts me, my gem. I don't want him to touch you.

My grip tightened on my steering wheel as I punched in the code to the Hale mansion. The security guards assessed us, taking in Mama's distraught expression, and the sheer rage in mine.

Anthony was already waiting at the front door by the time I pulled up to the front door. Maria Hale ran to my car and helped Mama out gently, throwing an arm over her shoulder.

"Adelaide," Maria said softly, reminding me that she was French herself. "Est-ce que ça va?" Are you okay?

Mama nodded weakly but it couldn't be further from the truth.

Anthony's voice was cold when he said, "Take her inside, Maria."

Mama squeezed Anthony's hand as she walked by and then, I followed him all the way to his office without a single word between us.

When his office door opened, I saw Damon leaned over the desk, looking at something on a desktop monitor.

"Is she okay?" He asked his dad immediately, before his eyes fell on me.

They both had the same gray eyes–light but dark around the edges. But, when they were angry or serious or in general, not to be fucked with, their eyes went almost black.

I managed a nod and collapsed into a chair, rubbing my hands on my face, hoping it would wake me up from this nightmare.

Anthony sat down in his chair while Damon crossed his arms and leaned on the wall behind him. They were fucking terrifying together. They looked like hell. They looked like menace. They looked like everything bad in the world was shoved into two men who even the fucking devil wouldn't dare touch.

Eyes of steel. Expressions of ice.

Pure. Fucking. Terror.

"What happened?" Anthony asked calmly.

I handed him the envelope with trembling hands.

His eyes darkened instantly when he saw Adelaide Moreau on the cover.

The next few minutes were a blur.

Latex gloves.

Fingerprint dusting.