Chapter 8 - THE CHEF WHO INHERITED AN EMPIREBy noon, Elena Mercer had become the most searched name in America.
Then he groaned.
The bullet had struck his shoulder.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Elena dropped beside him.
“Adrian!”
Thomas tried to run.
Before he reached the hall, Samuel and two security officers crashed through the doorway.
“Gun!”
Thomas turned.
Samuel tackled him.
The weapon slid across the floor.
Celeste screamed.
Police flooded the hallway moments later.
Elena barely noticed.
Her hands pressed against Adrian’s wound.
“Stay with me.”
He looked strangely calm.
“It hurts.”
“That’s good.”
“How is pain good?”
“It means you’re alive.”
He smiled weakly.
“You always were optimistic.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Paramedics rushed in.
Adrian grabbed Elena’s wrist before they moved him.
“Ava.”
“She’s safe.”
“Don’t bring her here.”
“I won’t.”
His eyes searched hers.
“Tell her…”
“No.”
“Elena.”
“You can tell her yourself.”
He stared at her for a moment.
Then nodded.
At the hospital, Elena sat in a private waiting room wearing a chef’s coat stained with Adrian’s blood.
Marcus arrived first.
Then Rachel.
Ava was kept at home.
Samuel joined them two hours later.
“Thomas is in custody.”
“And Celeste?”
“Also detained.”
Elena looked up.
“For what?”
“Conspiracy, stalking, evidence tampering. Prosecutors will determine the full charges.”
Elena leaned back.
Her body felt empty.
“What about the files?”
“Safe.”
“And the trust?”
Samuel hesitated.
“That may become complicated.”
“I don’t want it.”
“Unfortunately, inheritance law does not always care what people want.”
Elena almost laughed.
Of course.
Because nothing about the Vale family could ever be simple.
At three in the morning, a surgeon entered.
“The bullet passed through cleanly.”
Elena stood.
“He’s okay?”
“He was lucky.”
Her knees weakened.
“Can I see him?”
The surgeon smiled.
“He asked for you.”
Adrian was pale when Elena entered.
His shoulder was bandaged.
“You look terrible,” she said.
“You’re wearing my blood.”
“You ruined my chef’s coat.”
“I’ll buy you another.”
She glared.
He smiled.
Then the room became quiet.
“You stepped in front of me.”
“Yes.”
“You could have died.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t ever do that again.”
“I can’t promise that.”
“Adrian.”
“If someone points a gun at you, Elena, I’m not moving out of the way.”
She stared.
Ten years ago she had believed he chose power over her.
Tonight he had chosen her over his own body.
“I hated you,” she whispered.
His smile disappeared.
“I know.”
“For years.”
“You had every reason.”
“I told Ava you didn’t want us.”
Adrian looked away.
“I tried not to say it like that.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it isn’t.”
She sat beside him.
“I thought it was true.”
Adrian looked at her.
“What do we tell her now?”
“The truth.”
“All of it?”
“Age-appropriate truth.”
He nodded.
“That sounds terrifying.”
“It is.”
A small smile appeared.
“Can I ask you something?”
Elena sighed.
“You were shot three hours ago. You get one question.”
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
She remained silent.
“I don’t know.”
Adrian accepted that.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For not finding you.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I should have questioned my mother.”
“You loved her.”
“I was blind.”
“You trusted your family.”
“And it cost me you.”
Elena looked down.
“And Ava.”
He closed his eyes.
The grief on his face hurt her.
“You didn’t lose all of her.”
He opened his eyes.
“What?”
“You missed nine years.”
Her voice softened.
“But she has a lot left.”
Adrian swallowed.
“I want every year she’ll give me.”
“Then earn them.”
“I will.”
Three days later Adrian left the hospital.
Ava insisted on meeting him at Elena’s apartment.
She opened the door and immediately stared at his sling.
“Mom said you got shot.”
Elena nearly dropped a plate.
“Ava!”
“What?”
Adrian laughed.
“Yes.”
“Did it hurt?”
“Yes.”
“Did you cry?”
“A little.”
Elena raised an eyebrow.
He whispered, “A lot.”
Ava smiled.
Then unexpectedly hugged him.
Adrian froze.
Slowly he wrapped his good arm around her.
Elena turned away before either saw her tears.
That evening Adrian helped Ava with math.
Badly.
Elena corrected him twice.
Ava declared her mother smarter than a billionaire.
Adrian agreed.
For several hours, they almost looked like a family.
Then Samuel called.
The genetic evidence had been confirmed.
Elena Mercer was indeed Charles Vale’s biological granddaughter.
And according to a forgotten clause in the original Vale trust, she now owned thirty-eight percent of Vale Hospitality.
More than Adrian.
Elena stared at the documents.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Adrian read them.
Then, surprisingly, began laughing.
She glared.
“What is funny?”
“You spent ten years avoiding my money.”
“Yes.”
“And apparently you were richer than me the entire time.”
She threw a pillow at him.
Ava laughed.
But the next morning, the story hit the press.
UNKNOWN CHEF MAY CONTROL VALE EMPIRE.
Reporters surrounded the hotel.
Photographers appeared outside Ava’s school.
And someone leaked Elena’s home address.
Their private secret was now public.
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The next battle would not happen in a kitchen.
It would happen in front of the entire world.
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