I had spent years telling myself that Adrian was a monster, just like the rest of his family.

But seeing him now, trying so hard to be gentle with a boy he barely knew, made my throat tighten.

Lena crawled over, clutching her small stuffed rabbit, and sat near his heavy boot.

Adrian did not move, as if he were afraid he would scare them away if he made a sudden gesture.

“They look like you,” Isabella said softly from the table.

“They have the Vale eyes.”

“They have Maya’s strength,” Adrian murmured, his eyes fixed on Noah, who had finally fallen asleep against his sister.

I stood near the edge of the blankets, watching the four of them in the dim light.

Part of me wanted to pull the children away, to shield them from the dark shadow of the Vale name.

But another part of me saw the raw sincerity in his face, a vulnerability he had never shown to anyone else.

He was not acting like the cold, calculating mafia heir who had left me behind.