CHAPTER 4: THE HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS

Adrian took Eli to Blackridge Estate, a fortress-like mansion outside the city.

The property had cameras, guards and bulletproof glass.

It was the safest place Adrian owned.

Eli hated it immediately.

“There are too many locked doors,” he said.

“They keep dangerous people outside.”

“They also keep people inside.”

Adrian studied him.

The comment sounded too old for a nine-year-old child.

A housekeeper prepared food, but Eli barely touched it. He wrapped bread and pieces of roasted chicken in a napkin before hiding them in his coat.

Adrian pretended not to notice.

“You can have more whenever you’re hungry.”

Eli stared at the table.

“That’s what they used to say at the facility.”

“What facility?”

Eli’s fingers tightened around the bread.

“My mother told me never to say the name.”

Adrian rolled closer.

“She isn’t here to protect you.”

The boy looked up sharply.

“She’s alive.”

“I didn’t say she wasn’t.”

“You were thinking it.”

Before Adrian could answer, Dr. Marcus Hale entered the dining room.

He was sixty-two, silver-haired and calm, with the comforting smile of a family doctor.

He had treated Adrian since the accident.

He froze when he saw Eli.

The reaction lasted less than a second.

But Adrian saw it.

“Marcus,” Adrian said, “have you met this child before?”

“Of course not.”

Eli backed away from him.

Dr. Hale opened his medical bag.

“I heard about the incident at the restaurant. I need to examine your legs.”

He touched Adrian’s knee with a small hammer.

The leg kicked forward.

Dr. Hale’s smile vanished.

“That’s impossible.”

“Apparently not.”

Hale reached for a syringe.

“What is that?”

“A mild sedative. We need scans immediately.”

Eli suddenly knocked the syringe from his hand.

It shattered on the floor.

“Don’t let him put you to sleep.”

Dr. Hale glared at the child.

Mason stepped between them.

Adrian looked down at the broken syringe.

The liquid had begun eating through the polished wooden floor.

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