Rose's POV
After hearing that recording, I couldn't look at Aunty Adeline the same way again.
It wasn't fear, not exactly… well, maybe just a little. But mostly, it was the shock. The disbelief. How could this soft-spoken, tea-loving woman, whose hands looked more accustomed to folding laundry than holding a blade… be an assassin?
I paced. Back and forth. My thoughts were like a carousel spinning out of control. I glanced at Daniel—he sat quietly on the couch, fingers steepled, staring into space like he was lost in his own sea of thoughts. He finally spoke without looking at me, "You've been walking the same path for five minutes, Rose. What are you thinking?"
"I want to talk to her," I said plainly.
Daniel blinked at me, finally meeting my gaze. "Talk to who?"
"Adeline. I want to confront her. Get answers… real ones."
He shook his head almost immediately. "Don't. She's old, Rose. She's… not all there anymore. The memory loss, the confusion. What's the point?"
I looked at him again. He was calm. Physically relaxed. But I could see it in his eyes—he was just as shaken as I was. Maybe more.
I tried to hold myself back. I really did.
But the moment Daniel announced he was heading out to grab groceries, my restraint cracked.
The door hadn't even clicked shut before I rushed down the hallway to Adeline's room.
Just as my hand reached the doorknob, her voice floated through the door. "Bring me a cup of tea first."
My heart dropped.
First?
How did she…?
I stared at the wood like it was suddenly alive. Did she know I was coming? Was she waiting for me?
With shaking hands, I went to the kitchen and made her tea. When I came back, she was already sitting upright on the bed, propped with pillows, eyes sharper than I'd seen them in weeks. She took the cup with steady hands and that same knowing smile.
"Go on," she said before I could utter a word.
"What?" I blinked, unsettled. "How do you know what I'm—"
"Because I know," she said coolly, sipping her tea. "Ask me."
I hesitated. Then my voice barely left a whisper. "Do you… know about the recording? We, um… we took it without permission."
She cupped her ear dramatically. "Speak louder, dear. I'm old."
I frowned. "I said—Daniel took the recorder. We listened to it. We know."
Adeline didn't flinch. "Yes."
Just that. A flat, unapologetic "yes."
My heart thudded louder in my chest. "What?"
"I let it happen," she continued, gently placing her cup on the side table.
This… this wasn't the Adeline I knew. There was something different—her voice, her body language. Her mind. So I asked her directly, "What happened twenty minutes ago? You were just confused and asking if it was morning or night—"
And then, she laughed. A real laugh. Not like the soft chuckles I was used to.
"Girl, I have no fuckin' memory loss," she said, waving a hand. "I made that up."
I stood up so fast the chair nearly tipped over. "You what?!"
"You heard me," she said, cool as ice. "Now lower your voice. I might be faking half of it, but my ears are still old."
I couldn't believe it. "So… what else did you fake? Are you even my mother's sister or—"
"I didn't make that up." Her tone shifted, calmer, more serious. She reached into her drawer and handed me a sealed bottle of water. "I'm Adeline Elfo. Your mother's real sister. Everything you heard in that recording… it's the truth."
I hadn't even opened the bottle. I was still frozen, her words echoing inside my head like a drumbeat.
Just then, Daniel's voice boomed from the living room. "Rose?"
"I'm here!" I called back, and soon he was in the doorway, eyes bouncing between me and Adeline.
He looked at her, then at me, then sighed heavily. "You did it. I told you not to."
"She has every right to ask questions," Adeline said, raising a hand before Daniel could lecture me. "Let her."
Daniel shut his mouth and sat down quietly.
"I'm no longer in the assassin business," she said, turning back to me. "So you both can breathe. I'm not here to slit anyone's throat in their sleep. Why would I hurt Katherine's children?"
I stared at her, still reeling. "But… you wanted to kill Father."
Adeline's face darkened for a moment, then softened. "That was a long time ago. Katherine looked happy… so I buried that hatred. Mostly."
I dared another question. "Then why are you here?"
Daniel tensed beside me, but Adeline held up her hand again before he could speak.
"I'm here," she said slowly, "because you need a guardian."
Her voice turned cold—like steel under silk. "Because your mother's death wasn't ordinary. And if Dominic had something to do with it… I need to find out."
The room went dead silent.
I blinked. Once. Twice.
Not ordinary?
Father… involved?
My thoughts were spiraling again. I couldn't piece it all together, couldn't make sense of the storm that was starting to gather on the horizon of my mind.
Aunty Adeline just stared at me, calm and collected, like a woman who had seen far too much.
And in that moment, I knew—this was just the beginning.