They'd intricately planned it out. No, they couldn't possibly get caught. They'd be the perfect villains to take part in dead old man Hank's plans. He'd easily let a messenger send them the sign and here they were. The perfect plan for Eleanor's demise splayed out in front of them. The dark patio had a dim yellow light shining only on the giant sheet of paper, they'd hired who they needed to hire, and their plan would be put in action soon. Goodbye Eleanor and goodbye Adam.
To the man they'd loved, farewell.
•••
Adam actually felt like his heart might just burst with joy at the closeness of Eleanor to him. Her scent enveloped him like a gift he'd been waiting ages to open. He grinned at her as she peaked her head above the sheets and planted a kiss on his nose.
"You're too cute." She smiled, "I can't believe I wasted so much time away from you, but I think I needed the time to recuperate and I'm so sorry Adam, I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for all of our lost time." He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. This was all she needed for now. This was all he needed for now.
The moon light left shadowed stripes on the carpeted floor of her luxurious apartment. Through the blinds, a light breeze flowed, cooling the steamy room.
"I'm not going anywhere; there's nowhere I would rather be than with you." Adam sat up as she rested her head on his lap. She tilted her head up.
"That was really cheesy," she laughed as Adam reveled in the sound.
"I'm sorry," Adam smiled, bending forward and kissing her shoulder.
"I'm sorry too, but... we can't change the past, we can only work on bettering our future." She day up and held his hands in hers, placing their intertwined hands on her chest where her heart was to be.
Adam's phone was buzzing like crazy and they'd ignored it for a few minutes until it became intolerable, "You should get that." Eleanor reached over to grab the phone, answering it and holding it to his ear. He gave her a slightly annoyed look before saying hello.
"Laci?" He asked, "what's wrong?" He flew forward, a look of alarm covering his face. "Okay, I'll be right there."
He hung up as Eleanor watched him curiously.
"Who's Laci?" She asked silently, trying to keep her best poker face. She wanted to act unaffected. However, she knew exactly who Laci was, she'd profiled who lived near her and as it turned out, Laci used to work for Demeter Modeling Co before she got pregnant and gave up her son to the foster care system. It was tragic and they fired her for ruining her body.
"She was a girlfriend of mine..." Adam replied carefully. This was definitely news to Eleanor. She watched him carefully. "I need to go."
"Adam. We're finally together, and you're going to leave?" She asked, reaching for his arm as she moved across the bed. Adam glanced at Eleanor.
"You never change Eleanor," he chuckled.
"I didn't realize I was supposed to change. But I can change out of these clothes if you want." She smiled deviously.
Adam watched her now, his heart full of joy. He didn't know how much more he could take. Eleanor was witty, beautiful, and most importantly, very devious. He knew her well, but somehow always wanted to continue learning more.
"Stay Adam," she said quietly, releasing his arm and laying against the bed, "I missed you."
Adam, being the rational man, he typically is, simply stared at her.
"Come with me, we can come back here after. Or you can come home." His deep brown meaningful eyes sparkled as he watched Eleanor smile at him. The mention of the word home was enough to drive her up a wall with desire. She truly missed spending time with Adam and the way he made her feel. She missed the way he loved her, and she knew that wasn't going to disappear, even after a year.
But mostly, she missed their home, the world they'd built together. And in that moment, nothing else mattered. Not Magdalene, not Laci, just Adam and Eleanor.
"Or we skip the whole 'help Laci' thing and go straight home." She'd deliberately said it was home, because in actuality, Adam was her home. Regardless of where she was, her most content location was always a location that included Adam.
Adam still owned her heart no matter how many times he could shatter it. He was the home she'd been craving for the entire past year. Hence, he was the reason she had to come back.
Eleanor was linked to him spiritually in some sense that she couldn't understand. He was probably her first actual love.
"Eleanor, you know I can't do that to a friend."
"Fine, I'll go with you, but it better be quick. I'll wait in the car."
Adam grinned, pleased.
Truth of the matter was, Eleanor had a hundred percent changed. She'd gone from a total psycho who was too insecure that she bullied others to a frayed girl who was searching for the man who helped her change. She needed Adam. As much as Adam needed her.
He was the needle that would sew that frayed piece back together. And their love was unmatched.
Chapter 43: Adam’s Demise
It all seemed too good to be true. The happiness was always so fleeting, the drama extraordinary in the aspects of its strength. Eleanor was feeling remiscient and happy for once.
It was as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt free and happy. Happy. So damn happy. She watched Adam park his car in front of a large abandoned building. It was beside a beautifully vacant ocean, giving Eleanor impure ideas. She listened to the waves from the distance, Adam's scent engulfing her.
He turned to smile at her, unknowing that it might just be the last time he could.
"I'll be back in thirty minutes tops." He said, a warm smile on his handsome face. His stubble had grown and left a beautiful shadow. Eleanor reached for his hand. Kissing it, her electric blue eyes meeting his brown ones as they stupidly smiled at each other.
This is love, the security and the lust, the nerves and the jitters, the feeling of being wanted and protected and payed attention to. She didn't want him to leave.
He cleared his throat, planted a kiss to her lips, and left the car. She watched his figure depart and enter the large abandoned factory. It looked like it had been a toilet production company or something along those lines. It was a large building with rusty metal all around, she wondered if it was even safe to enter.
She patiently sat and waited. Thirty minutes tops. It was five in the afternoon, the sun would set soon, she wondered why Laci wanted to meet him here and what was so urgent. Instead she sat and waited. At five-thirty, she'd go in there to see where the love of her life was.
***
"Laci, hey?" Adam approached, entering the dark building. There were only two small windows present.
"Up here Adam!" Laci shouted. He looked up and saw that she was waiting by a chair on the second floor. He wondered if it was even safe up there.
"What did you need?" He asked.
"Come up here and I'll tell you." She smiled; he saw a flicker in her eyes as his mind began to race. He wondered what she wanted but couldn't help the feelings of discomfort that arose inside him almost immediately. He wasn't sure if the glint in her eyes didn't come with malicious intent.
He climbed up the rusty metal ladder that led to the second floor, the place looked like an abandoned barn. It smelled like one too.
"Have a seat please." Laci gestured to the sole chair in the whole building.
"Laci, can you just tell me what's going on. What do you want?"
"Sit Adam." Magdalene came out of nowhere. She approached him and pushed him into the seat, of which the sides cuffed around his wrists almost instantly. "Glad to know the chair works."
"What the hell??" Adam questioned, staring at the two women.
"Oh Adam, always playing the victim." Magdalene said. "Well no more. Listen bub, my plan has been foiled No thanks to the stupid blonde girl."
He furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Eleanor." Laci added as Adam sat there confused.
"So, here's the deal," Magdalene shot Adam a sharp look. "I will
let you go if you sign this form."
Adams eyes scanned the paper that Magdalene had seemed to pull out of thin air. He raised his brows this time.
"I'm not signing that Mags." He said, almost amused.
"Why?" She appeared too calm, like she'd expected him to say that.
"Because, to put it simply, I don't want to marry you Maggie." There was a tension in the air.
"See, the thing is Adam, I need your family wealth. So... sign this binding piece of paper and I'll let you go free."
"You're delusional." Adam raised his voice slightly; frustration rang in his ears.
"I'm not though. I had a plan and my ploys failed. It's your turn to face the heat, don't worry we can divorce."
"I don't understand."
"You're not stupid Adam. Of course, you understand. Sign the damn thing!" Magdalene shouted, placing a pen in his locked-up hands.
"No, now let me go." He glared at her now. The dangerous glint in his eye would scare a room, except he would be scarier if he wasn't tied down. Magdalene simply stared at him.
"Your wrists are cuffed to a chair that is cemented to the floor. Even if you wanted to, you can't get up. Sign the paper and I'll let you leave unscathed."
"Mags, if you needed money, you could've just asked me. You didn't have to do all this."
"Don't you understand how much shame that would bring my whole family?" She stepped closer to him, pulling a knife out of her boot. "Sign the paper Adam"
"Mags, you don't need to turn to violence."
"Adam. My mother will disown me if I don't marry you. Please just sign the damn papers."
"No Maggie. I can't do that." His mind wandered to Eleanor, her bright eyes twinkling in his mind.
"This is just so cyclical," Laci glared at the two of them, "why don't you just forge his signature."
"Because if authorities look into it, it won't be accurate to his, they could arrest me." Magdalene said, her eyes not leaving Adam's.
The sun was beginning to set, and the 2 small windows didn't help to retain any of the light in the empty warehouse.
"Mags, if you need money," he said again, "just ask me for it." He attempted to stand up but was immediately pushed back into the chair by the wrist constraints.
"Adam! Just sign the papers and I'll let you go, otherwise I'll have to take this up another level!" She glared at him, bringing the knife close to his wrist. His eyes widened as the blade bit into his skin. He sat silently staring at the blood escape his wrist. "If I moved that blade an inch, I could've hit a very important vein." Maggie's eyes were wild as she looked at her hand, she wondered what she'd just done as Adam but his lip, attempting to conceal the pain he felt. Blood covered the cuff on his wrist as he looked at Maggie.
"Maggie, I don't understand why you think you had to do this." He said, his voice obviously strained.
"Adam. It was clear it wasn't working out between us. You never said you loved me. You never were even willing to sleep with me." Maggie declared as Laci stood silently.
"What role are you playing in this Laci?" Adam turned to her, "why are you doing this?"
"Maggie made a deal with me. And I intend to hold that true."
"However, much she said she would pay you; I can pay double the amount."
"It wasn't money, Adam." She said shyly, looking away as she watched the blood drip from the chair onto the rusted hay-covered ground.
"Whatever it was, I can do it for you instead." Adam pleaded. Laci stepped back, just as Adam was about to ask her, his jaw got pulled in the direction of a dangerously close Maggie.
"Look, Adam, this is between you and me." She brought the bloodied knife to his neck and cut a gash right above his collarbone. He flinched as he felt the warm fluid run down his chest and torso.
"Magdalene, please stop. We can resolve this another way."
"It's not that serious Adam," Magdalene laughed, pulling back and leaning against the wall, "just sign the papers and I'll let you go free."
"What if he tells the cops?" Laci threw in. Adam gave her a sharp glare.
Magdalene stared at her, contemplating the weight of the words.
"You'll need to kill him. Get his signature and kill him, then I'll help you throw his body into the ocean over there. It's not far and I saw a mobile cart downstairs." Laci declared.
Horrified, Adam didn't know what to do.
"I won't say anything to anyone I swear. Just let me go." He pleaded, he felt sweat build up on his forehead. "I have no intention of saying or doing anything of ill intent toward either of you. You have my word."
"Just like I had your word that you would marry me?" Magdalene butted in. He didn't know what to do, his heart was racing in his chest as she once again got closer.
"Take the pen and sign Adam, that's the smart thing to do." Laci said. Adam flinched, knowing that as soon as they got what they wanted, that knife would be plunged into his heart.
"Why are you doing this??" Adam asked.
"I already told you. Stop stalling, we don't have all night. I have somewhere to be after this." Magdalene declared. She was psychotic.
"Adam?" A voice called from downstairs. Adam's face paled and his breath stopped momentarily. Eleanor. She was here.
"Go take care of the girl." Magdalene said, nodding her head at Laci. Laci nodded back as Adam began shouting.
"Eleanor get out of here! It's not safe. Please!" Adam shouted as Magdalene covered his mouth with her hand, which he bit. For that, he earned a slash across his face, blood was dropping on the floor.
"You idiot! We told you to come alone. Now we'll have two bodies on our hands."
Adam kicked Magdalene with as much force as he could conjure when sounds of struggle began surfacing from downstairs. She fell momentarily, then stood back up with rage in her eyes.
"Or I could kill you right now!" Magdalene shouted.
"Then you'll never get my signature." In another time, or from an outsider perspective, this moment would almost be comical. But not now when Adam's heart was racing, blood was dripping, and breath was picking up its pace. He was as afraid as a mouse just caught by a cat.
The sounds of struggle coming from downstairs silenced as Magdalene grinned mischievously. She glared at Adam now, turning to face him as she again placed the pen in his hand.
Adam thought he couldn't breathe anymore when the next series of events occurred.
Eleanor climbed up the ladder. She pushed Magdalene so hard that she fell, and she pounded her head into the ground. She was covered in bruises as she snatched the knife out of Magdalene’s hand and stabbed the girl in the thigh.
Adam watched in horror as Magdalene screamed in pain then reached for Eleanor's head and slammed it onto the wall. They wrestled on the floor, covering both their bodies in each other and Adam's blood as they struggled. Adam watched helplessly, fighting the death he was tied to until he broke a cuff. He attempted to rip the other cuff off the bleeding wrist, slippery and hard to achieve as he finally took himself out of the chair. He rushed over to Eleanor just as Magdalene had captured the knife once again.
But right before she could stab Eleanor straight in the heart, Adam twisted the girl's arm to the point where he heard a pop and a loud scream.
Eleanor lay unconscious on the ground beside Magdalene who was still writhing in pain. Adam's arms wrapped around Eleanor as he lifted her up. He wasn't in nearly as much pain as his hero.
"Eleanor, please wake up." He pleaded, slapping her cheeks lightly. She was still breathing; he took that as a good sign as he rushed down the ladder than carried her down as well. Laci was sitting silently in a corner in the first floor of the warehouse, she was very much alive, but clearly traumatized. He wondered what Eleanor might've done to her. Then he noticed the foam that was escaping her mouth and realized that Eleanor had somehow tranquilizer her with whatever 'poison' she'd thought she killed Hank with. Laci would be fine; she would just also be silent for a while.
He would definitely a
sk Eleanor why she still held that drug with her. He wanted to know if she ever intended using it on him.
He carried her bridal style out the door of the rusty old warehouse, holding her close as their hearts beat in rhythm. He set her inside the back seat of his car, wondering how hard it would be to clean blood from the car now. He reached for his phone and dialed 911.
He sat and waited, in a matter of minutes, the paramedics arrived. He explained the situation, the entire remainder of the night was a blur.
Epilogue
3 years later...
Word had spread like wildfire. The bankruptcy of Magdalene’s family, her evil plot to disband the delicate hierarchy of Carnegie Hall's beloved boss. Laci and Magdalene would rot in jail for three times a life sentence for the attempted first-degree murder of Adam and Eleanor Carnegie.
Everything had almost gone back to normal aside from the many scars left on Adam's cheekbone and wrist. Eleanor was out for three entire days before she finally woke up.
And most importantly, they were back together permanently, and the entire world knew of Eleanor's story.
The girl that finally exploded, then recollected herself into a beautiful, caring and kind mother.
Eleanor had one daughter now, her parents knew of her existence and they were quite ecstatic when they found out.
Mary was one year old now.
Of all the scenarios that could've played out, they'd defeated all the demons— perhaps not all, raising a child is a challenge all on its own.
But it finally happened. They were happy, healthy, and their marriage had never been annulled so everything was back where it left off— except of course all the bad guys were gone now.
Mary-Anne ran across the hallway and into her parents’ room. Eleanor was still a s beautiful as ever, Mary-Anne had gotten that from her. The sparking blue eyes and her father's soft brown hair.
"Good morning! Red bird!" She hopped onto their bed as Adam smiled at his wife and daughter.
Everything happens for a reason and in the case of Eleanor and Adam, a lot of tribulations we're necessary to get to the strength of their relationship now.
The Girl that Fled (Bliss Book 3) Page 21