"I’ve got sothing for you," Max said as he stepped into Adam’s hospital room not even thinking to knock.
Adam looked up slowly with a guarded expression, "What is it?"
Max rubbed his hands together and sat down on the stool as he said, "I know where your supposed son is. And... I know who his adoptive father is."
"Supposed son?" lanie asked, lifting her head sharply. She paused mid-slice, the apple knife hovering in her hand. Her voice was cautious, as she asked. "Wait-you an you know who sent Elias Krar? Has the man returned to Maniwa?"
That caught both Max and Adam off guard. They turned to look at her, confusion flickering across their faces. Max narrowed his eyes. "Hold on. Are you saying the attorney who helped you? You think he was sent by Adir’s adoptive father?"
lanie nodded slowly. "Yes. I... I think so. I t a boy at the hotel where I was staying in Maniwa and then later at the airport. The kid was cute. And then later, at the airport, this man approached . He warned to be careful. At the ti, I thought it was just a strange coincidence, but now, with everything that’s happened-the police, the investigation-I think he might’ve known more than he let on. And honestly, he’s the only person who makes sense. He’s the only one I can think of who would have had both the motive and the ans to send help when we needed it most."
Adam’s brow furrowed and his voice hardened. "Whoever he was, he has been clearly keeping secrets. It is quite probable, he is the one who took Adir that night, then he might have witnessed the entire thing. He could’ve co forward. He could’ve told the truth and spared us all of this... ss. Instead, he chose to hide behind anonymity and send a lawyer. Why go to such lengths?"
"I don’t know..." lanie admitted, having no idea what to think of that or having any explanation for the question.
"I think lanie has a point," Max interjected, cutting through the tension. Both Adam and lanie turned toward him. His expression was serious now, the weight of what he was about to say hanging heavy in the room. "And Adam—once you hear the na of the man who is Adir’s adoptive father, you’ll understand everything."
Adam looked at him, eyes narrowing. "Who is he?"
Max took a breath, then said, with deliberate clarity, "His na is Patrick Robert Collins."
"Patrick..." lanie murmured, her eyes narrowing slightly in recognition. Then, her voice rose in shock. "Spencer’s father who has been missing for the last few years?"
Max gave a slow nod. "Yes. Patrick Robert Collins. The sa."
Adam didn’t say anything. He remained still, his expression unreadable, eyes locked sowhere in the distance as if trying to piece together a puzzle with missing parts. The silence stretched for several monts, thick with unspoken thoughts.
As the quiet grew uncomfortable, Max reached out casually toward the tray beside lanie, his fingers inching toward a slice of freshly cut apple. Before he could grab it, lanie smacked his hand away with a sharp slap of the knife’s flat side.
"Ow!" Max yelped, drawing his hand back and glaring at her. "What was that for?"
lanie didn’t even look at him as she calmly resud slicing. "That’s for Adam! Not for you. You want to eat, you can take an apple from there and cut it for yourself?"
Max scoffed. "Cut it for yourself? That’s no way to speak to the man who just brought you the biggest information of the year. And especially when I have more information that might be useful to you."
She raised an eyebrow but didn’t bother replying. Instead, she flicked a piece of peel into the trash with pointed precision.
Max turned to Adam, gesturing toward lanie with both hands. "You see what your best wife is doing to your best friend? I co bearing revelations, risking life and limb, and I get slapped for trying to steal one piece of fruit. One slice. That’s abuse. You need to find a new best..."
Just as Max would have said, "New best wife.", lanie cut in in a high voice," Get a new best friend. One who won’t try to steal the nutrition from your plate when you are injured.."
Adam finally blinked and gave a small huff of amusent, the faintest ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth at Max and lanie’s antics. But soon, he exhaled, the lightness gone from his face. He pushed himself up against the pillows, and sighed, "We need to go back soon," he said finally, glancing between them. "Soon. This... being here like this—it’s not helping anymore."
Adam went on, slower this ti, like he was putting pieces together as he spoke. "Patrick Collins has always been... unpredictable. There were tis I thought he had my back. Stepped in when no one else would. And then other tis—he vanished. He’d go cold. Like he didn’t care. Like none of it mattered. He’s not soone I’d ever trust blindly. And him having Adir...and being in cahoots with Saira" His voice drifted. "It doesn’t sit right."
Max leaned forward, elbows on his knees, eyes serious now. "That’s what I thought too. But there is more..."
However before Max could ntion what the more was, Adam looked at him. "So where is he?"
Max winced. Just a flicker. But Adam caught it.
"He’s at the Collins estate," Max said, the words clipped and reluctant. The day he t lanie at the airport, that is where he was going.
That made Adam go quiet again. Really quiet. He looked down at his hands, deep in thought while lanie glanced at Max. "He went back there? Why? Why hide Adir all these years and then run back the mont Adam and Saira are gone?"
Max nodded. "I have no idea."
Adam didn’t speak. Didn’t even move. But sothing in his face shifted as he tried to make sense of what was happening when Max continued, "I don’t think the old man knows about Adir thought. Patrick’s keeping everything... separate."
Adam turned to him slowly. "What do you an?"
"I an Adir’s not there. He’s not with Patrick. He’s been kept sowhere else. Off the radar. Not hidden, exactly—but not there either. And from what I can tell, Patrick hasn’t told Sir Collins that he adopted the kid.
lanie narrowed her eyes. "Why not?"
"Maybe he doesn’t trust him. Maybe he’s protecting the kid. Maybe he just doesn’t want to open that door."
"Or he’s waiting," Adam said, voice low. "Waiting for sothing. But what?"
Max didn’t disagree or offer any suggestions but said," I might have a guess. That’s the other thing I found. There was a test. A DNA test Patrick ran on Adir when he adopted him. Quiet—paperwork buried deep. But I found it."
Adam looked up slowly, already knowing where this was going.
Max nodded once. "Adir isn’t your son. But he is family to Patrick Collins.
lanie’s brows furrowed. "What does that an? Adir is not Adam’s biological son? Then who did Saira have a child with..."
Max spoke quietly at that..." The DNA test reveals that Patrick and Adir... they’re half-brothers. They share the sa father."
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