Chapter 7
Adriana POV:
"What does Emmett Franks have to do with this?" Bryant roared, his face contorting with a rage that was terrifying to behold. He took another step forward, but the pilot subtly shifted his weight, a clear warning. "Adriana, what have you done?"
"What have I done?" I asked, my voice ringing with a clarity that surprised even me. "I survived, Bryant. No thanks to you." I turned to him, the wind from the rotor blades whipping my hair around my face. "And for the record, we're divorced. Remember? You insisted. I'm a free woman. My arrangements are none of your business."
With that, I climbed into the helicopter after my mother. The pilot closed the door, shutting out the sight of my ex-husband's face, pale and gaping in disbelief. As we lifted off the ground, I saw him standing beside Katia, who looked lost and bewildered next to the idling shuttle bus. They looked small. Insignificant.
The city fell away beneath us, a sprawling grid of decay and despair.
"Oh, Adriana," my mother said, her hand finding mine. Her eyes were full of worry. "Bryant looked so upset. Are you sure we should just leave him like that?"
"He'll be fine, Mom," I said, my voice thick with unshed tears. "He's going to the same place we are." I squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her, but the words were for me as much as for her.
Once we were high above the smog, cruising through the clean, blue air, I turned my face to the window and finally let go. The tears came silently, hot tracks on my cold skin. It wasn't grief for the man I'd left behind. It was for the woman I had been, the love I had wasted, the years I could never get back.
Helios was breathtaking. A jewel of green and silver set in a sapphire sea. It was a city from the future, all soaring architecture and lush, enclosed gardens, humming with the quiet energy of genius and hope.
We were shown to a beautiful, spacious apartment overlooking the ocean. It was more than a room; it was a home.
A few hours later, Bryant and Katia arrived. I saw them from my balcony, disembarking from a crowded, utilitarian ferry, a stark contrast to my own arrival.
We all gathered in the main orientation hall, a vast, sunlit atrium filled with the chosen few. The intellectual saviors of mankind. I stood with my mother, feeling out of place and exposed.
Bryant spotted me immediately. He started towards me, his face a thundercloud, but Katia put a hand on his arm, whispering something in his ear. He stopped, his jaw tight.
A moment later, I understood why.
"Well, well, look what we have here," Katia's voice, high and carrying, cut through the low murmur of the crowd. She was standing on a slightly raised platform, ensuring she had an audience. "I guess some people didn't get here based on their 'critical skills'."
Heads turned. Eyes followed her pointed gaze to me.
"Some people, it seems, got a golden ticket by finding a rich man to be their 'guest'." Her words were dripping with venom. "And they even managed to bring their elderly mothers along for the ride. So much for preserving the best and brightest. I guess some forms of collaboration are more... intimate than others."
The implication was disgusting, and it was clear. The murmurs in the crowd grew louder, laced with judgment and derision. I felt my mother shrink beside me, her hand gripping my arm tightly. I put my arm around her, shielding her, my body rigid with fury.
"Who is she?" someone near me muttered. "Another one of Franks' girlfriends?"
"Disgraceful," another voice added. "Wasting a spot like that."
I tried to get my communicator out to call for help, but a stern-looking security guard stepped in front of me. "Please, ma'am. Let's not cause a scene."
Katia smiled, a cruel, triumphant smirk. She had me cornered, publicly shamed, with no way to defend myself. Bryant stood behind her, not saying a word, letting it happen.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding," a calm, authoritative voice boomed through the atrium's speakers, silencing the crowd instantly.
Every head turned. Standing on the grand staircase at the far end of the hall was Emmett Franks. He was flanked by security, his presence commanding the entire space. He began to descend the stairs, his eyes fixed on me.
He walked directly to us, ignoring everyone else. "Are you alright, Adriana?" he asked, his voice low and concerned.
I could only nod, my throat tight.
He then turned to face the silent, watchful crowd.
"For those of you who are confused," Emmett announced, his voice cold and sharp as steel, "let me clarify. Ms. Wilkerson is not my guest."
He paused, letting the words hang in the air, a wave of fresh confusion rippling through the room. Katia's smirk faltered.
Emmett's eyes found mine, and for the first time, I saw a hint of a smile.
"She's my new boss."
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