Chapter 351

“Good luck with the Smiths,” Amy said. “Remember, they have no control over you anymore.”

I tried to smile. I dreaded seeing them again, but I suddenly had something else to worry about.

On my way out of the apartment, I spotted a calendar on the wall next to the door and groaned.

Today was the 17th. I had utterly forgotten Victor’s birthday. He turned twenty-six today.

I should have brought him breakfast in bed this morning.

“Ugh! I didn’t even say happy birthday,” I grumbled and smacked myself in the forehead.

“Happy birthday to who?” Amy asked. “What’s the matter, Daisy.”

“Today is Victor’s birthday, and I forgot all about it until just now,” I explained.

“You can bring him to the restaurant tonight,” Mr. Gray suggested. “I’ll create a special menu for the two of you, including a birthday cake.”

“That sounds wonderful!” I hugged Mr. Gray.

“I’ll arrange everything,” Elliot Gray promised. “We’ll see you and Victor at seven.”

“Thank you so much,” I said and went out the door.

Before going to the bank, I went shopping and bought Victor a new Luminor watch for his birthday. It was white and rose gold with a diamond-studded quarter moon on its face.

Next, I went to my bank and withdrew the money I needed for the Smiths. I had the teller stack it in a messenger bag.

It was a little scary to be walking around with that much cash, but my truck was parked close by, and nobody seemed to notice my white-knuckled grip on the bag’s strap.

After returning to the mansion to wrap Victor’s watch, I texted him to tell him I was interviewing the Smiths that afternoon and that we had a reservation at Elliot Gray’s restaurant at seven for dinner.

He responded happily about dinner and wished me luck with the Smiths.

I could barely eat lunch and began pacing the mansion’s halls while waiting for it to be time to go.

At three o’clock, Shane texted me that he had wrapped up the interview with Principal Jones. I told him about the arrangement I made with Cecilia, and he offered to go along.

“That would be great,” I replied. “I'm not looking forward to seeing them again.”

“I’ll pick you up in a few minutes,” he responded.

I waited in the foyer until I saw his Corvette coming down the driveway. Then I ran outside with the bag of money and jumped in the passenger side of Shane’s car.

Shane raised his eyebrows at the bag. “Is that money?”

“Yep,” I replied. “My adoptive family never does anything to be nice.”

“Your life wasn’t great with them, was it?”

“I got through it,” I said and changed the subject. “They live at two-thirty-seven Primrose Street.”

Shane nodded and steered the car toward the other end of the city to a Beta suburb. The houses were small but well-kept, with tiny backyards separated by rusty chain-link fences.

We rode most of the way in silence. When Shane turned onto Primrose Street, I told him to park near the mustard-colored house with brown shutters.

The old neighborhood looked more worn and even smaller than it did when I lived there. But I could envision my younger self walking that street to get to school or to work at Gray’s Restaurant.

Back then, I was looking forward to the day I could escape that house. Now, I didn’t want to enter it again.

Yet, I had no choice. I had to prove to the people of Denhurst that I didn’t lie to them as the Alpha-Centric news outlets do.

As I climbed from Shane’s car, I looked at the brown front door and froze. I had to force myself to go into that house and talk to the family I used to live with.

Shane’s arm came around my shoulders. “You can do this, Daisy. I can tell they did bad things to you, but those days are over.”

I nodded and took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

Cecilia answered the door and took the bag of money from my hands. Andrea was behind her, clapping her hands with glee.

“Don’t forget you promised me a new phone and laptop, Mother,” my adoptive sister said.

I saw Shane roll his eyes when Andrew looked inside the bag before asking us to come into the living room and sit down.

“This isn’t Victor Klein,” Andrew said, staring at Shane.

“This is Shane Ross, a reporter,” I explained.

Shane got out his camera. “I think the sofa would be a good place to interview you folks.”

“Alright,” Cecilia agreed. “But I’ve got supper to cook, so this better be quick.”

“I just have a few questions for you to answer on camera,” Shane told her. “And I believe you also agreed to give Daisy a copy of her adoption papers.”

Cecilia handed me a battered file folder. “Here ya go.”

I took the file and held it in both hands while looking around the living room. I never noticed how shabby and cold it felt before.

The small straight-back chair I used to sit in when the family watched TV was still in the far corner. Coats and jackets were piled on it now. I resisted the strange urge to sit there and moved next to Shane.

“How old was Daisy when you adopted her?” he began.

The Smiths answered questions for about twenty minutes. They peppered their answers with insults to everything about me, from my appearance to my intelligence. Cecilia called me lazy and unappreciative twice.

They were still not nice people, and I was glad I could leave them behind once more.

Shane and I silently walked to his car.

He opened the passenger door for me. “I’ll edit out their nasty comments and have it ready for release tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” I said, still thinking about how miserable I was living with the Smiths.

But I cheered up on the way home. Victor’s birthday dinner was two hours away, and I had to prepare.

Shane dropped me off at the mansion, and I ran upstairs to shower and change.

I was slipping a black sheath dress over my head when Victor entered the bedroom.

That looks amazing,” he said. “I need to find something equally nice to wear to keep from looking shabby next to you.”

I crossed the room and put my arms around his neck. “Happy Birthday, darling.”

“I thought all the excitement and stress made you forget,” he said.

“I did forget at first,” I admitted. “But ….” I took the beautifully wrapped watch from the nightstand drawer and handed it to him.

“What’s this?” Victor grinned.

“Open it,” I said.

Carefully peeling back the foil wrapping paper, Victor exposed the new watch.

“Wow, this is great, sweetheart.” He took the watch from the box and tried it on his left wrist. “It’s perfect. I’ve been wanting one of these.”

He stood and kissed me.

I kissed him passionately before pulling away. “We have to be at the restaurant in forty minutes. Chef Gray is preparing a special menu for us to celebrate your birthday.”

Victor’s stomach growled, and we laughed.

“I better hurry,” he said and went across the hall to the closet where he kept his clothes when we were at Alex’s.

We arrived at the restaurant on time and were seated in the new raised seating area. It gave us a good view of the rest of the diners while giving us some privacy.

Our table was decorated with a glittering tablecloth and candles. A chilled bottle of champagne and two glasses were waiting for us.

The host opened the bottle and poured the first two glasses for us. “I’ll alert Chef Gray that you’re here,” he said before walking away.

The food was fabulous. There was steak, bacon-wrapped scallops, and asparagus tips in pasta with a light cream sauce.

When we finished, Chef Gray appeared with a cake and several of his staff, singing Happy Birthday.

Suddenly, everyone started to stare at us, and the mood in the restaurant changed.

“That’s them,” I heard a man say.

“How dare they sit above us after trying to ruin our lives,” a woman shouted.

People began to stand and shout at each other. They were angry, angry at us.

“Daisy, we must get out of here right now,” Victor said

“If you can make it to the kitchen, you can go out the back door,” Mr. Gray offered. “But you better hurry.”

Victor and I stood and began to make our way to the kitchen door. Halfway there, the crowd started throwing things.

A wine glass missed my head by inches, and a plate of pasta splattered against my legs.

After Victor dodged a bottle that smashed against a wall, we began to run.