chapter ten

I've never been the type to back down from a challenge. If anything, I thrive in situations where most people would run for the hills. But this? This was different. This wasn't just about solving a problem for Zilla.

This was about protecting something that was no longer just a mess of assumptions—it was real. India was Zilla's daughter, and that meant things were about to get a whole lot more complicated.

Finding India's birth mother hadn't been easy. It wasn't like I had a ton of connections, or that the woman had left any trail of breadcrumbs. But that didn't matter. I wasn't going to let this drop.

Zilla had no idea the lengths I was willing to go to, but I wasn't just doing this for him. I was doing this for Kayla and India—because the last thing that little girl needed was a biological mother who might come back into her life and cause problems.

So, I hit the streets, dug into the legal paperwork, and started asking questions. At first, no one wanted to talk. But once I made it clear that I wasn't going to let this go, I started to get more leads. People talk when they know you won't take no for an answer, and eventually, I tracked down the woman who'd given birth to India.

Her name was Clara. She was a young woman, about 23 years old when she had India. From what I could gather, she had some struggles, but I didn't know the full story yet. I wasn't sure if I even wanted to know. All I knew was that I had to find out if Clara was planning to show up and make some kind of claim to India even if she had signed her rights away to the infant.

I hadn't told Zilla and Kayla anything about what I was doing. They had a lot on their plate, and the last thing I wanted to do was add to the pressure. But I wasn't going to let anyone make a mess of their lives, not when I knew how much they were growing to care about India.

I found Clara living in a small, rundown apartment a few miles away from the city center. She was sitting on a couch, scrolling through her phone when I knocked on her door. She looked surprised but not scared, like she was waiting for something, maybe even me. I didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't about to start with pleasantries. I had to get to the point.

"Clara," I said, walking into her place without waiting for an invitation. I could tell she wasn't used to people barging into her space, but it didn't faze me. "I'm Eliza. I'm here about India."

Her eyes narrowed immediately. "What about her?" she snapped. I could see her hand tighten around the edge of the couch like she was already preparing herself for something she didn't want to hear.

"I'm not here for small talk," I started, getting straight to the point. "But I need to know if you plan to come back for her, because if you do, you're going to make things very difficult for Zilla. He's already stepping up, and if you're going to cause problems... I need to know now."

Her eyes flickered with something—regret, guilt, or maybe fear—but she didn't immediately say anything. Instead, she turned away, pacing to the window and staring out like she was lost in thought.

"I don't want anything to do with her," she said, finally turning back to me. "I gave her up because I couldn't care for her, and I don't want her in my life. I don't want to be a mother."

I was taken aback by her bluntness. It was one thing to hear it, but to hear a mother say she didn't want her child? That hit me in a way I wasn't prepared for. I took a deep breath, keeping my face neutral. "Then why the hell did you have her?"

Clara hesitated, a flicker of something in her eyes. "I... I don't know. I thought maybe... I thought maybe he should know. I didn't expect him to take her. But now it's too late. You can't just undo something like that. And I don't want to be dragged back into it."

I could tell she was wrestling with something, but I wasn't about to let it go. "You don't have to be involved if you don't want to be, but I need you to be clear about it. Zilla's not going to let this slide if you show up and try to take India. You've signed over your rights, and that's what's going to stand unless you want to make a mess of everything."

She seemed to shrink back at that. "I won't come back for her. But you need to tell him I'm sorry. I wasn't ready to be a mom. And I didn't know what else to do."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. "I can live with that," I said, finally nodding. "But if you change your mind, you'll have to answer to Zilla. And trust me, you don't want that."

I could tell she understood. There was no coming back from that decision. Once Zilla knew the truth, he'd make sure it stuck.

I stood up, ready to leave, but Clara's voice stopped me. "You tell him... I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt him."

I didn't respond. There was nothing more to say. I turned and left the apartment, my head swirling with thoughts of what I'd just uncovered. Clara wasn't going to cause Zilla any more problems, and that was a relief.

But there was still a lot to figure out. Zilla and Kayla were going to have a lot of weight on their shoulders, and I had to make sure they weren't blindsided by anything else.

elizabaccay ✓ 4h

I didn't expect to run into Arthur that day.

I'd gone to grab coffee at a café just around the corner from Zilla's place, trying to clear my head after my conversation with Clara. But there he was—Arthur, one of Zilla's older brothers.

Arthur had always been the more laid-back one of the family, but there was something magnetic about him. Maybe it was his easy smile, or the way his dark eyes always seemed to catch yours in a way that made you feel like the only person in the room. Either way, it had always been a little hard to ignore him.

I didn't expect our conversation to go the way it did. I figured we'd talk about the usual things—family, Zilla, life—but when Arthur leaned in just a little too close, I felt a jolt of electricity run through me. I shook it off, blaming it on the tension of the day, but when he laughed and said something to me with that easy grin of his, I felt my heart skip.

"You're always running around doing everyone else's dirty work, huh?" Arthur asked, clearly amused. He slid into the seat across from me, a cup of coffee in hand, his eyes glinting with that devil-may-care look I couldn't stand—and also couldn't resist.

"I don't mind," I replied, trying to keep things cool. "Someone has to keep everything from falling apart, right?"

He raised an eyebrow, leaning in closer. "You always have that look in your eye. Like you're planning something."

I didn't know what to say to that. "Maybe I am," I said, leaning forward just a little.

Arthur chuckled, and it was clear he wasn't going to drop the subject. He shifted in his chair, clearly not bothered by the tension hanging between us. "You're hard to read, Eliza," he said, his voice low, almost intimate. "But I think I'm starting to figure you out."

His words hit me harder than I expected. There was something in the way he said it, something that made me feel like I was walking a tightrope.

Arthur's smile was just a little too knowing. I couldn't tell if he was teasing me or if there was something more behind those dark eyes of his. But I could feel my heart racing, my body reacting in a way I wasn't prepared for.

"You know, I've always thought you were a little too serious for your own good," Arthur said, his voice almost a whisper now.

His hand rested casually on the table, just inches from mine, and for a moment, I forgot everything else—the weight of the responsibility I was carrying. All I could focus on was the way Arthur's presence seemed to fill the space between us.

"Maybe I just know when to get serious," I said, my voice a little quieter than I meant it to be.

Arthur's gaze locked onto mine, and for a moment, I couldn't look away. Then, as quickly as it came, the moment passed. He leaned back in his chair, his usual confident grin back in place.

"You're not so bad, Eliza," he said, his tone playful again. "Just keep me posted if you find anything else about India's mom."

I nodded, trying to regain my composure. "I will," I said, standing up, "but I've got work to do."

As I walked away from Arthur, my pulse was still pounding in my ears. He was trouble, I knew that. But something about him always made me want to step closer to the edge.

Maybe I'd let him figure me out a little longer.