Page 16 of The Inheritance (Breach Wars #1)

T he guild SUV came to a quiet stop in front of a two-story house. Elias didn’t know much about architecture, but he’d spent enough time in Chicago to recognize the style. It was a remodeled Chicago bungalow. Brenda’s parents lived in one, and Brenda and he had looked into buying one before…

A cold hand reached into his chest. He held still for a moment, waiting for the feeling to pass.

He had no idea if his former in-laws were still alive.

For the first year after the funerals, he’d tried to call once a month, until his father-in-law finally asked him to stop. He said it was too painful.

Elias studied the house, trying to anchor himself to the present.

The original bungalows were on the smaller side, with a footprint around eight hundred square feet, a full basement, and an attic space on top.

They were iconic to Chicago. People often expanded them with second story additions, and some of the popped-top bungalows looked disjointed as if a tornado had picked up half of a completely different home and deposited it atop the original brick or stucco frame.

This one didn’t. Whoever remodeled it set the addition back, away from the street, leaving the original facade intact.

The house was brick, with the original front room, a trademark row of large windows, and a small porch under the gabled roof with stairs leading to the street level.

The second story matched the first – same gently sloping roof, same dormered windows and matching shingles.

A garden bed ran along the front wall, offering lavender and white flowers.

More flowers bloomed in the box by the windows.

To the left, some sort of small decorative tree spread branches with dark red leaves. Adaline Moore loved her house.

Had. Had loved.

“I still don’t think this is wise,” Leo said from the driver seat.

Twenty-eight people died in the breach. Fourteen members of the assault crew, nine miners, four escorts, and Adaline Moore. Twelve of the deceased left behind minor children. Of all of them, only Adaline Moore’s kids had no immediate family to take care of them.

The media devoured any news related to the guilds and gates, and the death of a prominent DebrA would set off fireworks.

At some point the DDC would issue a press release announcing it.

Once that news broke, the rival guilds would go into a feeding frenzy of outrage, and Adaline’s children would become the center of a news cycle.

They would be overwhelmed, used, wrung dry for the sake of a cheap emotional punch, and then abandoned to their grief.

If they were lucky, the country would forget they existed.

If they were unlucky, someone would take note of two vulnerable orphans with a million-dollar life insurance payout.

He had seen this tragedy play out before.

“I won’t allow Adaline’s children to be fed to the media circus,” Elias said. “They are safer at the Guild HQ. I don’t need some asshole showing up at their door, sticking a microphone into their faces, and asking how they feel about their mother dying.”

“Adaline Moore would have made provisions,” Leo said.

“I’m sure she did. Until we know what they are, we will take care of the kids.”

“This will be seen as Cold Chaos controlling access to the children because we have something to hide. We are trying to minimize the media’s attention.

They love conspiracies, and other guilds will spin it in the worst way possible.

I worry this will have a Streisand effect.

Instead of keeping the story small, we will only make it bigger. ”

“That’s fine. If they want to paint us as villains, let them. We will survive. We are the third largest guild in the country.”

Leo sighed quietly.

“I called Felicia,” Elias told him.

Felicia Terrell was a powerhouse attorney, and she specialized in guild-related litigation. He spoke to her as soon as he got off the plane. She called him a marshmallow and promised to show up first thing in the morning. The children would be well protected from everyone, including Cold Chaos.

“Still…”

“Leo. This is the least we can do.”

Leo sighed again.

Elias opened the door and stepped out. The narrow walkway leading to the steps needed to be pressure-washed. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door.

The Ring camera came to life. Elias looked into it. “Hello, I’m…”

The door swung open, revealing a boy. He was about twelve, thin, with glasses and short light brown hair. “Elias McFeron,” the boy said. “From the commercials.”

“Yes,” Elias said.

Behind the boy, a teenage girl stepped out into the open.

She looked like a younger version of Adaline: same large eyes, same auburn hair, same wary look.

He never met Adaline Moore, but he had seen a couple of interviews and photographs.

Adaline didn’t just look at people. She watched them, actively observing, and her daughter was doing that exact thing to him now. He felt himself being evaluated.

“Something happened to mom,” the girl said.

“Yes. May we come in?”

The boy glanced at his sister.

“Yes,” she said.

Elias walked into the house. Behind him Leo entered and shut the door.

The inside of the home was clean and neat.

Dark wood floors, cream walls, a lot of the wainscotting that seemed to match the outside of the house.

A staircase to the left, a living room to the right, light green couches with notebooks and art supplies strewn on the coffee table, a white kitchen past it…

It felt like a home, warm and lived in. He had that once.

The two kids were looking at him, their faces tense.

“I’m the guildmaster of Cold Chaos,” Elias said. “Your mother was working on the mining site in the gate we are responsible for. The miners were attacked.”

“Is she dead?” the girl asked.

“Officially, she is missing. However, your mother is a noncombat Talent. She doesn’t have any means to defend herself. Only four of our mining team escaped, so the outcome isn’t looking good. We won’t know what happened for sure until we go back in and eliminate those threats.”

“So Mom could still be alive?” the boy asked.

“Yes. There is a slight chance that she might have survived. Nothing is certain until we find the bodies.”

“When?” the girl asked.

“As soon as we can pull an assault team together. We will need top-tier people for this breach.”

“How long will it take?” the boy asked.

“Several days. Probably at least three. Maybe longer. We have to go in with the kind of team that will win.” Elias paused. “I’m inviting you to stay at our HQ until this is over.”

“You don’t want us talking to the press people,” the girl said.

“It doesn’t really matter if you talk to the press or not,” Leo said. “We will get skewered anyway.”

“I’m not going to pressure you to do anything,” Elias said.

“But if you wanted to stay at our HQ, away from everyone, so you can deal with things, you have that option. I’ve called a lawyer on your behalf.

Whether you come with us or not, she will come to speak with you in the morning.

She doesn’t work for the guild. She works for you. ”

“And if we don’t want your lawyer?” the girl asked.

“Then you tell her no and she’ll leave.”

“Why are you doing this?” the boy asked.

“Because your mother trusted us to keep her safe, and we failed her,” Elias said.

The boy looked at his sister.

“He is not a threat.” She said it with absolute certainty.

“What about him?” the boy looked at Leo.

“Not a threat either. Although he really doesn’t think any of this is a good idea.”

Leo blinked.

Adaline’s daughter looked at Elias, and there was pressure in her gaze. “My name is Tia. This is Noah. We’re coming with you, but we have to bring Mellow.”

“Who is Mellow?”

Noah reached over to the couch, moved a blanket aside, and picked up a large cream-colored cat. The cat looked at Elias and hissed.

“Don’t be a drama queen,” Tia told it.

“Mellow is welcome to come,” Elias said.

“Good.” Tia nodded to her brother. “Go pack.”

He put the cat down and ran up the stairs.

“You’re a Talent,” Elias guessed.

“Yes,” she said.

“An assessor?” Leo asked.

“Sort of. Like Mom but with people.”

What kind of power was that? “Does your mother know?”

Tia shook her head. “You have to promise me that you’ll bring her back.”

“I can’t do that,” Elias said. “I’m not going to lie to you. Your mother is probably gone.”

“My mom is alive,” Tia said. “She promised she would come back to us. She always keeps her promises.”

He didn’t know what to say to that.

Tia pivoted to the bookcase and pulled a large black folder with a zipper on it.

“I’m going to get a cat carrier and my things,” she said and handed the folder to him.

“What is this?” he asked.

A tiny shiver of fear flashed in Tia’s eyes. He watched her squash it.

“Mom’s death folder. There is one on her laptop, too. I’ll need to grab that. We won’t need it, but she would want us to bring it.”

Tia disappeared into the house.

“Are they in shock?” Leo murmured.

“No,” Elias said. “They are just ready.”

Adaline Moore had trained her children what to do in case of her death. They were so efficient at it, they must’ve practiced.

This was the war at home, he realized. Ten years of it.

He was looking at children who grew up with the gates.

Tia would’ve been five, maybe six, when the first gates burst. The boy would’ve been a toddler.

They were prepared to lose their mother.

They lived with that possibility every day, and now they were putting on brave faces and trying to stick to the plan.

He had to get into that damn breach.

* * *