Page 20 of The Beast's Heart

“Youhave no idea what they’ve been through. Why do you think I’mdoingthis?”

“This? You mean using them for your own prestige?”

A muscle jumps in his jaw. “Watch yourself, Belle.”

Blood rushes in my ears, but it’s too late for self-preservation now. “This might just be marketing for you, but it’s real for them. What you do here is going to affect them for the rest of their lives?—”

“That’s the point!”

“Is it? Because I thought the point was to show them off at the end of it. That’s certainly what Meredith thinks. And it’swhat they think too. They think you want me to transform them from who they are into children your rich friends can be proud to support. Extreme Makeover: Orphan Edition.”

Adam’s face fills my vision, flushed with rage. We’re so close he could punch me and I wouldn’t even see it coming. Yet I can’t seem to stop.

“Just what price should they pay for the privilege of being here? I’m sure a few tears are worth it. A few sleepless nights. A hungry belly now and then will certainly ensure they’re well and truly grateful.”

“Enough!” The full power of his anger is like a crack of lightning, loud and sudden enough to make me jump, even though I was expecting it.

We stand in fraught silence. My frantic heartbeat fills the room. His nostrils flare. His eyes lock on mine. His chest is rising and falling and it seems like he’s struggling to get himself under control.

“Fine,” he says.

That was not what I expected.

He turns away. “Fine. One month. One month to do it your way. But you better not be wasting my time.”

Before I have a chance to respond, he’s swept out of the room, slamming the door behind him. I sink onto the bed, trembling so hard I feel like I’m going to rattle apart.

FROM BEAST TO BAIRNS

INSIDE ADAM DE VILLENEUVE’S PHILANTHROPIC FAIRY TALE

As the pandemic sweeps the world, many of us are hunkering down in our homes to await a vaccine. But for four American children, that home is now a fairy tale come true. We take a look inside the Scottish manor where ex-wrestler, Adam De Villeneuve (“The Beast”), is taking on the American foster system.

There are said to be 1,500 castles dotting the Scottish landscape. On a beinn (large hill) in the Highlands, about two hours outside of Fort William, sits one such castle: De Villeneuve Estate. It’s believed that this isolated property dates back to the reign of King James V, a palatial holiday home for a once-wealthy and powerful family. But such details are lost to time. The more recent history is far more intimate, and more tragic.

In 2004, The Beast, then Adam McKenzie, was one of wresting’s rising superstars at the age of only 22. The next year, when same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada, he became a different type of icon when he revealed a longterm relationship with French-Canadian composer, Lloyd De Villeneuve and the two were wed.

This was when they purchased the estate— a 16-bedroom manor house, set on 120 acres of sprawling gardens, complete with dazzling views of the surrounding mountains, a groundskeeper’s cottage and a private lake.

With his new husband safely ensconced in their country home, The Beast returned to the spotlight and his meteoric rise. For two years, he dominated headlines both with his exploits in the ring and wild parties, where he demonstrated behavior befitting his moniker. Then, in spring of 2007, one headline that would change his trajectory forever: Lloyd De Villeneuve drowned, suicide suspected.

A BEAST OF A DIFFERENT NATURE

Following his husband’s death, The Beast retired from the public eye. He dabbled in coaching, obtained a degree in sports management from Columbia and started a foundation, in Lloyd’s name, to help children in need.

It was here that he finally recovered the passion that he’d last experienced in the ring.

“This was a cause very close to Lloyd’s heart,” De Villeneuve tells me now, via video call. He’s sitting in a gorgeous vintage French drawing room and my first impression is that he seems out of place among the delicate upholstery. He may no longer be a wrestler, but he still has the stature of one, with broad shoulders and biceps for days.

“We met at a Save the Children benefit. I complained about the price we’d had to pay for a plate and he was quick to set me to rights.”

Even so many years later, there’s a heaviness behind his fond words.

“After he passed, I wanted to do something to honor his memory and a foundation to help children seemed most fitting. The more I engaged with the issues, the more I realized that there’s more to saving the children than helping innocents in war-torn countries. There’s a lot of work to be done right here at home.”

Catching his error, he adds, “In the States, I mean.”

Which leads me to ask: if his aim is to help children in the US, what is he doing in Scotland?

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