Page 116 of Charlie
“Did Liv come with you?”
“No, she had to stay with the children.”
He sighed. “Ah, yes. I had hoped to thank her in person. Liv is your guardian angel. I hope you know that.”
My nose twitched from talking about it, as I was trying to hold back tears at seeing my grandfather dying.
“How was the flight?”
“Fine. I would have come sooner but we’re trying to find a way for Liv and me to adopt the children and it’s taking most of my time.”
There was a small lift of his lips. “Hurry. I would like to know that I have five great-grandchildren before I leave.”
I leaned in. “Then I think you’ll be happy to know that Liv and I married last week. I was planning to propose to her in Paris, but things have been crazy with getting the social services to cooperate. One of the lawyers said that our chances of adoption improve if we’re married, so we made a quick decision.”
“Was it a nice ceremony?”
“It was at the city hall. The kids were there and we invited Kit, the detective you hired, and her brother Damian. Remember I told you he was the policeman who saved Lumi’s life?
“Yes, I remember.”
“We went out for a lunch afterward to celebrate, but we’ll have a proper wedding later. Liv promised her mom.”
“Ah, so she’s talking with her parents again, is she? That’s good.”
“Yes, she called them and they talked for hours.” I smiled. “There was a lot of catching up to do and apologies to be made, but her whole family is flying over in a few weeks.”
“How are the children?”
“Traumatized but better than expected.”
“I wish I’d had time to meet them all.”
Pulling out my phone, I showed him a picture of all the children that I’d taken before I left. “You’d love them. They are all academically ahead and very smart. Atlas and Lumi are the perfect candidates to take on leadership roles at Solver. They are sharp and analytic by nature.”
“Charles.”
“Mmm?”
“Don’t make the same mistake I did. Never put pressure on them to get involved in Solver. They have to want it. Not you.”
A twitch pulled at my upper lip and I scratched my neck. “Good point, old man.”
He smiled back with his sunken cheeks and for a second, I recognized the powerful man trapped inside the fragile and old body.
“Anyway, I’m talking to one of my college professors about Atlas."
“Why? Does he want to study law?”
“He’s still figuring out what he wants to focus on, but he’s so academically advanced that he’ll need to be challenged.”
“And the girl?”
“Lumi?” I drew a deep breath. “She’s grieving more than the others. Atlas and Maximum saw some of what happened that night, but they were drugged and only have blurred memories. Lumi, however, remembers everything vividly. I don’t think she’ll ever recover from seeing her mother killed in front of her.”
“No, I suppose not.”
“She's seeing therapists and getting help, but she’s having a hard time finding joy in anything.”
