"Adam...what did you do to Aunt Elise?"
Penny’s voice was strained as she asked Adam a question, forgetting to call him by his userna as she feared that she already knew the answer.
And judging by the way his friends had acted, they knew too.
After a heavy silence, Adam spoke.
"I gave up Elise to the Gattioni Family...she killed the daughter of one of their top lieutenants, all just to fra Kyle."
Penny’s eyes widened in shock as she felt her breath hitch.
"How could you give her up like that? To a mafia family at that! They are a cruel and vicious group!"
Lily frowned hearing that and growled "Tell how you really feel!"
Adam grimaced at the conflict that was beginning to unfold.
Penny tilted her head and shouted "Why are you getting mad Lily? I didn’t insult you."
Lily’s temper flared as she practically shoutd
"You didn’t insult ?! My full na is Liliana Franscesa de Gattioni. The sole daughter and heir to the Gattioni Familia!"
Penny froze. The color drained from her face as the weight of Lily’s words sank in.
"You’re... one of them?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Lily crossed her arms, standing tall despite the tension radiating off her. "I am them," she said. "Born into it. Raised by it. Doesn’t change anything about who I am and what I believe in... So don’t stand there and act like you know the whole story."
Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can we not do this here?"
Penny turned on him, eyes blazing. "Oh, now you want to back out? You threw Aunt Elise to wolves and didn’t even tell ? You kept it hidden like it was so dirty little secret!"
"She made her choices," Adam said firmly. "And many people died because of them."
"She’s our family!" Penny shouted back
"Family? Elise viewed both and you as mangy mutts that was waiting for any opportunity to get rid of us!"
Crystal stepped forward hesitantly. "Penny... maybe we should—"
"No," Penny cut her off, shaking. "I want to hear everything. I want to know exactly what he traded her for. What the price was. Was it just protection? Power? A favor? How much did her life cost you, Adam?"
Adam looked away.
"Answer !" Penny scread.
Adam turned back and shouted back.
"You wanna know what the price was? Freedom! It was a step towards breaking the Samael family, a step to freeing those stuck in its monstrous shadow! Elise has killed dozens if not hundreds of people, all for her own selfish desires."
Crystal flinched at the tension in the air, her hands clenched at her sides. Luna stood still, her eyes unreadable. No one spoke. No one moved.
"You think I wanted to give her up?" Adam said, his voice low and sharp. "I didn’t do it for power or for favors. I did it to protect soone."
Penny stared at him, her chest rising and falling with each shaky breath. "Protect who? Yourself?"
"No," Adam said, looking her straight in the eyes. "You. Only you."
Penny froze. Her mouth parted slightly but no words ca.
"I don’t care about the rest of the family. I never have. They’re poison. Every last one of them. And Elise... Elise was one of the worst. You know what she did to people who crossed her? What she did to when I was a kid?"
Penny didn’t answer. Her silence was permission enough.
"She hurt , Penny. She hurt others. And when I found out she tried to fra Kyle for a murder she committed just to keep so political leverage, I saw an opening. So I gave her to the Gattioni. I let the monsters eat one of their own."
"You should have told ," Penny whispered, voice hoarse. "You were the only one I ever trusted. You knew that."
Adam’s face tightened. "And I didn’t want to lose that. I knew if I told you, you’d hate . But I did it anyway, because I’d rather you hate and live free than love and get torn apart by the sa people who ruined your mother."
Penny’s eyes widened. "You think they killed her?"
"I know they did," Adam said without flinching. "And one day I’ll find proof. But I’m not doing this for revenge. I’m doing it so you never have to live under their shadow. I want to burn the whole damn tree so you don’t have to carry its rot."
Lily looked away, arms still crossed but her expression unreadable.
Crystal stepped forward, voice soft but steady. "Penny... maybe this is sothing we need to talk about later. Sowhere quieter."
Penny didn’t answer. Her hands were trembling. Her voice barely ca out.
"Is there anyone left in our family who isn’t a monster?"
Adam didn’t hesitate.
"You," he said. "Only you."
Aria shook her head in denial.
"I don’t think that’s true," she said quietly.
Penny glanced toward her, confused and still trembling. "What do you an?"
Aria stepped forward, her gaze settling on Adam. "He says you’re the only one in that family who isn’t a monster. But that’s not true. Because he isn’t one either."
Adam gave her a warning look, but Aria ignored it.
"He saved ," she said, speaking clearly now.
Penny’s gaze shook as Aria opened up more about herself.
"My own father sent to the Samael company so that they could turn into a man for him. Adam was there and he convinced my father to leave with him. But Adam didn’t try to ’fix’ . He didn’t demand anything from . He just stayed. Protected , even when it didn’t make sense and he had nothing to gain but problems for helping . Honestly, it would’ve been easier for him to just walk away."
Adam looked away, jaw clenched tight.
"A monster wouldn’t do that," Aria said softly. "A monster doesn’t carry other people’s pain without expecting sothing back. A monster doesn’t risk everything just to shield soone they barely know."
Penny’s lips quivered. She looked between Aria and Adam, her breath still ragged but slowing
Aria stepped closer to her, her voice steady now. "I get it. You feel betrayed. You feel like sothing important got ripped away. But don’t twist the truth just to make sense of the pain. He isn’t perfect. But he’s not one of them. He’s not like the rest of your family. He’s fighting against them."
Adam stayed silent, his head lowered now, eyes shadowed.
Rachel moved beside Penny and gently took her hand.
"You’re allowed to be angry," Rachel said. "But don’t forget who’s still standing with you."
Luna added quietly, "Adam’s not trying to win a war. He’s trying to make sure it never touches you."
Penny didn’t answer. Not right away. She stared at Adam, eyes still wet with tears, the war inside her raging between grief, betrayal, and sothing else.
She took a shaky step forward.
And then, in a quiet voice, she asked, "Did you ever plan to tell the truth?"
Adam finally looked up.
"Yes," he said. "But only when I knew it wouldn’t hurt you more than it helped."
Penny didn’t say anything back. She just nodded once, barely visible.
It wasn’t forgiveness. But it was sothing. And that was a start.
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