Chapter 122. She’s Gone

2014

Adrian’s POV

The minute I stepped foot back in New York, a dark cloud settled over me.

It wasn’t just in my head; I felt it like a rope around my neck, thick and suffocating as I walked through the doors of the house I barely recognized anymore.

It had been years since I’d really lived here. Even before Lila’s hospitalization, I spent most of my time at my uncle’s place, avoiding this house like the plague. It wasn’t like I had any choice since my father had been the one to dump me there after my mother died and looking back, I realized that I should’ve been grateful he didn’t leave me here in this house all alone. It was too big, too empty. Too full of ghosts. After my mother died, it stopped feeling inhabitable. My father rarely stayed here, and when he did, it was only between business trips. The staff kept it spotless, but that only made it feel more lifeless, like a museum of a family that didn’t exist anymore.

I should have felt