Anna approached and stood next to Maxwell, who hugged her tightly, noticing that she was trembling.
"Have you seen what I've brought for your family, Daddy? Are you satisfied?" Anna asked angrily.
"I'm sorry, child."
Anna turned to Adam.
"Adam, I'm coming with you. I have some conditions, but I want you to free my family first.
Maxwell let go of Anna and stared at her as if he didn't know her.
"That won't guarantee that they stay alive. Only after we reach the United States will I free them from any threat." Adam said calmly.
"Do it." Anna said between breaths.
Adam took out his cell phone and called someone. He put it on speaker.
"You can release them and leave the room. But they must remain inside the house until I say they can be released. Leave them locked up in the living room. No one goes in and no one comes out."
Maxwell looked at Adam, as if he only just understood his wife's attitude. He closed his hand and was about to punch his brother again when Anna grabbed him and turned to face Maxwell, staring him in the eye.
"You know I love you." She said and took the ring off her finger and handed it to him, along with the note. "Save it for the day I come back." She said, her voice laced with emotion. "If that doesn't happen, give it to a young woman who deserves it and who will help you take good care of our children. I'll still want to talk to them every day." She said and her tears subsided. Maxwell hugged her with a frown and fury in his eyes. He felt he hadn't been man enough to protect his family.
"I don't think I want to see that scene." Adam said angrily.
Anna turned to Adam.
"You can close your eyes, Adam!"
Anna then pulled Maxwell close and their lips met. They kept kissing, and in that kiss, they told each other that it would be a short separation. Even if they didn't believe it. It was a promise that they would continue to love each other forever. And they were sure of it.
Anna pulled away from Maxwell with regret and turned to Adam.
"You won't touch me without my permission. You can try to make me fall in love with you again, but you won't touch me until I want you to. I'll be free to come and go. My father will go with us. I don't trust you with Ian. You won't try to register Ian as your son, he already has a father. And it will stay that way. Little by little, over time, you'll be able to tell him that you are his biological father. And he'll decide if he wants your name on his birth certificate. You will only teach him what I allow. And Genevieve will stay there, with me."
"I accept all your conditions, Anna, except one. Although I feel immense affection for Genevieve and her presence is very pleasant, I will not allow Genevieve to remain there, alive. She betrayed me and I can't forgive her. She wouldn't be a good example for my men." Adam said and turned to Maxwell. "The ring on Anna's finger was unique, Max. Unique, but not subtle. Did you reveal its true meaning to her, or did you keep it a secret, just as you kept it a secret from your true nature? Anna knows..."
"Stop, Adam." Maxwell warned vaguely. "You can tell her everything, brother." Maxwell said with a defiant smile.
"I..." Adam stared at Maxwell in fury. He would never do anything to harm his brother. Revealing what Max was to anyone was a path of no return. Soon, everyone would know and there would be no safe place for Max. He knew it would happen one day, but he wouldn't be the one to start the war.
"Are you at a loss for words, Adam?" Maxwell asked after Adam's long silence. "That's very unusual... For everyone else, not for me. I know you have feelings. And that you protect the targets of those feelings. Not because you're good, but because you can't help but suffer if something happens." He said and took the ring out of his pocket and held it out to Adam. "One of us had to give it to her. Take it! Take it with you. It's just a ring."
"Adam stared at him, getting angrier by the second, but remained silent.
Maxwell turned to Anna, after putting the ring back in his pocket.
"Anna... If you don't want to go, I can take care of the kidnappers in our house right now!" He said and Anna looked him in the eye.
"Max... I don't trust Dad anymore. I won't put my family's life at risk because of him. It's not just men with guns, there are bombs too and..." Anna said and turned to Adam again. "Can we go now? I don't want my family with a bomb threat on their lives." She said and went to her room to pack, letting the tears wash down her face.
...
As soon as Anna left the living room, Maxwell turned to Adam.
"You planted bombs where your nephews and mother live?" Maxwell asked rhetorically. "You're more despicable than I could ever have imagined... Even Ian, you wouldn't spare, because of your mad obsession. You're sick, Adam. There are two remedies for you; being committed to a mental institution, or being put in the electric chair. I never hated you before, Adam, despite your constant attacks on our mothers. But today, I can see in you the monster they detected a long time ago and ran away from. And I'm not even talking about the werewolf."
"Calm down, Max." Adam said debauched. "You don't hate me, you hate yourself for not protecting your children from this possibility. But don't get upset with me. Soon you'll meet the kids, and you'll be able to have a wank every day, while chatting to Anna on the computer. I have no intention of severing the link between you. Unlike you, I trust my love for her. Soon, she won't want to see you anymore."
"She will never love a man who has the guts to kill her children, Adam. You are condemned to a life without love. You will no longer have my love, nor that of our mothers, nor that of my children. Not even Ian will love you. For a while, he might even admire your dark ways, because he has that dark side too, but with what I've taught him, and with all the love I've lavished on him, he won't put up with your evil for long."
"Keep the love of your children, and our mothers, if that's any consolation. I never wanted them. I don't need them at all. As for Ian, he already loves me. And in less than a year, he won't even remember you exist anymore. Anna is mine. She always has been and always will be. If she's not mine, she won't be anyone else's. So what do I care? Whether she loves me or not, I'll be the only man available to her. One day she'll wake up loving me again.