Chapter 10
Madeline never once took Henry to school.
Not even on his first day back after the break. Not once. And Finn? He’d been gone for months. Europe, business, the usual.
But while he was off playing diplomat with old men in custom suits, things at home were rotting.
Henry was slipping.
School had already sent two official warnings.
He’d been skipping classes, getting into fights, sleeping through tests.
The principal even said they’d consider dropping him if it kept up.
Nobody helped. Nobody showed up.
Madeline didn’t care. She’d sleep ’til noon, sip champagne in the garden, then spend the rest of the day scrolling her phone like the world didn’t exist.
When one of the maids timidly asked her, “Ma’am, should we call the police? Henry hasn’t come home all day…”, Madeline barely looked up from her damn mirror.
“Relax,” she said, waving her hand like they were talking about a missing sock. “He’s probably wandering around, hiding to
make a scene. That boy craves drama.”
“But it’s almost midnight, ma’am…’
“Oh, please.” Madeline scoffed. “No one would dare touch a Gallagher. They know who his father is. Now leave me be, I’ve got plans.”
And with that, she tossed on a fur-lined coat, stepped into her red heels, and strutted out the door.
She headed to Velvet, this high-end bar downtown where the drinks cost more than rent and the air smelled like cologne and dirty secrets.
Without Finn around, she was finally free to be her true self.
She laughed too loud. Flirted with guys half her age. Tossed her hair like she was still twenty-five. She leaned across the table, trailing her nails down a model’s chest when her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number.
She froze. Then it buzzed again, Finn.
She slipped out the side door fast, heels clicking against wet concrete, and ducked into the alley beside the bar.
It was dark, quiet, trash scattered by the wall. She checked her reflection in the phone screen, then answered.
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Chapter 10
“Finn? Why are you calling me so late?” she said sweetly, like honey laced with poison.
“Where’s Henry?” His voice was sharp. Cold. That tone he used right before people disappeared.
“What? He’s at home, in his room I think…”
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“Don’t lie to me, Madeline.” His voice dropped. “The housekeeper called me an hour ago. Henry’s been missing for fourteen hours. He never showed up at school. No one’s seen him. What the hell have you been doing?”
She paused. Just a beat. Just long enough to give herself away.
“Shit,” she whispered. “Okay, I’ll go look for him. I didn’t know, I swear”
“You didn’t know? You live in the same damn house, Madeline! I trusted you with my son. You had one job.”
“This is the first time you’ve ever yelled at me, Finn–”
“Don’t make this about you. Find him. Now.”
He hung up.
And for the first time since I’d known her, Madeline looked scared.
Within the hour, Finn’s men found Henry.
He was curled up in a dirty alley behind a liquor store on the south side, barely breathing, bruises on his face, blood on his shirt.
They’d taken everything. His phone. His shoes. Even his damn coat. Whoever jumped him didn’t care whose last name he carried.
When Madeline got there, he looked up. His eyes lit up just a little.
“You came for me,” he mumbled, lips cracked. “Mom… I knew you’d come…”
But Madeline just clicked her tongue, took one look at him, and shook her head.
“I told you a hundred times,” she snapped. “I’m not your mom. Stop calling me that.”
Henry’s eyes flickered.
“You’re ruining my goddamn night,” she hissed. “If you pull a stunt like this again, disappearing, playing the victim like your
crazy mother, I swear I’ll beat the shit outta you. Do you hear me?”
“Why…” Henry whispered, tears mixing with the dirt on his cheeks. “Why are you like this…?”
And then…
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
The voice hit her like a bullet.
Finn.
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He stepped out of the shadows, face stone cold, leather coat flapping behind him. No sound. Just rage.
“F-Finn? I thought you were in Europe–”
He didn’t even blink. “So what? So you could play house when I’m around and monster when I’m gone?”
“Listen, baby, I was just trying to scare him, he scared me first, I didn’t–”
“Save it.” His voice was low. Quiet. That was the dangerous kind of quiet. The kind that came before a storm. “You laid hands on
my son?”
“I–he was lying! He said I was his mom, I told him a thousand times I’m not!”
“You don’t get to raise your hand to my family.” His jaw clenched. “You’re done, Madeline. Pack your shit and get out of my
house.”
“Wait–Finn–”
But he was already kneeling beside Henry, carefully lifting the boy into his arms like he weighed nothing.
Henry winced. “Dad… I miss my real mom. So much.”
Finn didn’t say anything right away. He just looked down at him, eyes softening.
“I know, kid,” he murmured. “Me
too.”
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