Through It All

THIRTY FIVE

"There is not much we can do Mr. Lancaster."

Adam rolls his eyes in frustration as he sits inside inspectors Lane's office. "Yes there is! Daniel Smith broke into my house and assaulted my wife, do what you usually do with situations like these."

Inspector Lane leans forward tapping his desk as if making a point. "Technically, he did not break in, Mrs. Lancaster did open the door."

"She did not invite him in and asked to be assaulted, did she?"

The Inspector looks at him without being able to come up with an answer. "I will be completely honest with you. Most of our funding comes from Mayor Smith, and if we incarcerate his son, we will jeopardize it, and we need it desperately."

Adam watches him in disbelief. "So he's allowed to walk the streets of Lakewood and assault as many women as he wants, is that what you are telling me?"

"Now Mr. Lancaster, he spent a week under my custody and he did seem like he regretted his actions."

"Ah well, as long as he showed some remorse, then I believe we can forget about it."

"I don't like your tone," says the inspector harshly.

Adam stands angrily. "And I don't like the way you are handling things. This man hurt my wife. What if tonight, he decides to break into your house and assault your wife? Will you seek justice then? What is going to take for you to do your job?"

"I am going to have to ask you to leave," he replies.

Adam shakes his head angrily. That was it then. The police won't even touch Daniel because of who his father was.

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Adam walks inside his house finding Gilda and Lily cleaning every inch of his house. Gilda, seeing him, runs down the stairs fervently wanting to know the outcome of his visit. Adam simply shook his head and sits on the couch defeated. He doesn't know what to do. He can't keep on living in this town knowing that Daniel was still out there, regardless of his apology, of listening to him saying how much he loved Sophia, his promise that he was going to leave her alone, he went ahead and did this. Adam is no longer sure if they will be safe in this village.

Sophia walks down from their bedroom, her eyes light up when she sees him sitting on the couch. She's wearing a black dress, her hair up in a complex style making her seem older than she actually is.

"Hey," she greets as she takes a sit beside him. "How'd it go?"

Adam shakes his head, which is answer enough for her.

"Mh," she says not as disappointed as he thought she would be. "I knew that would happen. Him being the son of the richest man in town and all."

"I'm sorry..."

She takes a hold of his hand. "No, don't apologize. You tried your best and I love you for that. We can't dwell on it, I'm afraid it won't do any good." A shadow of sadness crosses her face, but it disappears behind a smile. "Remember, we have a dinner party to attend to."

"Ah yes, the awaited party of the year."

Sophia giggles as she stands patting his leg. The most awaited party of the year was the celebration of his parents' anniversary. It was their Silver Anniversary, which made the occasion a grander of an affair than any other party they have ever organized. It will take place at the great hall, only the prosperous members of town were invited. Adam usually looked forward to the event, every year, he would be so excited to be surrounded by such prestigious families, that it made him feel like he was just as prestigious. But after all he and Sophia have been through, from their first time apart, to the miscarriage, he doesn't feel like facing the most snobs from Lakewood, especially Mayor Smith and his son.