Chapter 1.0 - Jail

A few hours earlier…

The sound of prison bars opening had become a recurrent thing in Adam's life.

"Get up!"

Lying on the cold concrete with his head supported by his own jacket, Adam blinked at the sudden light. In front of it, a tall figure was obscured by shadows.

"Five more minutes…" The playboy closed his eyes and laid his head back down. He didn't know what time it was, but he knew he wasn't ready to get up yet—it didn't matter where he was.

Firm heels clicked on the concrete floor, their sharp sound stinging Adam's brain. It wasn't his favorite sound when hungover.

As the steps stopped, Adam relaxed and was ready to give in to dreamland once again.

"I said."

An even sharper pain woke the boy up this time—definitely. The person had grabbed his ear and was lifting his head up like a purse.

"Get up!"

Oh, he knew that ear pull. With his head throbbing, Adam opened his eyes to face his enemy.

"Mom, why are you here so early?! You should've sent a lawyer!"

"You are my stupid son. How can I sleep knowing you're here?"

In the poorly illuminated cell, Adam could feel his mother's angry gaze burning his skin.

"Come on, I don't have all morning." A third voice, male, called out. It was the same officer who had arrested him at the bar the night before.

"Morning, officer." Adam saluted the man's shadow by the door.

"Let's go, so I can strangle you in private."

Pulling himself up, Adam followed his mother's steps out of the cell. Just by the sound of her heels, he knew he had messed up.

"This is the second time this week, Adam. The second!" she said as they walked out of the police station.

Adam, on the other hand, was waving goodbye to the officers. Some waved back; others just frowned at him—the rich mama's boy. That's what they called him every time he was arrested for getting into a fight.

"I'm tired of seeing you waste your life like this. I've done everything I can to help you, but I can't force you to be better…"

They crossed the front door and were hit with paparazzi flashes that made Adam's eyes hurt. They were everywhere these days, following Adam and his mother.

"Adam, how does it feel to be a mama's boy?"

Both of them were used to the harassment. Helena dealt with it much better than Adam. She ignored them and advised him to do the same.

"Adam, do you think you're a disappointment to your mother?"

But sometimes, Adam couldn't just let it slide. Even though his mother said she didn't care, there's only so much a person can handle without being affected by it.

"How does it feel to have such a terrible mother?"

Adam stopped at the car's door. He was almost inside, but they had to talk about her. A woman couldn't be successful without others doing everything in their power to tear her down.

"Are you angry that she cares more about her company than about you?"

Since she was one of the most prominent businesswomen in the country, the press was always trying to tarnish her image. According to them, she couldn't be both a good CEO and a good mother.

Turning back, Adam locked eyes with the bastard who was talking about Helena.

"Fuck you, you son of a bitch! Don't you ever talk about my mother again, or I swear I'll end you!"

The boy tried to grab the paparazzo's camera but was held back by the bodyguard who was coming right behind him. Holding Adam by the waist while he kicked and screamed, the giant man shoved him inside the car and closed the door.

"You're doing exactly what they want."

Sitting next to him, Helena took off her sunglasses. She looked tired, probably from working late before coming to bail Adam out.

"They can't get away with this shit." Adam crossed his arms and looked away, feeling guilty for having her go all the way downtown after working the whole night.

"It doesn't matter, Adam. We know it's not true." Helena understood her son's frustration. Sometimes, she grew tired of hearing those things too, but she kept it to herself. Adam, however, was young and had never been good at hiding his emotions.

"Of course it does. You don't deserve it." Adam looked at her. He admired his mother's strength and self-control. "You worked too hard to get where you are. They can't treat you like shit. I won't let them."

Recently, Helena had been the target of campaigns trying to destroy her image. Her company was nearing a major merger, and the opposing companies were trying to stop the deal, claiming she couldn't control her own son, so how could she run a multi-billion-dollar company?

"It's okay…" She pulled her hotheaded son closer. "Ugh, you smell like shit!" Helena pushed the boy away as she caught the scent of his hair. "What did you do?"

Adam laughed out loud at her exaggerated reaction.

"Prison, Mother. It's harsh on a man." The playboy said in a dramatic tone.

"You wouldn't last a day in prison, boy." She slapped him on the head and then laughed. Adam never spent more than a night in jail; it was all minor charges for disturbing the peace.

"Listen to me, Adam." Helena assumed a firmer tone. "I don't want to bail you out again. I know you don't do it on purpose, but you have to stop, son. This isn't you."

Adam knew when his mother was being completely serious and couldn't lift his eyes to meet hers. He knew he was wrong.

Resting her hand on his face, Helena pulled Adam's gaze up. He always had the sweetest eyes, even though he tried to hide it behind a bad-boy act.

"You have so much potential, and you're wasting it…" Adam turned away, leaving his mother's hand hanging in the air. "Only because you don't believe in yourself."

"I'm not like you, Mom… I'm not a computer genius. I can't even do simple math!" He chuckled, remembering that one time he got a zero on a math test because he mixed up all the symbols.

"But you care, Adam. You care about others as if they were your own family."

"That's not a superpower. Being smart is, but unfortunately, I didn't get that part of you."

Helena was a pioneer in cybersecurity. She founded her company at the age of 30, just three years after giving birth to Adam. While raising him, she worked tirelessly and studied at night to earn her degree. Adam's father disappeared, so she raised him with the help of her mother, always striving to ensure Adam wouldn't have to face the same struggles she had.

"You underestimate your powers, son. The body doesn't work without the heart, and you have a big one… but your brain is a little smaller than mine." Helena poked the boy's sides.

Adam wished what she was saying was true, but he had nothing special. He was just a spoiled boy, and he was fine with it. His life was good as long as his family was happy. He knew what his mother and grandmother went through to raise him. That's why he couldn't stand people talking trash about them.

Seeing the conversation had made him feel sensitive, Adam changed the subject to something that would cheer his mother up.

"What about we have cake for breakfast?"

"That's why people say I'm a bad mother. Look at the kind of things you learned…" Helena shook her head and chuckled. "I blame your grandmother. She always gave you everything you wanted."

"We should take some for Grandma too."

Adam turned to the driver and asked them to go to their favorite pastry shop in town. Every weekend, they would go there for breakfast before the place opened. They had done it for years, and the owner was grateful that Helena had invested in the shop to prevent it from closing.

"Look at me."

Lately, Helena had been having a weird feeling about Adam—something she couldn't quite place, but it felt like a pang in her heart.

With a tap on the boy's shoulder, she made sure Adam was looking into her eyes when she spoke.