Since Lorenz didn’t mention the bicycle any further, Elian brought up a different topic.
“I heard from Margaret that you’ve been coming home earlier these days.”
“You talk about me with Margaret too?”
“To a normal extent.”
Hmm. Lorenz tilted his head. As if savoring Elian’s answer. Then he said with a satisfied expression.
“When I come home these days, I feel physically well.”
The appetizer plates were cleared, and while waiting for the pasta to arrive, Elian moistened his lips with champagne and spoke with difficulty.
“The car…”
“Mm?”
“I saw it earlier and it’s really impressive.”
That car was one of the reasons Elian had come this far.
The blood-red burgundy Rolls-Royce with the Lockhart family crest engraved on the wheel center caps.
The corners of Lorenz’s mouth pulled up ever so slightly. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to take the question as offensive.
“It’s a vehicle Father gave me as a gift to commemorate becoming team leader and taking charge of my first project.”
That background story about the vehicle was something he hadn’t known during the investigation phase.
“Then you must think of it specially.”
Lorenz tilted his head. As if he’d never really had such feelings.
“It’s a flawless car. I sometimes take it out when I want to drive myself.”
After taking a sip of champagne, Lorenz shrugged and chuckled as if remembering another story related to that car.
“After that, my younger brother purchased the same model in the exact same color. He’s a guy whose thoughts I can never understand.”
Elian gripped the napkin on his lap tightly.
Joshua Lockhart followed and purchased the Rolls-Royce Wraith that Lorenz Lockhart owned. Same model, same color. ⎯ This was something Elian already knew. It was also a story that anyone interested in celebrity gossip would know without needing to personally investigate.
The two Lockhart brothers, who possessed not only tremendous economic power but also eye-catching appearances, had been the subject of interest since childhood as much as, or even more than, the second generation of Hollywood stars.
When only a little alcohol remained in Elian’s glass, an employee approached and refilled the champagne. Looking at the golden liquid with rising bubbles, Elian asked Lorenz as if he didn’t know much.
“Do you get along well with your younger brother?”
“……”
Lorenz Lockhart’s lips curved playfully.
“Isn’t that a personal question?”
“Ah…”
It was an answer that threw back exactly what Elian had said during their first interview not long ago.
Whether it was just a playful remark, Lorenz soon chuckled at Elian’s reaction.
“I’m joking. It’s not particularly a secret, and in fact, the whole world knows. That Damon Lockhart’s two sons are estranged from each other.”
Without any bitterness, Lorenz stated the facts plainly and emptied the remaining champagne. His glass was likewise refilled.
“You don’t seem interested in such things. Did you like that car?”
“You’re right that I’m not interested. I just asked because it looked impressive to the eye.”
“I’d think you’d believe that things like Rolls-Royces are cars that only vulgar nouveau riche who want to show off drive.”
“I’m so uninterested that I haven’t even thought about that.”
“Want to ride in it?”
“…What?”
As if he knew Elian would ask back with such a surprised face, Lorenz chuckled again.
Until now, they had unintentionally clashed every time they encountered each other. The face with wrinkles on the forehead and between the brows had become established as Lorenz Lockhart’s representative image for Elian.
But today, he laughed frequently. Though it wasn’t hearty laughter, he made jokes and often chuckled. He clearly seemed to be in a good mood.
Just then, the pasta was served.
It was ravioli, as easy to eat as the olive all’ascolana appetizer.
The champagne glasses were cleared away, and Sauvignon Blanc took their place.
The ravioli filled with soft ricotta cheese and spinach soothed Elian’s emptiness with various textures.
All’ascolana that could fit in one bite, ravioli that wasn’t as tricky to eat as spaghetti, champagne and white wine that didn’t need to be drunk as carefully as red wine. Now that he thought about it, they were all combinations suitable for a date.
■
In front of a large picture window overlooking the courtyard, two armchairs.
Behind them stood a large fireplace that could be lit when the weather got cold. The plush carpet on the floor seemed to absorb even the smallest sounds. A cozy yet somehow desolate space.
“I didn’t know there was a place like this on the third floor.”
“If you like it, feel free to use it. It should be good for reading books quietly.”
It didn’t seem like a polite formality. After all, if it were Lorenz Lockhart, he wouldn’t need to say things he didn’t mean to win someone’s favor.
“My current room is already good enough.”
The meal with Lorenz was surprisingly not particularly uncomfortable, to the point where it was hard to believe he had been so rude on the first day. Unlike the expectation that he might bring up Lucas as soon as they sat down, he didn’t bring up any heavy topics until the meal was over.
He was indeed someone who had learned business from an early age. Elian remembered reading somewhere that many businessmen consider it rude to bring up business talk in the middle of a meal.
After finishing the meal with gelato garnished with various types of berries, the two had moved to a small living room on the third floor.
The sun had completely set, but lamps were lit here and there in the garden. This created a fantastic and secretive atmosphere different from daytime.
He recalled what the media had made a fuss about regarding this estate.
Considering the murderous land prices of the Upper East Side, a TV show host had passionately elaborated, attaching specific figures, that the Lockhart family could make astronomical profits if they built a high-rise building on this land. The conclusion was that choosing this estate and garden instead of that profit was itself proof of overwhelming wealth.
But sitting here in person, even the fact that this was modern Manhattan seemed distant. It felt like visiting Count Dracula’s mansion filled with gloomy secrets and mystery.
Count Dracula, who had taken a sip of red wine, finally brought up the main topic.
“Did you look at the materials you took?”
Elian exhaled a breath like a groan and nodded heavily.
“How was it?”
“Mr. Lockhart, did you perhaps look at the materials too?”
This time Lorenz nodded. It was as Elian had expected.
If it had been right after the first interview, he would have thought there was no way he had looked at the materials. Because he had been quite doubtful whether Lorenz was genuinely interested in Lucas. But now his impression of him had changed to some extent.
“Then you already know, but the two disrupted adoptions had different reasons from each other.”
“They did.”
Lucas was admitted to the facility around age three. It was already past the age most popular with parents wanting to adopt. However, thanks to his cute and intelligent-looking appearance, an adoptive home was quickly arranged. It was a bitter fact that children’s adoptability was greatly influenced by appearance, but that was the reality of adoption.
However, the child was returned to the facility both times without making it past six months.
To be precise, Lucas wasn’t returned through dissolution but through adoption disruption¹⁾.
The adoptive families decided to stop the adoption process while already living with Lucas, before the court gave final approval.
The materials Elian had first received only stated the reason as ‘due to the child’s past emotional problems not being resolved.’ Elian wanted to know more details if possible.
The materials he received from Lorenz Lockhart were internal reports separately managed by the facility, and they described more specific reasons.
According to the materials, the first adoptive parents cited that Lucas showed far too little emotional expression compared to his peers. They said there was none of the cuteness and loveliness they expected from the child, so they couldn’t form attachment.
The reason for the second adoption disruption was the opposite. The reason was that Lucas’s appearance of excessively trying to be loved was calculatingly un-childlike and uncomfortable. The prospective adoptive parents even used the expression ‘creepy’ during the counseling process for stopping the adoption.
TL/N: THE FOOTNOTES ARE FROM THE RAWS IM NOT REMOVING IT.
¹⁾ Disruption: Disruption means interruption, interference, or intervention. In relation to adoption, it refers to the termination of an ongoing adoption process before the adoption is officially completed.
