Hunting Adeline

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes descriptions of sexual violence and/or harassment, rape, mental illness, torture, death by suicide, suicidal ideation, graphic violence, sexual content, death, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.

Back at Parsons Manor, Zade handles Xavier in the basement while Adeline paces in her room, reliving the trauma of being trafficked. Zade comes in and begs Adeline to talk to him, holding her close. She takes his gun and points it at his head, seeing the faces of all the men who hurt her. Zade tells Adeline that it is all right for them to depend on one another, but Adeline continues to have flashbacks of the men in Francesca’s house. Adeline is furious with the ways that men have abused her, and she confronts Zade for doing the same thing to her when they first met. 

Zade asks Adeline if holding the gun makes her feel powerful; he is trying to guide her to a sense of control. She wants Zade to touch her, but she also cannot stand the flashbacks. Zade holds her while she screams, until she finally runs out of breath. He takes a rose, pricking his fingers on the thorns, and tells Adeline to get undressed.