Lucian's POV
I didn’t speak in the car. Didn’t blink much either. My parents sat on either side of me, and I felt like a child again, swallowed between the two shadows that raised me. When we got home, I slammed the door behind me and headed straight to the whiskey.
My hands trembled as I poured the drink, but it did nothing to steady me. The scent of alcohol mixed with the thick silence pressing in the room. Mom sank into the couch like nothing had happened, legs crossed, eyes distant.
“You’re just going to act normal?” I spat, turning to her.
My father sighed and settled into the recliner. “Lucian, you need to calm down—”
“Calm down?” I hurled the glass across the room. It exploded against the wall, whiskey trailing down like blood. “You paid someone to murder a woman. Not just any
