I was still reeling, my mind a chaotic mess of dates, medical terms, and betrayal. I couldn't wrap my head around the cold, calculated cruelty of it all. Elijah Kingston wasn't just a stern patriarch; he was a monster who had psychologically dismantled his own wife, tortured her with "treatments," and systematically bled her family fortune dry until they were forced into a humiliating bankruptcy. I had actually spent weeks thinking he was a devoted, albeit grieving, husband. Instead, it turns out he was a demon in a bespoke suit.
And then there was Eric.
God, what was I thinking, blaming him? As the truth settled in, I realized he was likely the one who had suffered the most. His father’s greed was the direct cause of his mother’s death. If those files were rotting away in the attic of t
