Erick
The call had ended. The moment I slipped my phone back into my pocket, the burdens of the South Ridge dispute faded behind the thick walls of the study, and something softer pulled at me.
It was a feeling I didn’t usually entertain. A feeling of peace.
Not many things quieted the storm within me. I was born to lead, trained to command, and destined to protect what was mine, no matter the cost.
I returned to the game room, and there they were—my mother and Sophia.
They were seated on the velvet settees near the fire, faces turned toward each other, bathed in the late-morning light that filtered through the tall windows.
The way their expressions mirrored warmth, their voices occasionally lifted in soft laughter, made the ache in my chest settle into something I hadn’t felt in
