Serena POV
It started with a wrong turn.
The corridor was quiet, too quiet for a mansion that seemed to breathe with movement at every hour. I was on my way to collect Ari’s medicine from the clinic walking quickly with the file pressed tight against my chest, when voices slipped out from the chamber. Low. Serious. Weighted.
I froze at the doorway. The door wasn’t fully closed; it leaned slightly ajar, and light spilled into the hallway in a thin strip.
“…the boy can’t inherit the title. He’s half-blood. It’s law.”
My heart stilled.
I wasn’t surprised, this was the new norm now and each passing day i was being reminded of my place in this house. My son was being treated like an abomination that shouldn’t exist.
I hadn’t meant to stop. I hadn’t meant to listen. But once Ari’s name w
