Julian POV
"Sit down, Ethan," I order, not looking up from my desk.
The office door clicks shut, the sound heavy in the quiet room.
Ethan does not sit. He stays standing near the threshold, his boots tapping once against the hardwood floor before he freezes.
I keep my eyes glued to the grey laptop screen on my desk. The surveillance footage from the restaurant plays for the twentieth time.
The loop is short. It shows Penelope standing by the table. It shows my mother leaning forward, her mouth moving in sharp, ugly lines, spitting words I can guess without audio. It shows my sister Marcella smirking.
Then it shows Penelope.
Her head tilts. Her posture shifts from a quiet, submissive crouch to something absolute and terrifying. Her eyes lock onto my mother, burning with a cold, dead
