The Williams family home buzzed softly with the hum of conversation, the clinking of glasses, and the quiet scrape of cutlery against fine china.
After dinner had ended and the plates had been cleared, William stood abruptly, his towering figure casting a long shadow across the table. “Excuse me for a moment,” he said in that tone of his—final, dismissive. He barely looked at anyone as he exited the dining room, his footsteps measured as he strode toward the hallway.
Shanice didn’t react right away, but Maisie caught it—the brief flick of William’s eyes in her direction, the nearly imperceptible signal. Shanice sat still for a moment longer, her fingers tapping lightly against the wine glass in front of her. Then, with a soft, murmured “Excuse me,” she rose and followed after him, her he
