Page 23 of Poison Aches

The paranoia.

Her insomnia.

The self-blame.

The endless stream of tears running down her face…

She never cried in front of me, though. Instead, she’d be up before dawn, sobbing all by herself until she started hyperventilating while hurdled in the corner of the one place she loved the most. The library.

But somehow, I knew.

I’d hide in the shadows of the bookshelves, trying not to breathe too loud, trying not to move or spook her because I knew if she saw my face—the reminder of her failure—then she’d be devastated and fall apart all over again.

I was the sole cause of her pain.

My mere existence was the reason why she was suffering.

I was the malfunction that derailed her life, an abnormality that came out of nowhere like a freight train.

But that’s the thing about abnormalities. They always go against everything.

Against hope.

Against ambition.

Against the heartbroken tears of a mother that has done nothing but love her child when the world wanted that same child dead.

And now here I am, at a place in time where her absence is imprinted in the silence and shadows of the mansion.

“What does he know?” I demand, my mind racing. I can’t let my mother’s sacrifice go to waste just because an idiot found out I’m sick.

“Not much, which is why he’s bribing his way around the edges of town, going to past workers of the mansion, security guards, neighbors, old acquaintances and anyone he thinks has been in contact with you since…”

Since my mother disappeared.

Which means Emilio will be hungry and so will his other brothers, all of them secretly working to get rid of me.

The thing is, even after Grandfather was made aware that his daughter and the heir to the Family had gone missing, he wasn’t moved.

He didn’t give a damn.

He just carried on as usual and still declared me the heir, according to birthright.

This both cemented my father’s power within the Family he married into.

Hell, Syrus didn’t have any qualms in shedding his own last name to take the Easton name as his. The fact that his wife was missing didn’t matter to him so long as I was still his golden ticket.

Grandfather also had me as a puppet he could control and mold into the caricature that would serve him without a thought of rebellion.

Unfortunately for them, I started with Daphne.

I’m her son and it’s for her that the next decisions I make will destroy them all and comfort her wherever she is, living or dead.

“We’ll let Syrus deal with Emilio for now,” I mutter. After all, my father would do anything to make sure his power stays in effect, even if his power is only through me. “Then we need to digup the trenches all my dear uncles have worked hard to covered up.”

“For how long?” Kai questions.

“Until it’s time.”

---