Page 45 of Maddening Fixation

Then my voice dropped into something barely above a whisper.

“And ye might live...”

I tilted my head slightly.

For the first time in my entire life...

I watched genuine fear enter my father’s eyes.

He finally understood.

The frightened boy he’d bullied no longer existed.

The knife slipped from his hand.

It clattered harmlessly across the marble.

Yarina stumbled free, quickly moving away from him.

Bodgan stepped forward immediately, placing himself between her and the rest of the Flynn family without taking his eyes off the room.

Medved slowly raised both hands.

Blood still coated his fingers.

He looked older than he had only moments before.

“Sit.”

I didn’t raise my voice.

He obeyed.

Like a beaten dog.

He lowered himself back into his chair, his face drained of all color.

The metallic scent of Sergei’s blood spread through the grand dining hall, thick enough to taste.

It overpowered the aroma of roasted meat and expensive wine, replacing the illusion of a perfect Flynn family gathering with the unmistakable smell of death.

My gaze drifted deliberately around the long dining table, settling on each face one by one.

No one escaped it.

My grandfather’s trembling hands. My uncles’ pale faces. My father’s blood-soaked shirt. My aunts who suddenly found their plates fascinating because they lacked the courage to meet my eyes.

For the first time, they were the ones afraid.

“In this house,” I began, my voice calm enough to make every word cut deeper, “my mother died after bein’ poisoned.”

I paused, letting the accusation settle over them.

“Whether it was one of ye or all of ye workin’ together... I still don’t know.”

My eyes hardened.

“But I know she didn’t die by accident. After all, every one of you made her life a living hell. You humiliated her. You called her a whore. You accused her of betraying my father and filling this family with another man’s blood.”