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Chapter one

Pompeii

NOAH

Ididn’t know if God was real.

Some believe that everything happens for a reason and that there exists a plan for everyone. A predetermined state of life. And for me, I wasn’t sure if I bought that.

But at this moment, I considered a higher power. A potential out of world influencer taking hold of my life in a way I’d always imagined. Removing the source of pain. Cleansing the festering wound. Exorcising the demon.

Speaking of demons—I watched as David’s presence on this Earth drained with each passing second, his business suit staining red as it soaked up blood from the outstretched ring beneath him.

And that seemed Godly, didn’t it? A form of vindication? Karma? I’d waited for a moment like this all of my life. Reminded with each brutal thrust or cut how badly I wanted him to disappear, how desperately I wished him to suffer as I had. To witness his demise.

But this wasn’t suffering. It was...quiet. David was still—almost peaceful.

Something about that—about him not leaving this world thrashing, kicking, wailing—sat like a bad taste in my mouth. Vile.

This wasn’t how I envisioned David’s death. My revenge against him had to be much more. Longer. Drawn out and painful. Like the nights I spent beneath him. Like the depth of the knives he pressed into my skin.

Like the blood he stole from me.

People began to whirl past me in a blur. Colorful masks and shadows racing across the dance floor, towards the front of the estate. Some of them ran towards David. Some of them froze, like a deer does when the predator carries it away between its jaws. Limp. Motionless. Accepting.

On the other hand, I wasn’t accepting anything that I saw. My brain entered lock down, blocking all of the sounds of shouting. I could see the mouths of everyone moving in unison, their fingers pointing to the center of the room, but no noise left their lips. No sound was made as Damian rushed to aid David, no hum of terror as they realized that he was no longer breathing.

The floor was steadily growing harder to stand on. I found that the more the blood flowed, and the bigger the pool spread, the feebler my legs became.

I watched, dumbstruck as my mother pushed through the crowd to get to her husband. Damian was close behind her. Seeing them catapult to his aide made me uncertain of reality. Didn’t we all live under the same roof with…this monster? Hadn’t he hurt us all, in some way? How were they so adamant about protecting him? Why was it that I had no idea how to feel in the midst of this chaos?

I had no desire to sprint forward to his side. I just stood there watching him bleed.

Watching him die.

Am I that bitter? Frigid—just like him.

The only thing I could make sense of was a persistent tug on my shirt sleeve. Looking down, I saw Delane. She mouthed my name over and over again, desperately trying to get my attention. Water drowned her jade eyes, and her pupils were wide with alarm. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t make my lips work, couldn’t form any words to ease her fear.

The world was slowly coming back into focus, and an overwhelming rush of panic hit me along with the assault of sounds. Guests stampeded towards the doors, outnumbering the guards and easily rushing outside. I could feel the thunder of footsteps, the sheer vibrations of hundreds of scared party goers trying to figure out if they were in danger too, trying to escape.

“Noah?!”

I blinked and it was like someone flicked on a light switch internally. Sirens whistled in the distance. They were close. On top of the wailing ambulance alarms, everyone in the foyer was screaming. Most of all, the ear splitting cries of my mom surrounded me. Her agonized moans stood out above all the rest.

My eyes drifted back to the blood. Damian was on David, administering CPR to his lifeless form. I took one, then two unsteady steps towards them. My feet were lead. I knew for the sake of public appearance, I had to get to them. One way or another, I needed to be at my family’s side. I could hear David’s voice in my head, the voice of him before he turned, before darkness consumed him.

“Do you know what this is, Noah?”

“No father.”

“It’s our Hansen sigil. I had it made into these chains for you and Damian.”

“What’s it for?”

David placed it around my neck.

“It’s so you always know where you belong. This crest means we are family. We are blood. Family forever.”