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“I knew your father was dumb, but I didn’t know he was this dumb,” Karl said under his breath, while the three of us waited for our orders in a quiet corner of the room.

I nodded, knowing very well there was nothing I could do about it.

Thirty minutes later, a decision was made. An end to the Covent. Only my father, being Father, declared that nothing should happen to his brother and that we were to capture him alive. I didn’t know if he’d lost his mind, but didn’t he realize that putting an end to Kenny was enough to end the Covent?

“Escort your mother and the children to the safe house,” Father instructed me. “Your job is to keep them safe.”

I bit my tongue. Father knew very well I could be of use here, but he wanted me gone. Fucking fine. Two hours later, we were packed and headed straight to Fort Luis, an offshore location that was the head family’s well-kept secret.

“Are you okay, Mother?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her through the rearview mirror. She was acting weird, a lot more nervous than usual.

“I’m fine, honey,” she whispered with a shaky smile.

I frowned but didn’t say a word as she averted her eyes back out the window. Mother knew these kinds of situations were an often occurrence in our family. And it wasn’t just me who picked up on her mood. Marcus noticed as well and said something to her in hushed tones, quietly rubbing her shoulders.

She simply shook her head, keeping her gaze locked on the window. It didn’t escape me how a faint shiver shook her body. What was wrong with her?

Soon, our car was winding down the single road, passing the heavy compounds, and stopping right in front of the stone-cased mansion.

Mother headed inside with my siblings, while Grayson lingered with me. He wore a fierce expression on his face that said he was ready for a fight.

“Grayson, go inside. Be with Mother,” I told him.

Grayson lifted his chin in defiance. “I’m only five years younger than you, Kane. I can protect the family, too. Jon and Marcus are with Mother.”

I sighed, nodding. We both went through the security, and nothing seemed off. Everything was looking perfect, except for the way Mother was acting. She almost looked terrified and nervous, so much so that I found it strange.

Father returned later that night, and our family sat down for a stiff dinner affair. Only the young siblings were quite ignorant of the tension as they bickered. It wasn’t long before everyone retired to their rooms. Hopefully, Father could ease whatever was bothering Mother.

The bitter scent of tobacco billowed out of my mouth as I stubbed my third cigarette of the night beneath my shoes. I didn’t particularly like smoking, but it was simply a habit that I picked up when I couldn’t sleep, and right now sleep was the last thing on my mind. A salty breeze washed over my skin just then, and my eyes took in the silent sea. The house sat on the edge of the city, about an hour from the center, surrounded by the rough ocean and formidable, towering walls that weren’t very easy to break through.

Even then, I couldn’t let go of the uneasy feeling gripping my chest.

Eventually, when I went back inside, something in the air didn’t feel right. It was quiet. Too quiet. My hand was already reaching for my gun, my heart pounding with each step, but nothing seemed amiss. But the feeling in my gut said otherwise.

“Mother?” I frowned when I saw her standing in the dark kitchen, eyes wide like she had seen a ghost. “Mother...” I didn’t even get to finish the sentence when a loud gunshot swept past my head, hitting her straight in the middle of her chest. For a moment, everything around me stilled as her glazed eyes gaped and her shaky hand moved toward her chest. But before she could even take another breath, a second loud pop fired through the air, hitting her in the stomach.

“Mother,” I shouted, hurrying to her.

In the next second, chaos ensued, smothering the entire house, and it all turned into my worst fucking nightmare.

It was true when they said everything could change in a matter of seconds. And it did for me that night. It taught me how one mistake could have grave outcomes.

Father was paralyzed from the waist down, sharing the same tragic fate as his twin, and Mother was in a coma for the foreseeable future. Only my siblings were untouched.

It had been thirteen days since then, and we hadn’t done shit.

And Kenny was getting out of hand.

Not being able to take it anymore, I headed straight to my father’s office, barging in. I couldn’t care less about the consequences.

“What are we going to do?” I demanded. “We must do something fast.” My tone brimmed with urgency and anger. That fucking bastard Kenny was still living and breathing, causing more havoc in the city, proudly flaunting that he had touched our family and got away with it.

Even the legion was confused as to why we were still keeping him alive. Only they didn’t know the embarrassment my father caused by losing the Sanctum Sollus.

We needed to do something fast to save our name and legacy.

Father sat in his wheelchair, not saying a word. Ever since the incident, he had changed. He spoke less, ate less, and simply stared into the distance, like he had lost everything when his sons and daughters were still here with him and his wife was still fighting for her life.