PARKER
It feels like it’s been a century since I was here at the Carter Estate in Lake Norman, North Carolina.
The SUV crunches over the crushed shell driveway, and my chest tightens with each rotation of the tires. It’s been years since I’ve seen these oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, since I’ve smelled the particular blend of salt air and old money that clings to the Carter estate like expensive perfume.
“Mommy, is that Aunt Sienna’s house?” Noah presses his face against the window, amber eyes bright with recognition.
“It’s Uncle Charles’s house too,” Liam corrects, practical as always. “And Lottie and Jimmy’s. Remember?”
“I know that,” Noah protests. “I just meant—oh! There they are!”
Through the window, I can see Sienna and the twins spilling out of the main house, and the boys are already unbuckling before I can stop them. The second the SUV stops, they’re out and running, Noah launching himself at Jimmy while Liam and Lottie collide in a more reserved but equally enthusiastic hug.
My chest loosens watching them. At least this part isn’t new. At least they have each other.
Charles appears beside my door, opening it with that big brother protectiveness he’s never quite shaken. “Welcome home, Parks.”
“Home,” I repeat, testing the word. It tastes strange after six years of exile.
“Come on.” He offers his hand to help me down. “Mom’s inside. Fair warning—she’s in full hostess mode despite everything.”
“Of course she is.” I smooth my hands over my jeans, suddenly aware of how casual I am compared to the grandeur looming before us. “And Aria?”
His jaw tightens. “Being Aria. I’ll handle it.”
The main house looks exactly the same—white columns and black shutters, and the weight of generations pressing down like atmosphere. But walking through the front door feels different without Dominic’s presence poisoning the air. The foyer still smells like lemon polish and fresh flowers, but the arrangements are sympathy offerings now, not the carefully curated displays he demanded.
“Aunt Parker!” Lottie barrels back inside, dragging Liam by the hand. “Can we show them the library? Please? The ladder slides and everything!”
“We saw it on FaceTime,” Liam says, but there’s excitement in his voice. “But Jimmy says it’s better in person.”
“Stay together,” I say automatically. “And don’t?—”
“Touch anything expensive, we know,” Noah finishes, grinning. “Everything here is expensive, though.”
“Just be careful,” I amend, and Sienna laughs softly beside me.
“They’ll be fine. Jimmy knows where everything is, and the staff adores them already.” She links her arm through mine as the four children disappear toward the library in a thunder of footsteps. “How are you holding up? Really?”
“Ask me after the funeral.” I let her guide me deeper into the house, toward the sitting room where I can hear voices. Familiar ones. “Is Mom?—”
“Parker!” My mother sweeps into the foyer like she’s making an entrance, all elegant bones and honey-blonde hair swept into a perfect twist. Evelyn Carter, still beautiful, still commanding, still capable of making me feel simultaneously loved and inadequate with a single look. “Finally. I was beginning to worry your flight was delayed.”
She pulls me into a hug that smells like her signature Chanel and feels like coming home and running away all at once.
“We hit some traffic,” Charles says diplomatically, though we both know the real delay was me sitting in the SUV at the estate gates for ten minutes trying to convince myself to actually drive through.
“Well, you’re here now.” Mom pulls back, her sea-glass green eyes—so like mine, so like Charles’s—scanning my face with a mother’s precision. “You look tired. Have you been sleeping?”
“Mom—”
“And those boys of yours.” Her expression softens genuinely. “They’ve grown so much since Sienna’s last visit. Liam looks more serious every time I see him, and Noah?—”
A door slams upstairs. Hard enough that the crystal chandelier shivers.
“—is still a bundle of energy, I’m sure,” Mom finishes, but her voice has gone tight. Careful.
Another crash. The unmistakable sound of something expensive hitting a wall.
