“Yes.”
“I have also heard troubling news that you have been seen around town with investigators, particularly the pair that handles Seer crimes. I do not think it is wise to involve yourself with Seers, let alone help with their cases. You should be focused on Antaris. Is it true? Are you assisting them?”
He expects her to wield his son like a weapon. She’s been doing it from the start. Yet it still cuts. “Yes, I am. If you must know, Antaris’s mother was murdered by the suspect in one of their cases.”
Simran looks between him and Barrett, then back. “That is all the more reason not to involve yourself.”
“He’ll need answers.”
“He needs his father. And you need to leave this matter to the professionals. Perhaps it is time that you return to your career.”
It takes most of his restraint not to snap. Hiram looks to his father to say something, but he remains silent. “What kind of man would I be if I stood by and did nothing?”
“If Seers are indeed being murdered, maybe it is punishment for the power they wield,” she says.
“The irony of anyone in our family saying that isn’t lost on me.”
Simran gives Barrett a concerned look. “Dear, you look tense.”
“It’s nothing,” he mutters. “We should go. Let him find the answers he needs.”
But his mother doesn’t budge. “Since we are here, and you refuse to listen to us or make yourself available, I would like to discuss another topic we have been unable to speak with you about.”
Hiram crosses his arms as his mother pulls out a paper. “Go on.”
“We want to file this request to become Antaris’s legal guardians should anything happen to you. I know that you appointed Peter godfather, and as much as I like him, he is unfit to care for Antaris in your absence.”
Volcanic rage is ready to spew molten emotions, but on the surface, Hiram is calm. Rage is anger not caught in time, and he’s not eighteenanymore. A dull, humorless chuckle escapes. Simran’s expression shifts to alarmed.
“Do what you want. You’re going to anyway.”
“Hiram—”
“I’ve walked into your web once again. I should’ve stayed away, but I was overwhelmed after finding out about Antaris and needed help, a home, and my family’s support. Did I believe you would change? No. But I thought I could tolerate it. I was wrong.”
“What does that mean?”
“I came here with the plan to leave the moment I got Antaris to a version of okay where I could get away from you both again.”
For the first time, his father’s expression shifts from blank to something wounded.
His mother’s eyes flash with fury. “I cannot believe you are planning to leave.”
“I don’t know why you’re surprised. I left once. Why not again?” His words land like a blow. Simran flinches. “You pushed your ambitions so far down my throat that I suffocated on your expectations. I did everything you wanted, at my own expense, and was ignored the rest of the time. It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let you control me through my son.”
“That is not what I said.”
“It’s what you meant,” Hiram snaps. “I have your letters begging me to come back, promising that you’d fix what you broke. But now I’m here, and it’s clear you don’t give a fuck about me.”
Simran rises, tucking the paper back in her bag. “That is not true. You know what my life was before I met your father. I push, I demand. I was hard on you to make you strong, not because I do not care. Everything I have ever done, all I haveeverwanted, is the best for you.”
“And still you look me in the face and tell me what I’ve already set in place is not to your liking. You overstep. You want more and more from me—well, that’s not true, you just want control. You’ve earned your third strike. If you file that, I’ll see you both in court.”
Barrett tries to placate him. “Hiram—”
He turns on his father. “I almost forgot you were here. Good on you for joining the conversation. Fascinating that you’ve decided to vocalize a single original thought.” Silence rings in Hiram’s ears. Anger finally crests. He stares at his father, the weight of Veda’s words echoing in his mind, her frustration with his silence. The truth of it makes him ill.
“I’m just like you,” he admits in a whisper.
