I turn to face my older brother.
"Come on." He claps a hand on my shoulder and leaves me to go back into the room. I follow, but I can't shake how he never admitted to knowing what our supposed half-sister was going to say.
The ballroom feels cavernous now that the guests have dispersed. Unease rolls through me in stomach-clenching waves.
It's only my family, plus Delmar and Charles, of course. Silence stretches taut between us as we wait for the thread to snap.
My father stands at the window, hands clasped behind his back, staring out at the city lights. He hasn't moved since we entered. Hasn't spoken a word.
His silence is almost worse than the yelling.
If Dove were here, she'd already be speaking, trying to solve all the problems until my father would snap at her to shut up.
None of us speak, though, all waiting for him to start, knowing it's useless to try to prevent.
My mother perches on the arm of a chair, spine rigid, fingers worrying the strand of meditation beads she's holding. Even her carefully cultivated serenity can't mask the fury radiating from her.
At some point in my teenage years, I started to wonder if my parents loved me as much as they loved the empire they built.Watching them now, I can't think of a time they ever looked this worked up over something that involved one of their kids. Or more precisely, one of their kids’ health or happiness.
Delmar stands near the bar, arms crossed, watching my father like a hawk. Charles leans against the doorframe, expression unreadable.
"Well…" Wren breaks the silence, dropping into a chair and stretching his legs. "That was fun."
"Shut up," I bite out at my younger brother, his antics fraying at my nerves. I don't want him to ruin this for me by making our father even angrier than he already is.
Wren grins at me, his signature look that turns me backwards in time into a raging child who wants to punch him in the stomach. "What? I'm just saying what everyone's thinking."
"No one's thinking that," Gabe's measured and controlled voice interjects. He's too eerily calm, and I find his demeanor unnerving.
My father finally turns from the window. His face is carved from stone, jaw so tight I can see tendons standing out in his neck.
"Who knew?" he asks, dangerously quiet. "Who knew about this girl?"
Silence.
I swear you'd be able to hear a pin drop. Not a single one of us moves. I spare a glance at Gabe, who's still standing on the other side of Wren, fingers entwined in front of him, completely unbothered by the situation. I'm not sure if his demeanor makes him guilty or innocent.
"I said, who knew?" Father repeats, the last word cracking like a whip.
Inhaling a deep breath, I gather every bit of calmness I can, controlling every inch of my being as to not trigger him further. "None of us," I say carefully. "She wasn't on anyone's radar."
"Except Gabriel's." My father's eyes lock on my older brother. "You gave her that scholarship."
Gabe doesn't flinch. "Her essay was compelling." He shrugs one shoulder. "Her grades are exceptional. She met every criterion. I didn't dig into her paternity."
"Don't play games with me, boy." Leonard moves closer, his steps predatory. My body aches to flinch, but years of honing my reflexes prevents it. Plus, he's not coming for me. Instead, he stalks to my brother, a finger wagging menacingly. "You knew who she was!"
"I knew she needed help." Gabe is so unaffected by my father’s words that it feeds that inkling inside me that thinks he's not surprised like the rest of us.
"You knew she was mine." His possessive rage makes my stomach turn. "And you gave her a platform to humiliate this family."
"She humiliatedyou," Gabe corrects, still calm. "The rest of us had nothing to do with what you did to her mother."
The slap happens so fast that I almost miss it. One second, my father's at arm's length, and the next, his palm cracks across Gabe's face, hard enough to snap his head to the side.
My mother gasps. Even Wren sits up straighter.
None of us should be surprised by his outburst. The only person in this room who hasn't seen my father hit one of his children is Charles.
