Chapter 19: The Unspoken Agreement

The rain had started before dawn—thin streaks tapping against the floor-to-ceiling windows of Benjamin Hamilton’s Manhattan penthouse. It was the kind of rain that didn’t stop. Quiet, persistent. The kind that worked its way under your skin, made everything feel damp and suffocating.

Benjamin stood before the glass now, arms folded behind his back, watching the city below shift beneath grey clouds and slick streets. From this height, Manhattan was nothing but grids and blinking lights. Tidy. Predictable. Unlike the mess that had just fallen into his family’s lap.

A death in the Lawson family. Damian Lawson. The older, lesser-known son. A scandalous boy by all accounts, a product of indulgence and poor parenting. Still, it was a tragedy. And tragedy had a way of drawing attention.

It's been days since the boy's death but the news still dominated newspaper headlines.

He turned away from the window and moved toward his desk. A thick file lay unopened beside a glass of scotch he ha