Author’s POVThe air that surrounded the council chamber thickened the moment Gina’s words left her lips.“I know who tried to kill my father,” And then, eyes agape and voice shaken, she had indicated her own brother. Emory.The silence that succeeded was not relief, but shock, and surprise and a new opening that threatened the shaky basis of the family.Detective Hale was quick. His pen snapped against the papers in front of him as he straightened. “Bring him in,” he ordered.Elias swung round and looked at Gina with a tight-fisted frown. He had something in his stare, something which told him that she was not telling the whole truth. Mina sat in frozen amazement as her lips opened in wonder that her twin had sacrificed Emory so easily.And Agatha, Agatha, said nothing. Her eyes were merely down to the table, and her nails were biting her palms under the table. On the inside, she was shaking, relieved and appalled. Relieved suspicion had shifted away from her. Horrified that her daug
GinaThe figures in the board were nonsense. That was because I was not listening. I could hear the voice of the teacher, but I heard nothing familiar. I had my notebook open, I had my pen to make some notes, but the only word I could write repeatedly in the corner of the page was: Father. Father. Father.That night continued to reappear, and I shook my head as many times as possible to make it go, the sound from the gun, my mother’s trembling hands, my father’s body jerking, before falling down. That sound again. That smell of gunpowder.My chest tightened so that I was unable to breathe. I shoved back my chair.“Bathroom,” I said, and I did not bother whether the teacher assented or not. All the heads in the room turned my way, and followed me like I was glass at the point of breaking. Mina’s eyes followed me the longest. I could feel it on my skin.My vision was blurring. I pushed myself into the bathroom and locked myself inside the farthest stall, and allowed myself to crumble. I
AuthorThe detective didn’t waste time. A week had passed since his last visit and now everyone was back under scrutiny. No explanations had satisfied him. No story felt solid enough to hold.That afternoon, the estate was quieter than usual, yet heavy with unease. The family had been summoned once again to the interrogation room.The detective had requested the family’s presence again, and the message had not been gentle: “We have more questions, and this time, I expect fewer half-answers.“They filed in reluctantly, Aria, Agatha, Emory, Mina, Gina, Rain, and Elias. Each one carried their own burden into the room, but together they sat like suspects lined up before judgment.Kol’s absence was louder than any voice in the room. His coma was a heavy weight of all of them. Without him, there was no anchor, no authority to hide behind.The detective adjusted his papers with a sharp gaze. “We’ll begin where we left off. One by one, you’ll answer again. But let me warn you, last time, ther
GinaIt had been over a week since my father slipped into his coma, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw his body lying on his study floor, the blood, my mother’s hand shaking with the weight of the gun.The secret was eating me alive from the inside.I loved her. Gosh, I loved my mother so much it hurt. She had been my anchor, the only parent who was actually there with me since my dad was not. But she had made my back bear this weight of a secret, and with each step, I felt as though it were going to crush me. Every smile I forced at the breakfast table. Every laugh I faked while Mina rambled about school. Every stolen glance toward Emory, towards Rain, towards Aria, Elias, I couldn’t take it anymore.I hated her for it. I despised my mother because she made me bear her sin as my own.I was lying on my bed, and was playing with my silver chain around my neck, when I heard a knock. My mother came in with a cautionary, nearly imploring voice as she called my name.I swallowed my dre
AuthorThe station’s interrogation wing was a world away from the grandeur of the estate. There was nothing fancy there, just grey walls, a table and a fluorescent bulb that buzzed. The place was designed to rattle already frayed nerves.Detective Hale had requested they be brought in one by one. No parents watching their children, no siblings covering for one another. Just the truth, stripped bare.EmoryEmory rested casually in his chair with tight jaw and folded arms. Hale studied him quietly before asking, “Where were you the night of the attack?”“Upstairs,” Emory muttered. “In my room.”“Alone? On the night if your sisters birthday?”“Yes.”Hale leaned forward. “You didn’t hear the struggle? The gunshots?”Emory’s eyes flickered, but his voice was sharp. “I heard. I just didn’t come out. You think I wanted to get shot too?”Hale scribbled a note, then asked, “What’s your relationship with your father like?”That question stung more than the others. Emory’s jaw clenched. “Complic
The constant beeping of the monitors disturbed my ability to grief quietly. The sound that pressed against my skull was a reminder that Kol was here, but not here. The machines kept him alive, as his body lay dead, his skin pale, his chest going up and down in shallow motion.He was in a coma. And I was doing everything I could to believe that he would come back. But the longer I sat there, the harder it became to convince myself. I was also fooling myself that my heart was breaking when really it was splintering at causes no one here in the room could possibly imagine.I sat beside his bed, holding his hand in both my hands, talking to him like my words could stitch him together again. “Don’t give up, Kol. We all need you. The children need you. Emory needs you, even if he doesn’t realise it yet. Please come back to us.”My voice squeaked and I felt like crying briefly with myself. And not for Kol, but for myself, to what I had done, and to the consequences which were nearer and near