FORTY TWO

Their steps echoed through the foyer of Fabian’s house as both man and woman walked in, mirroring the hollowness in Fabian's heart. Amber followed him quietly from behind, careful not to make any noise and watched as Fabian ignored V’s greeting to make his way up the staircase like a man under a spell.

Fabian had driven like a madman to his father’s mansion just in time to hold his old man’s thin frail hand before he breathed his last. Amber remembered how happy the sickly man looked when he finally saw his son. He was deathly pale with a sunken face, with only skin clinging to his body. It was obvious he was in extreme pain, but even through the many different tubes and needles that pierced the old man’s body, he still managed to smile at them.

The image of Williams senior struggling to lift his frail trembling hand just so he could touch Fabian’s face left a deep impression in Amber’s mind.

“Father,” Fabian had whispered, clasping the elderly man’s hand in his ow