Chapter 2

Vivian seemed to remember something, and the corner of her mouth lifted.

"Julian has such a vicious temper. When he's truly angry, he's impossible to calm. Last time I had to get on my knees--" She coughed. "Adrian, you have always been the sensible one. Don't make things difficult for me or your father."

I stood frozen, cold all the way through.

Vivian hadn't called Victor Boyle her father-in-law since my mother died. Who had she really been addressing just now?

"Is Mom here?"

Eli was calling from the hospital room. He had waited for Vivian all day.

"You burned yourself? I told you not to cook alone. I'm coming right now."

Vivian answered her phone and walked away, looking more alarmed than she had at any point since arriving at the hospital.

"Wait--"

I lunged after her, desperate to stop her one last time, but she moved too quickly. I lost my balance, fell to my knees, and scraped both palms raw.

"Dad, was Mom outside just now?" Eli couldn't turn his head, so his eyes strained toward me.

"Yes. Her company had an emergency, so she had to leave."

I dug my nails into my wounded palm and lied for Vivian.

The light in Eli's eyes dimmed, but he immediately forced a smile.

"Mom must be really worried about me, right? Tell her I don't hurt. I'll get better soon, and then we can all play soccer together."

My nose burned and my heart contracted with pain. Even when Julian pressed thirty cigarettes into my skin years ago, I had never hated anyone as much as I hated Vivian in that moment.

Vivian had once pulled me out of darkness. Now she no longer deserved to be called a wife or a mother.

I had barely left the hospital to pack our belongings when Vivian's security team forced me into a car and took me to Crosswell Holdings.

"Someone posted a fabricated video claiming Julian attacked Eli, and several people are saying he bullied them when they were students."

Vivian shut off the conference-room screen and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Legal has already filed defamation actions over the edited video. Issue a statement confirming Julian's innocence."

Her gaze sharpened. "You didn't find these people and persuade them to frame Julian, did you?"

Pain spread through my chest in thousands of tiny points, but I didn't defend myself.

"I won't clear his name. I'll join them. Have you forgotten that I'm also a witness to his abuse? You can sue me with everyone else."

Vivian's face darkened completely.

"Why drag up something that happened so many years ago? You survived. Is there any reason to be this relentless?"

Survived?

My throat tightened. I tore off my shirt.

"Turn around!" Vivian snapped, and every guard immediately faced the wall.

Burns from hot oil. Cuts made with serrated metal. Scars left by a hooked whip.

Years had passed, and Vivian had bought every expensive treatment she could find, yet nothing had erased them.

"Vivian, is this what you call surviving?" My fingertips trembled as tears rolled free.

The old scars seemed to ache again all at once.

The truth was that I had noticed Vivian changing long ago.

Julian had loved burning me with cigarettes, leaving me terrified of smoke.

Vivian once quit completely for me. Several years ago, however, she began smoking again.

Even the brand, the way she held each cigarette, and the rhythm of her exhale matched Julian exactly.