The doors of the Black estate felt heavier than usual when Julian pushed through them.The grand living room was thick with a suffocating silence. His father sat in his leather armchair, staring blankly into the unlit fireplace, while his sisters lounged on the couches, their faces drawn.Julian stepped fully into the room, his boots clicking sharply against the marble floor. The smell of dried blood still clung to his clothes.“What’s with the grim expressions? He’s not dead yet,” Julian said, his voice ringing low and raspy, shattering the silence.His father, Luoni, perked up instantly, his shoulders stiffening as he looked up. “Has there been any progress?”“The surgery was successful,” Julian said flatly, stopping a few feet away from his father.“I already know that,” Luoni snapped, a nervous edge clipping his words. “I’m asking if he has woken up yet.”Julian let out a dry, humorless chuckle. “If it were you, Papa, would you have woken up barely two hours after a bullet was pul
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