The mansion felt like a pressure cooker, and I was stuck in the middle, barely able to breathe. I just came out of the library and the weird confrontation of Victor left me shaken. I was standing by the front door now, debating whether I should just leave and let them deal with their mess alone, when I heard Aiden’s voice echo through the hall.
“You think you can just show up after months of being gone and act like you care?” His words were sharp, laced with venom.
I froze, leaning against the wall, listening despite my better judgment.
Victor’s response was calm, as always. “I didn’t come back to argue, Aiden. I came to protect you—and Lila.”
“Don’t bring her into this!” Aiden shouted, his voice rising with every word. “You’ve already done enough damage. Don’t act like you’re some hero now.”
I cautiously peeked into the living room, trying to stay unnoticed. Aiden was standing, fists clenched, glaring at Victor. Asher was sitting on the edge of the couch, his head in his hands, clearly exhausted from trying to play peacemaker. And Grayson… he was leaning against the window frame, his face unreadable as he stared into the storm outside.
“Why are you even here?” Aiden continued, his voice full of rage. “You abandoned us. You don’t get to come back and act like you’re in charge.”
Victor crossed his arms, his calm demeanor only fueling Aiden’s anger. “I left to protect this family. Everything I’ve done has been for you. But you don’t see that, do you? You’ve always been too blinded by your own emotions to understand the bigger picture.”
“Protect us?” Aiden scoffed, taking a step closer to him. “You call leaving us with all the mess you created protection? You left us to clean up your failures, Victor.”
“Failures?” Victor said, his voice harder now. “You boys wouldn’t even have the life you have if it weren’t for me. I built this family from the ground up—”
“By destroying everything in your path,” Aiden interrupted, his tone ice-cold. “Including her.”
Victor’s face darkened. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, don’t I?” Aiden shot back. “You think we don’t know what happened to Evelyn? You think we don’t know your hands aren’t clean?”
My heart stopped at the mention of Evelyn’s name. It was like a ghost in the room, haunting them all, and now it was haunting me too.
Victor sighed, rubbing his temples as if he were bored of the entire argument. “You boys have always been dramatic, but this is getting ridiculous. Evelyn made her choices. What happened to her wasn’t my doing.”
“But you didn’t stop it, did you?” Asher said quietly, finally looking up. “You didn’t stop any of it.”
Victor’s gaze shifted to Asher, and for a moment, his cold facade seemed to crack. “I couldn’t stop it,” he said, his voice low. “There were… circumstances you don’t understand.”
“Then explain them,” Asher said, his tone sharper than usual. “Because we’re tired of being left in the dark.”
Victor’s eyes flickered to me, and I stiffened under his gaze. “This isn’t a conversation for outsiders.”
“Lila’s not an outsider,” Asher said firmly.
I blinked, surprised by his sudden defense of me. But Victor only smirked, shaking his head. “Oh, Asher. You’ve always been too soft.”
“Stop deflecting,” Aiden snapped. “Just tell us the truth, for once in your life.”
Victor turned back to his sons, his expression hardening. “The truth? Fine. The truth is, Evelyn’s death was a tragedy. But if you’re looking for someone to blame, maybe you should look in the mirror. None of you did anything to stop her from getting involved in things she shouldn’t have.”
Aiden’s face twisted with anger. “You don’t get to put that on us.”
“Don’t I?” Victor countered, his voice rising for the first time. “You think you’re innocent in all of this? You think you’ve never made mistakes? Evelyn’s death wasn’t just one person’s fault—it was all of yours.”
The room fell silent, the weight of his words hanging heavy in the air.
Grayson finally turned away from the window, his voice cold and measured. “Enough.”
Everyone turned to look at him, but his expression was unreadable.
Victor smirked, as if he had been waiting for Grayson to speak. “Ah, there he is. The perfect son. Always the voice of reason. But even you couldn’t save her, could you, Grayson?”
I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. Grayson’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t say a word.
“You’re good at keeping secrets,” Victor continued, his tone mocking. “But I know the truth, Grayson. I know what really happened that night.”
Grayson’s fists clenched at his sides, but he remained silent, his gaze fixed on his father.
“Victor, stop,” Asher said, his voice strained.
But Victor ignored him, his eyes locked on Grayson. “If you’re not going to tell her, I will.”
“Don’t,” Grayson said sharply, his voice laced with warning.
Victor smiled faintly, satisfied with the reaction he had provoked. “Suit yourself.”
Diary Entry:
Date: November 15th, 11:50 PM
Dear Diary,
The Cross family is more fractured than I ever imagined. Tonight, Victor threw fuel on a fire that was already burning out of control. The way he talks to them—it’s like he knows exactly how to hurt them, how to push their buttons. And he kept talking about Evelyn, like she was some kind of puzzle piece I don’t understand.
And Grayson… he didn’t say anything. He just stood there, letting Victor throw accusations and stir the pot. But the look on his face—it was like he was carrying the weight of the world.
What is he hiding?
Lila