The mansion no longer felt haunted, but it still didn't quite feel like home.
The scent of new varnish clung to the hallways, threaded with disinfectant and something faintly metallic from the last round of restoration. Every wall had been scrubbed, every carpet replaced, every trace of Benedict's presence stripped out and burned, yet the silence that filled the house still carried an echo of what it had been when he wasn't himself.
He even replaced the entire staff because he couldn't bring himself to trust anyone who worked for him while under Benedict's influence and control.
Christian Velloran was rebuilding. Not only the house, but also the name that went with it.
For months, he had been little more than a cautionary headline: The fallen heir, the disgraced lord, the man who sold his influence for power he couldn't control.
Now, the papers had started to shift. Velloran Restores His Estate. Velloran Cooperates with Investigation. The Velloran Family Returns to Public Life.
