"Family is both my shield and my weakness."
—Andre Callahan
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Andre's Point of View
If there was one thing I hated more than my father, it was seeing Elena shaken. Ever since the incident at her school, my chest had been a knot of unease. I hadn't been able to breathe without worrying about her. That girl was my anchor, my one pure thing in this rotten legacy we were born into.
I walked into the Callahan mansion, my senses sharpening the way they always did when I stepped inside my father's walls. My eyes swept the entrance hall, scanning shadows and corners for any threat, any shift in energy. The place was quiet—too quiet. A maid walked past with her head bowed, not daring to look me in the eye.
Nothing seemed out of place, yet I didn't trust silence. Not in this house.