The door to Raina's study clicked shut behind Lucian.
He stood in the grand hallway of the estate, tension still thrumming in his chest like an aftershock. Everything in that room—her voice, her coldness, her blade resting beside the wine—had left a mark.
And then came a familiar voice from the shadows.
> "You shouldn't have come tonight, Master Lucian."
Lucian turned slowly.
There stood Albert, Raina's butler of over twenty years, dressed in midnight black, posture impeccable, a white-gloved hand resting behind his back.
> "Still watching like a ghost, old man?" Lucian muttered, half-hearted.
Albert smiled faintly. "Always. Someone must protect the estate from more than just physical threats."
Lucian sighed, moving down the corridor. "She still trusts you."
> "She does," Albert said. "Because I never lied to her."
That made Lucian pause.
> "And I did?"
Albert didn't answer immediately. He looked out the window at the moonlit garden below.
> "Ten years ago," he began, "you were grieving before Selena was even gone. You buried yourself in guilt and let Chloe take the reins of the twins. Raina was never even given the benefit of doubt."
Lucian's jaw tensed. "I thought she abandoned Selena."
Albert turned slowly.
> "She didn't abandon anyone. You were just too blind to see she was pushed out."
Lucian lowered his head.
Albert stepped closer, voice quieter now.
> "You know what she did, Lucian? After you chose Chloe? She packed her bags, wrote a final letter she never sent, and left this house with a silence that shook the walls."
> "She didn't cry. She didn't scream. She vanished like she was the ghost."
> "And now she's come back colder than death… because it's the only way she survives."
Lucian's voice was low. "I don't hate her."
> "No," Albert said. "You loved her. Maybe more than you ever admitted. But love without action? That's just a memory."
Lucian ran a hand over his face. "Do you think she'll forgive me?"
Albert met his eyes, gaze sharp despite the years.
> "She'll never forgive you with words, Master Lucian. But if you help her get justice—real justice—she might let you stay in the room when the fire fades."
Lucian stared at the tall double doors at the end of the hallway—Raina's private wing.
> "She asked me to help her bury whoever killed Selena."
Albert nodded once. "Then dig deep, sir. Because the roots of this lie go far deeper than you think."
Lucian turned, the fire in his chest no longer grief—but purpose.
> "Then it's time I stop asking for forgiveness… and start earning it."
And with that, he walked into the night—out of the house he once called home, and back into the storm he helped create.