Chapter 16

  The room is still tense, but the energy has shifted colder, heavier, drained. It feels like everyone’s adrenaline burned out at once, leaving only the pain behind.

  Brook returns to lean against the desk, while Selena settles back onto the couch, arms crossed, conflicted. I remain standing in the middle of the room, awkwardly, like I’m giving a presentation I never signed up for.

  Selena looks at me, that same sharp glare still there — not friendly, not exactly hostile either. She reaches for another glass, and to my surprise, this time it’s just water.

  “I’m sorry you had to be the calmer voice here, Elijah,” Brook says, gesturing toward Selena. “Guess being old doesn’t automatically make us wise.”

  “Maybe,” I reply, though I’m not sure if what I said actually helped. It just… felt like the only thing I could do.

  “Yeah, yeah — we got quiet,” Selena cuts in bitterly. “That doesn’t mean we reached a solution, Brook.”

  She turns her full attention back to him.

  “We still don’t know what actually happened to Thomas. Have you even started an investigation?”

  “Of course I have, goddammit,” Brook snaps back, frustration bleeding into his tone. “From what Elijah told me, this could be connected to the Kravitz — but too many things don’t add up. Right now, I’m looking for that girl Elijah mentioned. She seems more affiliated with Sebastian than the Kravitz directly.”

  “Wait… are you talking about Vivi?” I blurt out, my voice tense.

  “Yes,” Brook says coldly. “I think she’s connected to this somehow. And we are going to find her.”

  A chill runs through me.

  If Vivi is really involved… then this is my fault. If I hadn’t opened that window that night, my dad wouldn’t have had to go fix a problem I created.

  My chest tightens. Sweat starts forming on my skin, my breathing turning uneven and shallow.

  My thoughts spiral into a dark place — guilt, shame, self-hatred. A voice in my head keeps repeating: I killed him. I killed my dad.

  Brook’s voice pulls me just back before I drown in it.

  “Even if she isn’t directly involved, she should know something,” he says. “She was the last known person to be with Thomas.”

  “Who the fuck is this girl, and why was she with Thomas?” Selena snaps.

  Her question hits me like a punch. It exposes everything I’ve been trying to avoid.

  Selena turns to me, eyes narrowing.

  “Do you know her?”

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  My throat tightens.

  “Yes… I know her.”

  “How?” she presses.

  I hesitate. The silence stretches painfully.

  “…It’s complicated.”

  I look down, ashamed.

  Selena scoffs, anger flaring.

  “What the hell do you mean ‘it’s complicated’? This isn’t the time to act shy, kid. Do you actually understand the situation you’re in?”

  I can’t even respond. Words won’t come out.

  “Enough, Selena,” Brook says firmly, stepping in. “I’ll explain what happened as best I can.”

  A few hours later

  “…And that’s everything we know,” Brook finishes. “I suspect Vivi was sent by Sebastian after Thomas’s meeting about the downtown incident with the Kravitz.”

  The room falls silent.

  “What they were hoping to accomplish by framing Elijah, we still don’t know. Maybe it was a power play. Maybe they just wanted to provoke Thomas. Either way, it led him straight into a trap — and this is not your fault, Elijah.”

  Selena snorts.

  “Yeah, of course — comfort the kid. It’s not like Thomas is dead because he couldn’t keep it in his pants.”

  “Selena — that’s enough!” Brook barks.

  As Brook recounts what happened that night, certainty settles in my gut like poison.

  It is my fault. If I hadn’t messed up, we wouldn’t be here. Selena is right.

  My stomach twists violently.

  Suddenly, heat surges up my throat — I lurch forward and vomit onto the carpet.

  “Elijah — are you okay?” Brook rushes to my side, rubbing my back, steadying me.

  I feel nothing but shame.

  “I think you should go to the bathroom and cool down,” he says gently. “We’ll call a doctor later.”

  He guides me toward the bathroom, and I shut the door behind me.

  Outside, their voices carry through the walls.

  “Kid’s soft,” Selena mutters. “You really expect him to survive running this operation? We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t drop dead from stress before bullets even find him.”

  Brook sighs.

  “You might be right… but what choice do we have? I think he has the stomach for this — but it’s not the life Thomas wanted for him.”

  “And you’re right about the bullets. People will come for him. That’s why I need you to look out for him.”

  Selena scoffs.

  “Hell no. I don’t have time to babysit. I need to be out there avenging Thomas.”

  Brook pauses before responding.

  “Listen… you have every right to refuse. Thomas was like a parent to you too. But I’d feel a hell of a lot better if you were watching his back.”

  Selena hesitates.

  “It’s not possible,” she finally says. “Even if I wasn’t focused on Thomas, the business is already a mess. I’ve got double the workload because of this.”

  Brook shakes his head.

  “Don’t worry about the business. All operations are being suspended to a minimum until the inheritance issue is settled. I’m not laundering money or keeping peace when I don’t even know if we’re working for the people who killed Thomas.”

  Selena stiffens.

  “Can you even do that? The elites won’t like this. And I’ve got a whole weapons shipment that was supposed to go to the slums.”

  “I’ll handle the elites,” Brook replies calmly. “As for the shipment — we’ll honor it, just not right now. If there’s a problem, I’ll deal with it myself.”

  When I finally step out of the bathroom, Brook and Selena are deep in discussion about workers, shipments, and alliances.

  Is this really my life now?

  “Elijah — you’re back. Feeling better?” Brook asks gently.

  “Yeah… I think I just got overwhelmed.”

  I can’t meet his eyes, but at least I’m telling the truth.

  Brook straightens.

  “Alright. I think we’ve said enough for today. But understand this, Elijah — whoever did this to your father doesn’t have many days left on this earth. That’s a promise.”

  His words carry weight. Just like my father’s used to.

  I nod, unsure whether to encourage or stop him.

  Brook turns to Selena.

  “Elijah should go home tonight. I don’t want him alone — so Selena, could you go with him and stay a couple of nights until we figure something more permanent out?”

  “What? Why?” Selena snaps.

  “Please. Just look after the kid.”

  She exhales sharply.

  “…Fine.”

  And just like that, Selena and I leave together.

  We return to a house that no longer has Thomas in it. I don’t even know if I can still call it home.

  That night, I cry harder than I ever have in my life.

  Flashes of my father haunt me — good days, bad days, boring days, quiet mornings, loud arguments, warm smiles. Every memory feels sharper knowing I’ll never have another.Sleep doesn’t come easily.