LUCA

I can't breathe. I can’t fucking breathe…

The attacks have been coming more and more frequently since Veda was ripped out of my life. I gripped the arms of the chair I sat in, the brown leather stiff and cold under my fingers as the walls closed in on me. Squeezing my eyes shut, I fought for breath.

My father’s angry voice broke through my panicked haze. “You are a disgrace to this family and no son of mine.”

His words slid over me but didn’t stick, not like they once would have. I was barely paying attention, my mind on that morning. I'd woken up still half-dressed, each...