[ Note: Chapter is emotionally heavy, it contains scenes of child abuse and may be distressing for some readers. ]

| 16 YEARS AGO: FLASHBACK |

It was a harsh, sunny day, yet the house felt colder than it does during dusk.

Not the kind of cold that crept into your skin from the air, but the kind that lived in the walls, watching, waiting. Grayson felt it the moment he stepped through the door, his fingers still curled loosely around the strap of his schoolbag.

Behind him, his younger brother stumbled in with a muffled whimper.

“Stop crying,” Grayson muttered under his breath, not turning. “You’ll make it worse.”...