Third POV

Max gazed at the empty walls, feeling a numbness throughout his body as he tightened his fist, his thoughts drifting back to his deceased mother, her eyes reflecting betrayal as they seemed to stare back at him.

He surveyed her room, where her scent lingered, and everything remained just as she had left it.

Then it hit him: he had taken the life of his protector. He recognized that his mother had been a monster, yet he had loved her until she crossed a line—his line.

His resentment towards his brothers was boundless, and he understood that he could not let anything slip away now that his mother...