I accompanied my father and my brother to the crematorium. The entire afternoon passed in a blur.
My father seemed to age ten years in a single day.
His back was bent. His shoulders slumped. The man who had always seemed invincible suddenly looked old.
So painfully old.
He sat in silence, holding the urn that contained my brother's ashes and the sight felt like a knife twisting deeper into my chest.
Just then, my phone vibrated.
A message from Rocco.
My hands immediately turned cold.
“Within two hours, pick up Astrid's dress from the stylist and deliver it to the banquet hall. Astrid will send you the address.”
I stared at the screen.
My brother had just been cremated. Hs ashes were still warm. And Rocco wanted me to run errands for Astrid.
I wanted to block him. Delete him. Erase him from my life forever. But instead, I typed two simple words.
“No time.”
The reply arrived almost instantly.
A video appeared on my screen.
The same video showing my drugged little brother being forced abused and filmed while trapped in a carefully planned setup.
My fingers tightened around the phone until my knuckles turned white.
The threat couldn't have been clearer.
Obey.
Or suffer.
My father saw the screen, and his expression darkened immediately.
“My son is already dead,” he said, his voice trembling with fury. “What else does he fucking want?!” He shot to his feet so abruptly that the chair nearly toppled over. “Does he want to destroy him even after death? Does he want to grind my son's memory into dust before he's satisfied?”
I quickly grabbed him. “Dad!”
He was shaking. Crying. Falling apart right in front of me.
Wrapping my arms around him, I cried with him. “Please don't,” I whispered. “Don't go to him. He isn't human anymore.”
My father covered his face as his shoulders trembled. I felt my heart breaking. I swallowed my pain and forced myself to think clearly.
“We only need seven days,” I said, holding him tighter. “Just seven more days. If Rocco notices something is wrong before then, he won't let us leave.”
My voice cracked. “So I'll go.”
For seven more days, I would endure. And then we'd disappear forever.
…
I arrived at the place Astrid sent, but something in me tightened the moment I saw it. The address was vague, almost careless, like it had been designed to mislead rather than guide. Still, I came. I had no other choice.
And then I saw him.
A man standing at the entrance like he owned the very space around him.
My steps slowed instinctively. My stomach dropped.
It was him— Arthur!
My fingers went numb.
He turned his head and saw me, and immediately smiled, as if I was not an interruption but an expected arrival. As if this moment had already been arranged long before I reached it.
He walked toward me boldly. “Hey, you’re Celeste, right?” he said, voice casual. “Astrid told me to wait here for you.”
I stared at him, my body locking in place.
“Why are you here?” My voice came out rough, strained.
He gave a short laugh, like I had asked something absurd.
“Astrid my belover sister invited me. Said I should experience this kind of thing. Broaden my world a little.” He tilted his head, still smiling. “And honestly, you’re late. I’ve been here a while.”
My nails dug into my palm until pain grounded me.
My brother’s face surfaced in my mind without warning and this man was standing in front of me like nothing had ever happened.
“Astrid is really kind. She said I should meet more people, see different circles.”
My throat tightened painfully.
“And her boyfriend? That big corporate guy from Thornton Empire. He’s loaded. Even got me this suit made.” He smoothed his sleeve then his eyes returned to me. “You should really learn from her. She knows how to choose people.”
My breathing turned shallow.
What is he talking about?
Then his smile changed, dimming into something colder.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” His voice dropped. “You’re from the same family as that messed up kid who couldn’t handle himself.”
Something inside me shattered.
There was no warning after that.
I grabbed the dress in my hands and threw it at him with everything I had.
“Don’t you dare talk about my brother!” My voice broke as I spoke. “Don’t you ever say his name.”
He barely shifted, but I saw it. That faint amusement in his eyes. And that was what broke whatever restraint I still had left.
“I swear I’ll kill you, you monster! Rapist!” I said, shaking.
Before I could move again, hands seized me from behind. Arms locked around mine. I struggled, kicked, fought, but the grip only tightened as they dragged me back.
Then I heard footsteps.
Rocco.
I turned my head and there he was, walking out with Astrid beside him. Arm in arm.
Astrid looked at me first, her expression composed and faintly irritated.
“Celeste,” she said coolly, “who gave you permission to attack my brother? Apologize now.”
“You want me to apologize?” I let out a broken laugh. “He drugged my brother. He abused him. He fucking destroyed his life!”
Astrid’s eyes sharpened immediately. “You can’t say that. There’s no ruling yet. That’s defamation.”
Defamation? Huh!
She turned slightly toward Rocco, her gaze softening as if she were asking permission from the world itself.
“What do you think we should do?” she asked gently. “I don’t want to be unfair.”
Silence stretched between us.
Then Rocco spoke. “Kneel.”
My breath stopped completely.
I stared at him. “What?”
He didn’t look at me. “Kneel and apologize.”
Something inside me cracked open, wide and irreversible.
“Rocco, are you serious?” My voice trembled violently. “You know what he is! You know what he did to my brother!”
A small motion from him. Barely anything but it was enough.
The next second, they forced me down.
Pain shot through my knees as they hit the ground. I tried to resist, but hands were already in my hair, forcing my head downward before slamming it into the ground multiple times.
The sound echoed through my skull like something breaking apart from the inside.
Warm blood blurred my vision. The world tilted, unstable, like I was slipping out of it entirely.
Above me, Astrid’s voice floated down, calm again, satisfied now, like the outcome had already been decided long before I arrived.
Only when she seemed content did Rocco raise his hand.
“Enough,” he said.
Just like that.
The pressure disappeared.
I collapsed forward onto the ground, my body shaking uncontrollably, blood mixing with dirt beneath me.
Then slowly, I stood on the broken ground of what used to be my life, blood dried against my skin, when Rocco finally walked toward me.
He squatted in front of me as if I were something still worth handling carefully, something that had not already been discarded. A white handkerchief rested in his hand, clean and out of place in the ruin between us.
“Celeste, I already told you this case is finished.” Rocco said softly.
I stared at him for a long moment.
My throat burned, but I forced the words out.
“You don’t get to say that to me,” I said, voice shaking. “You don’t get to call this finished when my brother is gone!”
