Chapter 1 - The Weight of the Silver LocketThe grand dining room of the Carter estate was suffocatingly quiet. The heavy crystal chandelier cast cold reflections across the polished mahogany table where Sophie and Lily sat, their small fingers intertwined. Margaret Carter’s ultimatum still hung in the air like poison, but the rusted silver locket resting in Lily's palm had completely altered the battlefield.
Ethan stared at his mother. For decades, Margaret had been an untouchable titan of industry, a woman whose iron will broke boardrooms and politicians alike. Yet, as she stared at the scratched trinket, her hands trembled.
"Mother," Ethan demanded, his voice low and dangerous. "What do you know about this locket?"
Margaret snapped her gaze away from the girls, her composure violently stitching itself back together, though a fine sheen of sweat glistened on her brow. "It is nothing. Trash from the streets. Send them away, Ethan, or you will regret the sunrise."
May you like
Without waiting for an answer, Margaret turned on her heel and strode out of the room, her heavy footsteps echoing down the marble corridor like gunshots.
Ethan didn't flinch. He knelt beside Sophie and Lily, his fierce expression softening into warmth. "You're safe here. Nobody is touching you tonight."
