"Dad!"
Ethan's brother reeled, struggling to find his footing on the gravel drive. The shock was absolute, vibrating through the air like a physical force. The man who had always favored him—the man who had shielded him from every consequence of his cruelty, the man who had looked the other way while Ethan suffered—had just struck him down without a second thought.
He had appeared like a ghost in the shadows to protect his own skin, sacrificing his son's dignity to appease the woman standing before them. The power dynamic had shifted entirely; in the presence of Viona, the predator had become the prey. The air, once stifling with the weight of his family's authority, now felt charged with the electricity of Viona's absolute dominance.
"I am sorry, Viona! He is impulsive. Always causing trouble. Please, forgive him..."
