24. Nothing

CAST

I stepped out of the car and stared at the estate, its looming walls suffocating even in broad daylight. The familiar anxiety tightened around me, knowing that woman controlled my entire world.

I hated it. I hated that I couldn't do anything to stop it.

The front door swung open before I could take a step. My mother stood there, hands clasped in front of her, wearing that icy, practiced smile. "Castor," she said, scanning me like a stranger.

"Mother." I climbed the steps. The moment I passed her, the door closed with a soft click behind me.

"She dropped something off," she said. I didn't ask who. I already knew. She followed me down the hallway. "Selena came by earlier."

I stopped at the edge of her office door, my back still turned to her. "What did she want?"

A pause. "To make sure I saw everything."

Oh shit.

I stepped inside, and the papers were on her desk. I didn't need to pick them up. I knew what they were. Printed copies of my conversations with Selena, every message