Leon sat on the worn couch in the safe house, staring at the wall with empty eyes. His phone lay on the coffee table, buzzing repeatedly with incoming messages and calls. Each vibration felt like a knife twisting deeper into his chest.
He hadn't answered any of them.
The screen lit up again. Another text from Santiago:
"Hey Leon, is everything okay? You haven't replied since yesterday. Let me know if you're free this weekend. I just saw a new book you will love."
Leon read it, then locked the phone without replying. His hands trembled as he set it back down. Tears he thought had run dry started pricking at his eyes again.
Silas's cruel words in that cold office kept replaying in his memory. "Your brother sold his body to me… He's my whore… All for you…"
Leon hugged his knees to his chest, rocking slightly. "Why didn't you tell me, Sylvain? Why did you carry all of this alone?"
