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"Looks like it to hastly white hands frozen in time

"There is very little he could do that would actually surprisehis fingers through his hair "That’s not hisstyle"

Luc had to agree It would be very unlike Lawrence to do them a solid and leave them all in peace "Maybe it’s the curse"

"Are you serious?" Gabe cursed under his breath "You’re starting to sound like Livie"

The grin returned as he thought of their housekeeper Mrs Olivia Besson was like a second mother to them, as much a part of this house as the very walls and roofs, but the daht The grin vanished like a dream

A heavy silence fell between the at their father It was Gabe who broke it, and he spoke quietly, almost as if he worried he’d be overheard "I woke up before Dev called ht I heard someone on the top level"

The damn air halted in Lucian’s throat

"I went up there, but" His brother’s chest rose with a heavy breath "You knohat you planned to do to to be able to now"

"Why not?"

"Why not?" he repeated with a shocked laughed "You can’t leave the state the very next day after our father died"

Lucian didn’t see a probleo ape shit"

"Dev doesn’t even knohat I’one I’ll be back the following "

"Lucian--"

"It’s important that I do this You know that I don’t trustI don’t trust that Dev would’ve picked the right person There is no way I’ to step aside and let hiu this I don’t care, but I will have a say"

Gabe sighed wearily A uest fully understands how important it is that she does not breathe a word of what has happened here"

"Of course," helazily from the chair He wasn’t at all surprised by the fact his brother knew he’d brought someone home

This house had ears and eyes

Gabe started toward the door "I’ll find Dev"

Lucian watched his brother leave and then turned back to the body of his father, searching for so inside hi the room had faded before it fully for fan, and he couldn’t even find a kernel of sorroithin hi under thisNot even relief Just an abyss of nothing

He looked up at the ceiling fan again

Did Lawrence de Vincent hang himself? The patriarch of the family would’ve outlived all of them out of pure spite

But if it hadn’t been him, then that meant someone did it and made it look like a suicide Wasn’t iht of the footsteps he’d heard It couldn’t be

Briefly closing his eyes, he cursed under his breath This was going to be a long night and not in a fun way Toer As he left the roo the heavyacross the floor

Chapter 2

Lucian hauled ass up the shadowy stairs, taking the quarters weren’t his first stop He clih the breezeway Wall sconces lit the way, casting just enough light to see a few feet in front of hi several closed doors to rooms that hadn’t been opened in years, rooms the staff refused to enter for various screwed-up reasons, he stopped at the end of the hall Muscles all along his spine tensed as he stared at the off-white door