a family dinner. A "welcome home" dinner, she'd called it. Ethan knew it was a performance, a gesture born from a flicker of guilt or a desire t

china, the one they only used for holidays. Robert greeted him at the door with a hearty handshake that felt entire

end of the table, an island of silence in a sea of chatter. The conversation flowed around him, all

tter," Sarah cooed, placing a piece of roast

h and reassuring. He gave her a grateful smile that made her

the right to call his mother 'Mom'. The pain of it was a dull, constant ache. He looked at Olivia, the woman he had plan

Ethan for the first time. "So, Ethan. What are your

eal concern. "I'm leaving," Ethan said,

You can't seriously be thinking ab

" Ethan said, not bo

rd hanging in the air with a lack of convi

e, Liam, who could barely play a few chords, was praised for his "natural musicality" when

nd cheerful, "about that trip to the lake house when we were kids. Rememb

et? I was so scared. I thought a

ho had fallen out of the boat. He remembered the cold shock of the water, his father

han's numbness. He couldn't let this go. "Tha

ied. Everyone

?" Robert asked,

the boat," Ethan repeated, looking ea

able. Sarah shifted in her seat. Emily look

voice laced with warning. "It was a long ti

p," Ethan insist

said softly, her tone condescending.

o his face to protect their fragile illusion. The betra

lost my appetite." He stood up, his body trembling with a

dining room. He had to get out

ice called from beh

s back to the dining room. He he

ice low and devoid of its usual charm

shot back, not

"They don't want you. They want me. They needed someone to fill the space you left, and I

face him. The man wore his face, but his eyes were cold and rept

" Ethan said. "Yo

t. And they gave it to me. There's a difference. Now, you can go to Vienna o

re Ethan knew it. The forced dinner, the feigned concern

eir heads bowed together, already closing ranks, already forgetting

door, leaving the house of lies behind him for good. The