The Stranger He'd Become

A faint spark of hope flickered in my chest as my eyes followed Stellan's every move.

The moment he pushed open the door, Evelyn immediately dropped the knife and threw herself into his arms like a frightened deer. "Bubby, thank God you're here! I'm being bullied!"

Stellan's face softened with concern as he wrapped her in his arms, his voice low and soothing. "What happened, baby? Who's bullying you?"

Evelyn pointed a trembling finger toward my mother and me—both of us filthy, bruised, and barely standing. "It's them! Those two broke-asses came in to stir up trouble. They tried to scam a free treatment, and when I caught them, they pretended to be sick—and then tried to hit me!"

At that moment, covered in grime and blood, my mother unconscious beside me, Stellan didn't even recognize us. He listened to Evelyn's words, and his expression darkened in an instant.

"Who are you two? How dare you try to wreak havoc on my turf?! You must have a death wish! Throw them out! Break their bones and feed them to the sharks!" he barked, disgust twisting his face as he gave the order to the guards without so much as another glance at us.

My heart went cold the moment those words left his mouth. Was this the same obedient, gentle brother who had always listened to me at home? Out here, was this who he really was—a man who threw his weight around and treated lives like dirt?

Anger and despair surged inside me. I wiped the blood from my face with a trembling hand and forced out each word. "Stellan Fallow. Is this how you should be using the name of the richest family in Edgewater? Who did you just say you wanted to have beaten and thrown out?"

The sound of my voice seemed to snap him back to reality. He froze, staring hard at my face as if afraid to believe what he was seeing.

Even Evelyn's whining failed to draw his attention this time. After a long silence, his eyes widened in horror. "H-Hazel?!"