The car moved swiftly in silence, tension thick as a fog between Seamus and his father. Andrew hadn't even allowed Diane to drive with them.

Isolde had enrolled her as a new student in his major just last week, and today was her first day.

Today should be the perfect way to make father-daughter bond which Andrew should be excited about. But there they were, awkward and cold.

'What's wrong with him?' Seamus's gaze drifted toward his father.

Andrew looked sober, shockingly sober.

He hadn't seen him like this in over ten years. Not even the faintest smell of weed clung to his clothes.

'This is actually scary…' Seamus decided not to dwell on it and turned his eyes back to the window.

Since Roanna's revelation, scavenger activity had gone silent. Three days without an attack. No movement at the usual haunts makes his hunts futile. Everything was dead quiet, like the calm before a storm.

And that necklace Isolde had given him still gnawed at the back of his mind.

He'd taken Vitalis Cores from scavengers' stronger vampires and offered them to her again and again, but she always declined, saying they weren't a match. Yet now she gave him this?

'She knows every move like it's a chessboard.'

The Raven and Lady Crow should have been moving by now. The matching Vitalis Core had to belong to one of them… Seamus's hand clenched tight.

'I need to be ready.'

His father's voice yanked him back into the present.

"Seamus, has something happened to you since you joined Velstrath?"

The question cracked like thunder in broad daylight. Seamus's head snapped toward him. Andrew was already watching with a seriousness he'd never seen before.

Seamus slowly shook his head. "No… nothing. They're all kind to me."

Even as the words left his mouth, he felt a sour twist in his gut. They were awful and gave him the biggest trauma and lessons the hard way. Even Viviane had left scars.

"Don't lie to me. I know when you're lying." Andrew's jaw tightened, suspicion hardening his features.

"Why are you suddenly quiet? Tell me the truth." His father's voice was firm, commanding.

'Fuck. Did he already find out I slept with Isolde?'

That had to be it. There was no other reason for Andrew to be this angry. But should he be honest and take the punch?

'No fucking way.'

"I don't understand what you're saying, but they didn't do anything to me, I swear."

Andrew's eyes narrowed as he turned back to the empty road ahead. His grip on the wheel tightened before he shot another question, even sharper than the last.

"Then do you know what happened to Dylan, Marcus, and Connor?"

Seamus's eyes widened; he jerked at the sudden names. How did his father know what happened to those bullies and why bring them up after mentioning Velstrath?

'Wait. Does he know the truth about Velstrath being a vampires?'

That was the only conclusion that made sense. But how? Did David tell him since both of them were friend?

Or maybe Andrew had known all along about vampires and hunters. After all, Seamus was the Crimson Nectar, the reason his mother was killed, the reason so many vampires and hunters hunted him.

It was impossible that his father knew nothing when he'd been moving pieces for years just to keep his son safe.

Seamus swallowed hard. He didn't know how to answer, but he knew one truth was worth another.

"I'll tell you everything," he said, his voice low, "if you tell me the truth about Mom's death."

"Why did you lie about it? She was killed, wasn't she?"

Andrew suddenly slammed the brakes. The car lurched to a stop. Seamus braced himself against the dashboard as a stag darted across the road and vanished into the trees. But he knew that wasn't why his father had stopped.

Andrew turned to him, his face pale. "Who told you that?"

"You don't need to know who told me," Seamus pressed. "Just answer me and I'll answer you."

Andrew let out a long breath, flicked on the blinker, and steered the car to the shoulder. Gravel crunched under the tires as they rolled to a stop.

Without a word, he stepped out and gestured for Seamus to follow.

Andrew leaned against the car's bumper and lit a cigarette. Smoke curled lazily between them, blurring his face in the dusk light. Silence stretched between them.

"You were just a child back then," Andrew finally said, exhaling smoke. "But now… you're as much an adult as I am. You deserve to know."

---

Andrew had known Seamus was different since he was a baby, but not like this.

When Seamus was barely a year old, he and Alice went shopping at the supermarket like usual.

The baby, curious and restless, had grabbed at a fish tail on display and suddenly his tiny palm started bleeding.

"Don't cry, baby, it's fine," Alice cooed, rocking him gently while Andrew dabbed at the wound with a tissue.

"Right? Be more like Daddy, strong and never cry," Andrew joked, and Alice laughed.

A moment later, even Seamus gave a small giggle through his tears. That day was peaceful and full of happiness like any other day.

But then a man approached, no, not a man. Something else. Bald head flecked with grey, eyes as red as fresh blood. Fangs glinted as he lurched forward, voice guttural.

"Give me that baby!" he snarled. "Delicious… blood!"

Shoppers screamed and scattered. Andrew reacted on instinct, one kick sent the thing crashing back. Security guards swarmed, pinning it down, dragging it away.

They thought the terror was over. But it wasn't.

At home, they felt eyes on them. Strange figures lingered outside. At night, scratching at the door, nails raking wood, voices hissing to be let in.

They fled town. But the pursuit followed like a curse, town after town.

One evening, it wasn't a monster at the door but a man in a suit. Andrew opened it, startled.

"You…" Andrew breathed.

"I know you have him," the man said flatly. "Just give him to us. He's better gone."

Andrew gritted his teeth and slammed the door in his face. That very night, they fled again.

He could see the exhaustion in Alice's eyes. He could hear Seamus's confused cries. He couldn't let this continue.

So Andrew did the unthinkable. He erased his son's identity as if the boy had died in an accident.

He even staged a funeral, filing false reports, enlisting the police to "investigate" the fake death.

Seamus was given a new name. All of them were and for a moment, they were safe.

But everything changed when Alice grew paranoid, so protective of Seamus that even he couldn't touch him.

"Alice, calm down. I won't hurt him," Andrew said gently, hands raised as he inched toward her.

She clutched a knife in one trembling hand and their crying son in the other.

"B-but everyone wants to kill my son! Even you… that man in the suit!" she screamed, pointing the knife at Andrew.

"Only me—only his mother—can protect him!"

"I would never do that, baby. I would never hurt you or Seamus. Just… calm down. Let's talk it out," Andrew coaxed, keeping his voice low. He could see she wasn't in her right mind.

Her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes red and ringed with dark circles. She hadn't slept in days, too consumed by guarding Seamus while Andrew worked.

"Lie! Lie! Everyone's lying!" she sobbed harder, her voice breaking. Seamus's wails rose with hers.

Andrew's heart hammered. Her grip on the knife was unstable. In one swift move, he snatched it from her and hurled it across the room, then took his baby from her arms.

Alice crumpled to the floor, silent now, shaking. It was as if her soul had drained out of her; her eyes stared blankly at nothing.

Andrew knelt beside her, clutching her shoulders. "I'm sorry, my love. I wasn't able to protect you or Seamus."

He held her tight. "But we're safe now. No one knows us."

"A woman came to me today…" Alice whispered, voice trembling as she pulled away from his embrace.

"She said she could protect us and Seamus if we agreed to stay with them."

"They'll give us what we need. A place to stay, jobs, an education for Seamus."

Her shaking hands reached into her jeans pocket. She drew out something small, a scabbard. Inside was a silver dagger etched with a coiling viper.

Andrew's breath caught. He stared at it, his voice low and urgent. "No… We can't ask anyone for help. We can't trust anyone who knows about Seamus."

"Not after everything. We've already changed our identities…" He bit his lip. "And still they found us. Isn't it weird?"

Alice's body trembled harder. The dagger slipped from her hands and clattered to the floor.

A moment later she collapsed, fainting under the weight of all the stress she'd been carrying.

Guilt crashed over Andrew like a wave. He felt like he'd failed her as a husband, failed them as a family.

He looked at her peaceful face as she lay unconscious on the bed, then down at Seamus asleep in his arms, never realizing it would be the last day they'd be together as a family.

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