CHAPTER 217: _ HORRIBLE FAMILY

Lucan takes a step forward, desperate to save his partner, but his homosexuality is a topic he’s always imagined would take some mental preparation before he finds the guts to announce it. He didn’t expect to be pushed so quickly and spontaneously.

"Dad, no. Please. Things aren’t always as they seem..."

"Lucan." Mr. Castell’s tone softens slightly. "If he’s innocent, it will come out."

Lucan opens his mouth, then closes it again. His eyes flick to Eli, whose expression is hollow and beaten. Heidi can practically feel the weight pressing on Lucan’s chest. It’s not just heartbreak, it’s fear. Fear that Eli won’t survive whatever punishment awaits him before anyone finds the truth.

Sierra slams her palm on the table. "You can’t be serious! Why are we wasting time with a trial? He’s a thief! He confessed!"

Mr. Castell doesn’t even glance at her. "You said he confessed. I didn’t hear it from him."

That’s when Sierra loses it completely. Her voice goes shrill, echoing across the dining room. "Why do you always need to see for yourself?! Why can’t you just believe me for once? Why does she–" she stabs a finger toward Heidi "—get to have all this patience and fairness when I’m your daughter?! What is she, some kind of goddess you have to protect?"

Heidi shifts, biting the inside of her cheek. Don’t rise to it, she tells herself. She wants you to bite.

Her wolf’s voice is a low growl in her head. "Rip her tongue out. She doesn’t deserve a fair trial."

Not helping, Heidi snaps internally.

But Sierra isn’t done. "She doesn’t even belong here! She’s not family! She’s a curse dropped on us by the Moon Goddess to test our patience, and you’re falling for it, Dad! You’re actually defending her over your own blood!"

"By the goddess, Sierra," Mr. Castell says again, but this time his voice isn’t calm. It’s sharp and commanding. "You’re out of line. Shut up and let the elders decide!"

Sierra’s mouth drops open. "Out of line? Out of...?" She laughs incredulously. "This is insane. You’ve gone completely insane. You’d rather believe a random stray and a thief over your own daughter!"

Lucan exhales, loud and long. Heidi can tell it’s the sound of a fuse burning out. His chair scrapes back violently as he stands, hands slamming onto the table. "You know what? He’s right about one thing."

Everyone freezes.

Lucan’s eyes blaze. "We’re acting like savages. And I’m done pretending this family is normal. I’m done being quiet."

"Lucan," Mrs. Castell warns.

He ignores her. "You all treat people like garbage and expect the rest of us to smile and go along with it. I can’t anymore."

Sierra rolls her eyes. "Oh, here we go. The philosopher prince speech."

He glares at her. "You’ve spent your whole life being handed things you didn’t earn, Sierra. You lie, you manipulate, and somehow you’re still shocked when people don’t trust you."

"Excuse me?" Sierra gasps, scandalized. "I’m the liar? You’re seriously calling me the liar when she..." she points at Heidi again "...literally made a video—"

"Shut the fuck up, you slime! You mean the video you manipulated into existence? Sierra! You’re humiliating everyone, including yourself. Just stop." Lucan bellows, veins popping in his forehead, so hard, Heidi flinches.

This isn’t the Lucan she knows. This is a man who has been dying in silence and is finally confronting the demons that had forced him into such a corner.

However, Sierra isn’t even moved a bit by her brother’s crashing. She folds her arms, smirking. "Defending her again. Wow, what a surprise. Maybe you should ask your new little friend—oh wait, you can’t. He’s being taken to court."

That... betrays their plan. At least, to Heidi. How on earth did she know Lucan knew Eli if they hadn’t known about his relationship with him all along?

The jab does it. Lucan flinches, and Heidi sees the moment his composure wavers. His throat moves, but no words come out.

Mrs. Castell seizes the opportunity like a vulture spotting roadkill. "Lucan, sit down. You’re embarrassing yourself."

He stares at her, breathing hard. "No. You’re embarrassing me.

You’ve been embarrassing all of us for years."

Her face freezes. "Excuse me?"

Lucan doesn’t stop. "You want to control everything. Every choice, every rumor, every person who dares to breathe near this family. You think your reputation is worth destroying other people for? It’s pathetic."

Heidi’s heart is pounding. She doesn’t move, doesn’t dare interrupt.

"You talk about purity and loyalty and pride," Lucan goes on, his voice breaking but fierce. "But you don’t know what those words mean. You use them like weapons to keep everyone scared. I’m tired of it."

The room feels electrified. The maids have all disappeared; even the guards hesitate at the edges of the scene, eyes darting nervously between Lucan and his parents.

Mrs. Castell slowly rises from her seat. "Lucan Alexander Castell, you will lower your tone and apologize to your mother right now."

He laughs bitterly. "Mother? You’re not acting like one and you’ve ceased being one to me a long time ago. You treat people like pawns. You think loyalty means silence. Well, I’m done being silent."

Her voice shakes and it’s not even from the expected emotional response of a mother who is hearing her son tell her she has stopped being a mourner to him but rage. "You will regret this tone."

Lucan looks her dead in the eye. "No, Mother. I regret wasting this long to finally say it."

He turns toward his father. "And you—you sit there pretending to be fair, pretending not to see what’s right in front of you. You know she manipulates everyone, but you let her because you don’t want conflict. Well, congratulations. You’ve got it."

Mr. Castell looks older suddenly, the lines around his mouth deeper. "Lucan, you don’t understand..."

"No," Lucan interrupts, voice cracking. "Don’t. I’m done trying to be the quiet one. I’m done trying to make this place feel like home when it hasn’t been one for a long time."

Heidi’s chest aches. For the first time, she sees Lucan not as the calm, polite one, but as someone frayed to breaking point.

Sierra recovers from her shock quickly. "Wow, dramatic much? You sound like one of those rogue poets crying about injustice in the woods."

He whirls on her. "At least they have hearts. Yours rotted years ago."

Sierra’s face twists. "You little..." She pounces across the table to... hit her older BROTHER?!

What the heck?! Heidi moves faster than the spoiled brat, grabbing her wrist midair.

The two of them freeze in that tense half-second. Sierra is breathing hard and Heidi’s grip is iron-strong.

"Don’t," Heidi warns quietly.

Yes. She’s ready to break down mountains for Lucan...