Page 25 of Shattering

His stomach dropped. He felt slightly lightheaded.

Cadi's voice was almost thoughtful when she spoke.

"Maybe you should've paid more attention to your internal medicine and genetics classes, Gray."

He jerked his head up, but her expression didn't change.

Then, her lips twisted slightly, her voice turning sharp and laced with contempt.

"Oh, but I forgot." She let out a soft, humourless laugh. "Why waste time on things like basic genetics when you could be perfecting your god complex and flexing your muscles in the OR for your mistress?"

Gray's fists clenched, his face heating.

He didn't want to see it.

Didn't want to acknowledge it.

But the resemblance was unmistakable.

Tomos' face had changed. Now that he was almost six ,he looked like neither Cadi nor him.

But he looked exactly like Gray at two.

Not Callum.

Him.

Gray inhaled sharply, gripping the edges of the photos like they might disappear.

But when he lifted his eyes again, Cadi wasn't watching him anymore.

She had already turned away, moving to the closet, pulling down suitcases.

Her movements were robotic, methodical. Like she was already gone.

And for the first time since this all began, Gray felt something foreign twist inside his chest.

Fear.

Chapter 17

Gray stood frozen, his mind struggling to keep up, his body moving on autopilot as he watched Cadi finish packing.

It was chaotic—clothes shoved in without folding, shoes thrown in haphazardly, toiletries carelessly dumped into a side pocket. Everything about it screamed disorder, a stark contrast to the eerie calm she projected on the outside. It was as if her body was betraying the emotions she refused to express.

Gray didn't realize he was following her until he found himself standing in Tomos' bedroom doorway.

Cadi was already there, her movements just as frantic, just as unthinking.

She pulled open drawers, stuffing in shirts—his favourite bright red T-rex hoodie, mismatched socks, pyjamas that barely fit anymore. His toy train, the one Gray had bought him for his third birthday, was tossed in next, followed by a half-read bedtime storybook. Then she reached for the blanket.

Gray's chest tightened the moment he saw it.

The faded red fabric with a border of tiny foxes and rabbits, worn thin from years of use. It was ragged, frayed at the edges, but loved beyond measure.

Tomos never slept without it.

Cadi stilled, her fingers tightening around it. She brought it to her face, inhaling deeply.

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