Page 51 of Shattering

"You grew up believing you were an outcast. That you were never wanted, that you were a stain on the family's name. Those early years must have been torture"

Gray's face remained impassive, but his knuckles were white, his hands curling into fists at his sides. Even though he should have been too small to remember those times, he still had flashbacks of memories he would like to forget.

"You know how David was," Callum continued, quieter now. "He never could stand the sight of you."

A flicker of something dark passed through Gray's expression.

"Oh, I remember." he whispered.

The memories were scattered, blurred by time and childhood, but some things never faded. A hand gripping too tight on his arm. A bottle shattering a bit too close. The cold burn of the ground when he was shoved onto it. A voice, once full of love for Aisling, spitting venom whenever he so much as looked at him.

"You should have been his to love, but you weren't." Callum's voice was measured. "And David made sure you felt it."

Callum looked down for a moment, rubbing his hands together like he was working up the courage to speak. When he looked up again, his eyes were gentler, but so, so heavy.

"You always believed you were illegitimate. That you were born because of some scandal, some reckless affair your mother refused to talk about."

Gray said nothing, but his throat worked, his jaw locked.

Callum took a deep breath.

"But you weren't illegitimate, Gray." His voice softened. "You were born out of something much worse."

Gray's stomach twisted, something sick and awful curling inside him. he did not want to hear this.

His fingers dug into his arms, but he didn't speak.

Callum's voice turned low, hoarse, heavy with the weight of words he never wanted to say.

"Aisling never told the truth at first because she was afraid. My father... Finn... he was a well-respected man, a father, a husband, a businessman. But behind closed doors—" he swallowed, his voice dipping almost to a whisper. "Behind closed doors, he was a monster. Someone my mother and I never knew existed."

Gray blinked. Once.

Callum exhaled a slow, unsteady breath.

"She never had a choice, Gray." His voice was barely above a whisper now. "My father hurt her."

Chapter 26

The words hung in the air, thick and suffocating.

Gray's fingers twitched, but he still didn't move.

Cadi's stomach clenched, a sharp, sick feeling lodging itself deep in her ribs. Callum had never told her this.

Callum inhaled shakily, glancing at Gray, then away again.

"After my mother gave birth, there were ...complications. Finn was drinking heavily. One night, he was driving Aisling home from the main house. He stopped the car in the dark, on a quiet road near the estate. She never saw it coming."

Gray's breathing had slowed, but the air in his lungs felt thick, like treacle.

Callum's voice wavered, softer now, almost gentle, though there was a thread of pain in it.

"She was too afraid to tell anyone. She was trapped with nowhere to go. Outside the estate walls, the conflict raged.In those days, the police weren't an option—not when justice depended on which side of the war you belonged to. The wrong accusation could cost a life, and silence was often the only protection. She was a catholic and abortion was illegal. And he was already coming back to her... over and over again."

The words landed like a hammer.

The room held its breath.

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