The drive felt longer than it should have.
I kept watching the road behind us through the side mirror, half-expecting to see another set of headlights — the car that had taken Lucian somehow turning around, bringing him back.
It never happened.
Marcus Hale drove quietly, both hands steady on the wheel. The city lights grew closer as we left the hill roads behind, but he didn't head toward the busy streets. Instead, we turned into an area of large houses surrounded by high gates and tall trees.
The kind of neighborhood where everything looked perfect.
Too perfect.
Eventually, we reached a long driveway that curved toward a large estate sitting far back from the road.
Marcus pressed a button on a small device clipped to his visor.
The gates opened slowly.
I stared at the house as we drove through.
It was bigger than ours had been.
Not just wide — tall too, with long windows glowing softly against the dark lawn. Lights were already on inside, as if someone had been expecting us.
Maybe they had.
Marcus parked near the entrance and turned off the engine.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The silence inside the car felt thick again.
"Is this where you live?" I asked.
"Yes."
My eyes drifted across the property — the quiet garden paths, the distant outline of trees beyond the back of the estate.
It looked peaceful.
But it didn't feel like home.
Nothing did anymore.
Marcus opened his door.
"Come inside."
I stepped out slowly, the gravel crunching under my shoes. The night air here was different — quieter than the crash site, almost unnaturally calm.
The front door opened before we even reached it.
A woman stood there waiting.
She looked older than Marcus but carried herself with the same controlled composure. Her expression softened the moment she saw me.
"You must be Adrian," she said gently.
I nodded.
"My name is Evelyn."
Her voice was warm, but there was something measured about it too — like she was careful not to overwhelm me.
"I'm very sorry for your loss."
I didn't know what to say to that anymore.
So I just stood there.
Evelyn stepped aside to let us in.
The inside of the house was quiet and elegant — polished floors, tall ceilings, artwork on the walls that looked expensive enough to belong in museums.
But the first thing I noticed was how empty it felt.
Not empty in the sense of furniture.
Empty in the sense of people.
Marcus closed the door behind us.
"You'll stay here for now," he said.
"For now?"
"Yes."
I glanced between him and Evelyn.
"Until what?"
"Until things settle."
"What things?"
Marcus hesitated slightly.
"The investigation. The legal arrangements. Everything that follows an event like this."
I felt that tightness in my chest again.
"Does Lucian know where I am?"
Marcus answered carefully.
"I'm sure he will soon."
That wasn't the same as yes.
Evelyn noticed the tension building and stepped forward slightly.
"You must be exhausted," she said softly. "We prepared a room for you."
"I'm not tired."
That wasn't entirely true, but sleep felt impossible right now.
Still, Evelyn didn't argue.
She simply gestured toward the staircase.
"Come. Just so you know where you are."
I followed her slowly while Marcus stayed behind near the entrance for a moment, speaking quietly into his phone.
His voice was low, but I caught a few words drifting up the staircase.
"…yes… separation confirmed… the boy's already moved…"
My stomach tightened.
They weren't just reacting to what had happened.
They had already planned the next steps.
Evelyn led me down a long hallway on the second floor and stopped in front of a large bedroom door.
"This will be yours," she said gently.
She opened it.
The room was bigger than my entire bedroom at home had been.
Large windows.
A neatly made bed.
Bookshelves already stocked.
It looked like a place designed for someone to live there for a long time.
That realization sat heavily in my chest.
Evelyn watched my reaction quietly.
"If you need anything tonight," she said, "I'll be right down the hall."
I nodded faintly.
She hesitated, then added softly,
"You're safe here."
People kept saying that word.
Safe.
But safety didn't fix what had just been broken.
Evelyn left, closing the door gently behind her.
I stood in the middle of the room for a long moment.
Listening to the quiet house around me.
Trying to understand how everything had changed so fast.
Then something unexpected happened.
I heard Marcus's voice again from downstairs.
Still on the phone.
Still speaking quietly.
But one sentence carried clearly through the silence.
"…Yes. The twins are officially separated now."
My heart dropped.
Because the way he said it didn't sound like an accident.
It sounded like confirmation.