Chapter 1: The Sirens That Shattered Silence
The dining room never recovered from that moment.
At first, there was only silence—thick, suffocating, unbearable. Every guest sat frozen, as if moving would make them complicit in what had just happened.
Then came the sound.
Distant at first… but growing louder.
Sirens.
Julian’s breathing turned shallow. His eyes darted around the room, searching for control that no longer existed.
“This is ridiculous,” he snapped, forcing a laugh. “You’re overreacting.”
But no one laughed with him.
Not his mother.
Not the guests.
And certainly not Clara—who was still trembling in her mother’s arms.
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For the first time in his life, Julian wasn’t the most powerful person in the room.
And he knew it.
