Love's Dark Legacy

| R and J

After azeilia left he felt empty, worst he was bored. Being at his father's house he was always accupied with some duty, but this day was different, everything was eerily quiet. Even the chirpy happy maids, were quiet.  He wasn't planning on going out either he didn't want to see Brian either, he sensed Brian knew stuff about him and rose. Plus he was growing tired of his friends

He sat in his room, leaning against the headboard of his bed, staring at the dark screen of his phone. His mind raced back to that unsettling moment at his father's mansion—the mysterious photograph of the woman in red and the boy with the long curly hair. The image had clung to him, gnawing at his curiosity, but more than that, it stirred something deeper—questions about his father's hidden past and secrets buried long before he was born.

He swiped through his contacts until his mother's name appeared on the screen: *Astrid Blackwood.* Without thinking too much about it, he pressed the call button.

After a few rings, her crisp voice echoed on the other end. "James, darling. It's late. What is it?"

James exhaled slowly, trying to piece his words together without sounding too accusatory. "Mom, I saw this picture."

There was a pause. "A picture?"

"A woman in a red dress. And a little boy. Who are they?" James asked, his voice low but insistent.

"Where" Astrid asked

"Dad's house obviously"

Astrid hesitated, the silence on the line growing longer by the second. "Why are you asking about that?"

"Because I want to know if there was someone else—before us," James said. His frustration grew. "Was dad married before? Did he have another family?"

"James..." Astrid began, but her voice softened as if she was weighing what to reveal. "Your father's past is not something you should be worrying about."

"Why not? It feels like no one tells me anything. I'm always left in the dark, and now I'm seeing these... these shadows of people I never knew existed," James snapped. "I deserve to know."

"I understand your frustration," Astrid said, her tone firm but slightly weary. "But some things are better left alone. Your father is... complicated. And trust me, this isn't something you need to be caught up in right now."

Her words brought him no comfort, but he could hear the finality in her voice. Pushing further would get him nowhere. He let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. But don't expect me to ignore it."

The call ended with the same hollow sense of disconnection that always lingered between them. He tossed his phone onto the bed, but his mind remained restless, his thoughts circling back to a different, yet familiar, source of unease: Herculeana.

Without hesitating this time, James grabbed his phone again and dialed her number. His heart pounded with anticipation, though he told himself he was just calling to check in. That was all.

The phone rang a few times before Herculeana picked up. Her voice was distant, like she was distracted or maybe not interested in the call at all. "James?"

He swallowed hard, her voice instantly pulling at him, as if just hearing it brought back all the unresolved emotions he'd been suppressing. "Hey," he said softly, trying to keep his tone casual. "I just wanted to... you know, check in. See how you're doing."

"Doing fine," Herculeana responded, her tone short.

James winced slightly but tried to keep the conversation going. "You sound busy."

"I am."

James let out a low chuckle, masking his discomfort. "You don't have to sound so cold, Lena."