Silent Scars

CHAPTER 96

LUCA HASTINGS

The house felt heavier this morning. Not loud, not frantic, just heavy, like the air itself had sunk with the weight of what was waiting for us.

I was in the kitchen with Marcus, sleeves rolled up, moving on autopilot as I sliced fruits while he worked the stove. Neither of us spoke much. The faint crackle of oil and the scrape of my knife against the board were the only sounds.

The others were already at the dining table.

Leonardo sat at the head like always, unreadable, one hand wrapped around his mug as if nothing could shake him. Domain was next to him, already nursing his coffee, shoulders tense, eyes sharp. Kendric had come down early too, but he hadn’t said a word since he sat beside Domain. That was unusual. He usually filled the room with chatter.

I knew why he was quiet. He was scared. I could feel it in the way he kept staring down at the table, like he was somewhere else entirely. And that scared me too, because if Kendric was showing it, then it meant he was carrying more than he could handle. He had even slipped into my room last night, not saying anything, just lying there. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was just as worried. If he saw me break, he’d fall apart.

I tried to steady my breathing as I stirred the eggs Marcus had asked me to watch.

It was gloomy, heavy, suffocating even. That’s how it always was whenever Leonardo was about to walk into something dangerous, like the whole house braced for impact.

But yesterday had been different. Yesterday, for a while, we forgot. We laughed, we teased, we let her pull us into her little world where nothing else existed.

Our sunshine.

But after Aria went to bed, everything shifted. Leonardo laid it all out, the plan, the risks, the escape route. A secret passageway hidden in this house, one we’d never known existed until last night. That detail alone unsettled me. If something went wrong today, we weren’t just running, we were leaving everything behind, trusting Alessandro to handle the rest.

The memory of Leonardo’s voice stuck with me. Calm, firm, absolute. He always carried that air that nothing could shake him, and I believed him, I always did. But belief wasn’t enough to stop the thoughts gnawing at me.

I should’ve felt reassured, knowing there was a plan, knowing Alessandro would take care of the rest. But instead, it unsettled me.

What if we actually needed it? What if something went wrong and we had to run while Leo, Marcus, and Domain stayed behind? What if I had to drag Kendric and Aria through that passage while wondering if I’d ever see them again?

I looked at Leonardo, the way he sat so calm, like nothing could touch him. Deep down I knew he’d never let anything happen to us. He’d tear the world apart before he let it. But even knowing that, I couldn’t stop the fear twisting in me. What if something happened to him? To Marcus? To Domain?

I swallowed hard, forcing the thoughts down. I couldn’t let it show. Not in front of Kendric. Not in front of anyone.

I noticed her first, the soft shuffle of feet, the hem of her loose pajama pants brushing the floor. Her hair was brushed, neat in that way that made her look younger, softer, like a child who had just woken up. Ariana stepped into the kitchen doorway, and it was almost like the walls themselves sighed.

The air shifted.

Not just for me, for all of us.

I caught it in the way Marcus straightened his shoulders, Leonardo leaned back in his chair, eyes flicking up and softening in a way most people would swear he wasn’t capable of. Domain’s posture eased, the tension in his shoulders melting just slightly.

And Kendric, he lit up the fastest. His whole body perked, like he’d just been given air after holding his breath too long. His grin came without thought, wide and reckless, the kind that didn’t belong on a morning like this but only did because she had walked in. He shoved back in his chair, waving her over, already ready to make space for her, like he’d been waiting.

She had that warmth. That strange, unexplainable thing about her that made all the heavy, ugly thoughts crack apart. Like no matter what storm was waiting outside these walls, she could scatter it with a single step into the room.

"Morning Lana."

Marcus said, voice even, but I caught how it lost its edge, like he wanted to ease her into the day.

"Morning Marc."

A soft greeting slipping past her lips before she slid into the chair Kendric had pulled out, his hand still resting on the back of it like he wasn’t quite ready to let go.

We all moved without needing to say much. Plates were set down, food served, and for a little while, it felt almost normal.

We ate, laughing in spots, keeping it light, because we knew. We couldn’t let her see the cracks. Not today.

And then, as soon as the last bite was gone, Kendric pulled her chair back and tugged at her hand.

"Come on Ria, let’s go play."

He said, already half smiling, half competitive.

"I’m not going easy on you anymore."

Her lips curved, the tiniest spark in her eyes.

"Then let’s see who wins."

Domain chuckled low, shaking his head as if she’d just grown taller before his eyes.

"That’s my girl."

He said, with a kind of pride he never let anyone hear.

The two of them disappeared upstairs, footsteps fading toward the gaming room, their laughter echoing like sunlight bouncing off the walls. For a moment, it was easy to pretend the world outside didn’t exist.

But as the silence closed in again, I caught the shift.

Marcus was the first to break it, his voice even.

"Do you think she noticed?"

Leonardo didn’t answer right away. He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, jaw tightening before he finally exhaled.

"Of course she did."

Leonardo said, voice low, tired in a way he’d never admit.

"She notices everything. She just… doesn’t say it."

I felt my chest tighten, because he was right. Ariana didn’t need to hear words to know when a storm was building. She just carried it, quietly, like it was hers to bear too.

Domain’s fists curled on the table, his gaze still fixed where her smile had disappeared upstairs.

"Then we carry it better. So she doesn’t have to."

The table fell into silence again, the kind that pressed heavy on the ribs. Upstairs, Kendric’s laugh rang out, followed by Ariana’s softer one, and for the briefest second, it almost felt like a shield against everything waiting for us tonight.