Worse than death – Egon’s POV

A late summer breeze rustled through the air in front of the von Conradie residence in Lanark, fueling the flames of anger in Egon's heart.

"If it were any other man, Bastian, I would have beaten him to a pulp by now," Egon growled through clenched teeth.

This had been going on for some time, but Egon had only truly noticed it when Adela brought the issue to his attention. Something was seriously wrong with Bastian.

Leopold shook his head in disbelief. "Your brother is right, Bastian. What the hell is wrong with you? You dragged him out of his bed next to his wife and brought him all the way here just to say that you've had a change of heart and decided against saying anything?"

"I'll repeat myself since you don't seem to be listening," Bastian uttered his words with a dark tone. "It's not that I've changed my mind. No, it's just that I'd rather say it in the presence of Egon's wife."