A Reckoning Among the Headstones

JULIAN

I stood before my father's headstone, the cold marble gleaming in the early morning light. The cemetery was quiet except for the occasional birdsong and rustle of leaves. This was where I came to think, to find clarity when the world became too loud.

"Lead with strength, protect with honor."

I traced the words etched below my father's name. His motto. The code he'd lived by and the legacy he'd left me. How many times had I heard him say those words? How many times had I repeated them to myself when faced with difficult decisions?

Today, they felt hollow.

The sound of tires on gravel broke the silence. A sleek red sports car pulled up on the cemetery path—flashy and out of place among the solemn headstones. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

Seraphina stepped out, her heels sinking slightly into the soft ground. She was dressed impeccably as always, not a hair out of place despite the early hour. The scent of her expensive perfume carried on the breeze.