I slammed the door behind me, the sound echoing through the empty hallway. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. My heart was racing, a frantic, wounded thing beating against my ribs. I stormed through the opulent halls, my sneakers silent on the polished marble. Every perfect painting, every expensive vase felt like a mockery. This wasn’t a home. It was a gilded cage, and he was the warden playing a cruel game.

I found him in his study, still standing where I’d left him, a statue of ...