life. Satisfied, he left the door slightly ajar, a silent testament to the carnage within, and melted into the darkness as soundlessly as he had arrived.
�Sir� Sir��
The voice yanked him from the memory. The old aide watched him with quiet concern. These absent episodes were nothing new�his mind often dragged him back to that night, no matter how hard he fought it.
�What?!� he snapped, as if waking from a fever dream.
The old man remained unfazed. �You were lost in it again, sir.� His tone was gentle, reassuring.
He scowled, irritated that his weakness had been witnessed. �Get me water,� he demanded. �And keep this between us.�
The old man nodded and retreated to the kitchen.
He despised these lapses. They exposed a vulnerability unbecoming of a man in his position�a cabinet minister, a crime boss, a figure who commanded fear. Yet, the events of four decades ago kept on haunting him. The ghosts of that family still clung to him. Had wiping them all out been too much? Or was it the mother�s fight that haunted him?
He drew a steadying breath. The old man�s loyalty anchored him�the closest thing to family he permitted in his life. His real kin were an ocean away, leaving only this weathered confidant as his silent guardian.
Damn it. Pull yourself together. His fists tightened. You�re no guilt-ridden amateur. You command this. The words coiled in his mind like a mantra, willing back control as he fought to steady himself.