"We are, Jules. We are." Arthur’s tone is completely different now. The harshness and cold are gone. What is left is pleading, coaxing.

He glances at Maeve, silently asking for her help in calming Julian down, but he stops. Maeve remains stoic and distant, nothing like her usual self. Her eyes carry none of the warmth that normally draws people in.

Arthur swallows. She’s got it too.

He takes a short sharp breath. I felt it too. And I gave in.

"Julian." Arthur decides to deal with Julian first. He takes a step closer.

"Don’t come near me!" Julian shrieks and takes a step back.

"You too!" He says to Maeve, even though she hasn’t moved from the spot she has been standing in the whole time, arms still crossed.

"Explain to me what you meant when you said ’Old Thea died!’" Julian demands.

Maeve shrugs. "It means exactly that. Old Thea died." She offers nothing further.

"If she died, then who is currently sleeping in her room?" Julian asks, still not letting Maeve go.

"Obviously, the New Thea." Maeve answers in a completely nonchalant way, which only frustrates Julian more.

"You’re not making any sense!" He snaps.

"I’m making perfect sense. You just don’t understand it. I thought you were smart, Julian. Guess not." Maeve sneers.

"Stop it." Arthur steps in. He can feel his anger rising again and he needs to get ahead of it before it takes over.

Even though nothing feels more satisfying than letting go. His whole body is practically screaming for it, begging him to stop holding back.

"Maeve, stop. Let’s end this here." Arthur says through gritted teeth.

Maeve only looks at him, giving no indication that she agrees, or understands, or has even heard him at all.

"You started it." She shrugs, dismissive. But the hostility is gone from her voice.

Arthur exhales, relieved. He turns to Julian.

"Julian, can we stop here? We can talk again later when everyone has calmed down." Arthur begins to reason with him.

Julian looks at him coldly. "And when would that be? No. I say we continue right now. Don’t you want to know if Thea is okay?"

Arthur takes a breath.

"Or do you not care about her either?" Julian presses. Arthur freezes mid-inhale. His eyes stay fixed on Julian.

His head starts to throb.

"Julian, you know that’s not true. I care about Thea. We both do." He speaks slowly, keeping his tone neutral.

"Do I, Arthur? Do I really know that? You never seemed to show it. Not like me. Not like Mom or Dad. You always seemed cold and distant. But when something happens, you panic."

Julian scoffs. "Don’t you know it’s too late to panic after something has already happened, Arthur? I thought you were smart."

He turns his head to Maeve. "He’s the one who isn’t very smart. I am."

Julian speaks with a calm that is deeply unnerving. Especially after his earlier outburst, the sudden stillness is jarring.

A chill runs up Arthur’s spine. He closes his eyes and works through his breathing, desperately trying to calm himself down.

Click.

Liam enters with Alicia.

"Hey, guys!" He greets all three of them, but immediately senses something is off. He carefully takes off his shoes and slips on his slippers.

"What’s going on? Why are you all standing around like you’re having a standoff?" He jokes, not knowing how right he is.

No one responds. That alone is strange. Normally they would have greeted him back by now, asked how he was.

"Erm, guys?"

"Did you know?" Julian asks.

"Huh? Know what?" Liam replies, confused.

"Don’t act like you don’t know. Just tell me. Did you know?" Julian’s sharp tone cuts through the air.

Alicia is stunned. What’s going on? Why is Julian this upset?

Liam is equally stunned and can only blink.

"Don’t act coy with me. It won’t work. My question is simple. Did you know?" Julian refuses to let it go.

Liam looks at Maeve, who stares back with a cold gaze.

He turns to Arthur, who looks exhausted and defeated.

Liam frowns. What the hell is going on?

But no one is helping him.

He turns back to Julian. "Julian, I’m not acting. I genuinely don’t know and I don’t understand. Know what?" He hopes his tone makes his sincerity clear.

"That Thea died." Julian drops it like a bomb.

"WHAT?!" Both Liam and Alicia react at the same time.

Liam says nothing more and immediately pushes past them, heading straight for Theo’s bedroom.

Alicia follows, but something stops her. The other three are showing no emotion, no urgency, no concern. For people who care as deeply about Thea as she knows they do, it is very wrong.

She stops and turns to face them.

"What’s going on? Why aren’t any of you more concerned?" Alicia asks, her worry plain on her face.

"Why? You think I don’t care about Thea enough? Ask Arthur that. Ask him why he’s just standing there like a statue instead of looking for answers." Julian snaps with such hostility that it visibly shocks Alicia.

She can only stare at him, mouth open.

"Oh, stop it." Julian says when he sees her expression. "Don’t act like you’re genuinely concerned. You barely knew her. In fact, you never knew the Thea who died."

"What are you talking about? You know I knew her. I liked her. She was awesome!"

"And yet here you are, talking about her in past tense like she’s already dead." Julian laughs sarcastically.

"You just said she’s dead!" Alicia snaps.

"You don’t know the Thea who died!" Julian snaps back.

"You’re not making any sense, Julian!"

Julian laughs out loud. "That’s exactly what I said!"

Silence falls.

Everyone retreats into their own thoughts.

Maeve clenches and unclenches her jaw, arms still crossed.

Arthur stares blankly at Julian, his eyes flickering between pleading and barely contained annoyance.

Julian has his arms crossed now too, his whole posture a standing invitation to challenge him.

Alicia, the most out of place of them all, fidgets, not knowing what to do with herself.

After a few seconds of silence, Julian snaps at her. "Would you stop that? It’s very annoying."

Irritation flashes across Alicia’s face.

"What do you want me to do, Julian? I’m still trying to make sense of everything I’ve heard since I walked in. None of it makes sense, and you’re not exactly helping. And I don’t feel like sitting down while I’m at it."

"Stop trying to make it more complicated than it is. It’s really not that difficult to understand. But alright, since you asked so nicely." Julian’s tone drips with ridicule.

"I’ll explain it like you’re two. Happy?" He raises his eyebrows.

"Madame Maid here said that Mr. CEO never cared about me or Thea or anyone else but himself. Something I happen to know is true. Mr. CEO here obviously didn’t agree, since according to him, he’s been carrying the whole of Altheon on his shoulders. He didn’t say that exactly, but I know. Because I’m smart."

He pauses for a split second before continuing. "Then Madame Maid said that ’Old Thea’ died. There. You have it all."

Then the room explodes.

"What did you just call me? Madame Maid? Who do you think you are?!"

"I care about you, Thea, Mom, and Dad. You can’t just accuse me of something I didn’t do. I refuse to accept that!"

"Julian, that is cruel and unnecessary. You should be ashamed of yourself for saying things like that."

All three of them speak to Julian at the same time. Julian only sneers.

"Wow. Seems like I hit a nerve. Several nerves, actually."

He turns to Maeve. "Yes, you heard me. Madame Maid. Because that is what you are. Mr. CEO was right. We didn’t say anything to spare your feelings." His face turns mocking on the word feelings.

"You were always worried about fitting in and contributing, when all you ever did was make yourself everyone’s doormat."

He looks at Arthur. "You keep saying you care. Sure. Go ahead. Lie to yourself until you believe it. How’s that working out for you?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

He turns to Alicia. "Unnecessary and cruel? You don’t get to stand on the moral high ground and lecture me when you are the one who killed your brother. Unnecessary and cruel? Me? Look in a mirror. Calling the kettle black."

He looks at all three of them in turn. "See how smart I am? I heard every single one of you even though you were all talking at the same time. That’s smart."

He fires in rapid succession, giving no one a chance to get a word in.

Maeve is the first to hit back.

"I am not your maid and I am most certainly not a doormat! You think you’re better than the rest of us?! Fine, you’re the genius among us. But who cried when his invention failed to keep the dungeon gate open? Who stayed in that lab not to tinker with gadgets, but to hide from reality? Who refused to enter the dungeon and stood outside with the pretense of setting up devices, when he was actually too afraid to face the haelions? Who, Julian? Who? You are a coward who never dares to stand up for himself. A coward who retreats into his shell rather than confronting his own brother. A coward who never says what he feels, hopes everyone else will just understand, and then gets hurt and offended when they don’t!"

"You take that back!" Julian roars.

"You can’t talk to my brother like that!" Arthur snaps at Maeve.

Alicia draws a sharp breath and rounds on Julian. "You don’t know anything about my brother’s death. Stop talking like you do!"

"I don’t need you speaking for me!" Julian snaps at Arthur.

"Stay out of this. You’re a stranger." Maeve says to Alicia.

Everyone is talking at once, going at each other from every direction.

It is chaos.

"What the FUCK is going on?!"

Every head snaps toward the voice.

Liam is standing at the end of the hallway.

And beside him, holding his hand for support, Theo stands looking frail and pale.