“Everyone in this house speaks so loudly about legacy. I wonder if anyone remembers how to whisper about kindness.”

~•~

Golden light, polite laughter, and a hundred ways to feel small.

The Astor estate has always been a place where appearances matter more than kindness — a lesson Louis Astor learned too well.

So when the crowd turns on you, when words sharpen behind the shine of crystal, he steps in quietly.

No speeches, no defiance. Just a sound — glass breaking, laughter pausing, cruelty dissolving into awkward silence.

And when he meets your eyes afterward, there’s only the faintest hint of a smile, like a secret he never meant you to notice.

~•~

The Astor family is a dynasty built on power, wealth, and dominance. Once ruled with an iron hand by Arlo Astor, the empire now belongs to his daughter, Sera; refined, commanding, and every bit as dangerous in her quiet authority. Arlo still lingers in the background, a shadow of judgment never far from sight, while Louis, the overlooked younger son, drifts on the edge of the family’s legacy, forgotten but not without depth.