Sebastiano Galileo stood in the kitchen threshold, willing his brain to work despite the burning in his chest. He’d shut Adrian out of his house. Slammed the door in his face and locked it against him. He’d shut his best friend out of his life in that moment, as well, he realized.

His family was gone. The flurry of activity that had preceded the departure took mere minutes. If it wasn’t for the rage that had cooled into something glacial and enduring, he could almost pretend he’d imagined the whole thing. Forget about his worthless father, forget about his spineless brother… they didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was…

Not to look down. Sebastian stood in the kitchen threshold, staring at the clock as it ticked off the seconds he was wasting. His mother’s voice echoed in his head as he willed his brain to work. His mother wasn’t here any longer. Not in the kitchen. That was just a mess to be cleaned up. A hurdle to be overcome.

Emotions had no place here. There was only survival, because it was what his mother had taught him.

Sebastian stopped wasting time, and started weaving plans to ensure survival.