I had one good memory, and it was the earliest thing I could recall. I was barely three, and my nanny, Alexandria, brought me to the hospital to meet my new little brother. My mother smiled at me. She was beautiful when she smiled, at least when she really smiled. I climbed into her hospital bed next to her, and she let me hold baby Roy. He had a mop of black hair and his face was red, but I loved him just the same.

He was my baby.

“He’s your baby, Rock,” she said. “Yours to help and protect. He’ll always look up to you.”

Roy hadn’t needed my protection, though. He was a recluse who kept to himself. I did protect Reid from a few beatings courtesy of our father, and God knew I’d tried to protect Riley.

I’d been successful with Reid—until I was banished.

Unsuccessful with Riley.

At fourteen, I was the victim of risk-taking testosterone.

In that moment, I had truly wanted to end my father’s life.

Looking back, I was glad I’d failed. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, even though the asshole had deserved what I’d planned.

But Riley…

She didn’t deserve what had continued after I was gone. My brothers hadn’t protected her because they hadn’t known what was going on. I felt sure they would have intervened had they known.

How could they not have known?

It had been so obvious to me.

But my room was next to Riley’s. We had the two biggest bedrooms, next to our father’s. Mom and Dad had separate rooms. Mom gave Riley the second largest room in our new mansion. Reid and Roy had grumbled, but she’d said a girl needed more space. As the oldest, I still got the biggest room. I wasn’t sure why, and I didn’t ask at the time.

Riley’s was the farthest away from my mother’s.

Maybe my mother had truly thought she needed more space.

Or maybe she knew what was coming, and she didn’t want to hear it. That way, she could pretend it wasn’t happening.

Sounded like vintage Connie Wolfe to me.

On the other hand, though, why would she want her oldest son closest to her daughter? Surely she’d—

Unless…

My mother was hoping I’d do something to stop it.

That was a hell of a burden to put on a fourteen-year-old boy—a burden she herself should have borne to protect her daughter.

She just wasn’t strong enough.

Or she didn’t care enough.

Or maybe that was why my mother hated me so much. I hadn’t just failed Riley. In her mind, I’d failed her as well.