And then he made me choose. I was sixteen at the time. Theron fifteen. Theron didn’t know about the beating our mother endured. Didn’t know that my grandfather knew something about him that he would later use as a weapon. I didn’t understand that part, not then.

I think back then, my mother thought that through her submission she paid the price for herself and Theron. Misguided, really. She should have known better.

It’s how I recognized the marks on Mercedes. My grandfather lost control punishing my mother. Someone lost control punishing Mercedes. I see the panic in her eyes now and again if I move too swiftly or raise my hand in a way that she interprets wrongly.

My grandfather had never beaten Theron or me to the point he beat my mother that night. He punished us thoroughly but never like he did her. And I know he punished my grandmother ruthlessly too. I remember her weeping. I can hear it still. Maybe it’s just that he hated women.

I still wonder whether my grandmother’s death was truly an accident.

But the night I learned the truth about my brother, I made a choice. I pledged allegiance to my grandfather. My mother was punished, then banished to one of the cottages. My father was sent away on business he would never return from. My father didn’t protect her from him. When he learned the truth about Theron, he betrayed her to my grandfather. I don’t think he realized what my grandfather would do. What he was capable of. I think he was just so fucking terrified of him that he was no longer a man.

I pick up one of the canes. My grandfather’s preferred one. It’s worn from use. I still remember its bite. We were raised in a similar fashion as many within The Society are. But Carlisle Lawson Montgomery was meaner than most. And what scares me is how many traits I share with my grandfather. How like him I am. Everyone says it, too, even my mother. But I suppose her hate of me is warranted since I chose him over her.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I draw it out, grateful for the interruption. It’s a text from the private investigator I hired. He just emailed me a file.