The Unholy Trinity IV- The Story Continues

Chapter Twenty

            Lucian snapped his head up. “What does that mean?”

            “The sins of the father are being revisited upon the son. I’ve been wondering if it’s my sins you’re being made to pay for and not your sins Marshall’s being punished for. Maybe it’s my arrogance that’s brought this upon you.”

            Lucian frowned at him. “Your arrogance?”

            “I built this house and hid you and Griffin and those I’ve loved behind its gates believing we’re untouchable simply because I’ve willed it to be so. Clearly, I was wrong, and it’s not the first time.”

            Lucian hadn’t even considered that. Either way, it didn’t matter. The end result was the same. His son was missing and the hole in his heart and soul grew bigger by the minute.

            “I know your feelings full well,” Simeon said. “I know the rage and the anger, but I also know the sorrow and the desperation and blame. As a father, your mission in life is to protect your son. When something happens to him, you blame yourself. You blame yourself and you hold your breath waiting to see if he’s going to blame you too, and when he does you accept that blame because in your heart you know it’s deserved. Even if you think you’re doing the right thing, sometimes you just don’t know until it’s too late.”

            “I know what you’re doing,” Lucian said.

            “I’m just talking with my son, man to man, father to father.”

            “Stop calling me that. We both know that’s not all you’re doing.”

            Simeon sighed. “You’re right of course, but I can’t help myself. I’ve waited so long for your true forgiveness.”

            “And now that my son’s missing, you thought you’d use his kidnapping to guilt me into getting what you want?”

            “I suppose maybe I did, which is yet another grudge you can carry against me. Tell me, Sinister, how long will you carry this grudge? Will it be as many years as you’ve carried the truth of your parentage and what I did to protect you? Do you truly despise me for creating Griffin in your image?”

            Lucian averted his gaze once more as he contemplated the last question. There wasn’t a memory in his life that didn’t have Griffin. In the twenty-five years they’d spent together so far, Griffin was there, taking care of him and looking out for him and loving him. Without Griffin, he would’ve grown up alone. Without Griffin, he wouldn’t have Fallon or even Marshall.

            “I don’t despise you, but I can’t forgive you,” Lucian spoke without looking at him.

            “You can but you choose not to. It’s as simple as that.”

            “Have you ever wondered why I haven’t told you I’ve forgiven you?”

            Simeon leaned forward. “What do you mean when you say you haven’t told me?”

            “I wasn’t just angry when I found out the truth,” Lucian admitted. “I was enraged. All those years you watched me suffer for not having a mom and having a dad I couldn’t tell anyone about. I watched my friends and classmates with their happier families and I wanted so bad to have that. You had the power to give it to me, and you didn’t. You denied me the one thing that would’ve made me happy.”

            “I tried my best to compensate for that. I did everything in my power to make you as happy as I could without compromising your safety anymore than it already was.”