The teacup sits abandoned on its saucer, steam rising between Edward and me like a wall of unspoken threats. His weathered face carries an expression I've never seen before - something between pity and calculation.
"Edward, you're scaring me," Amelia whispers, her hands fluttering nervously around the tea service.
"Sit down, both of you," Edward commands, his voice carrying the authority he once wielded in corporate boardrooms before retirement.
Chloe perches on the edge of the sofa beside me, her body rigid with tension. "Dad, what is this about?"
Edward remains standing, positioning himself between us and the door. The late afternoon light streaming through the windows casts harsh shadows across his face.
"Tell me about the press conference," he says to me. "Tell me exactly what Vincent Sterling said."
"I already told Chloe everything."
"Tell me."
