Gemotions

The ornate clock in the library ticked with an unnerving precision, each tick a hammer blow against Elias’s skull. His sister, Iris, sat opposite him, her face a mask of practiced calm, her hands clasped neatly in her lap. He felt his own fingers twitching.

The solicitor, a man of glacial composure, was explaining the terms of their grandfather's will. Elias knew, with a certainty that settled like a stone in his stomach, that something was terribly wrong.

“To Iris, the family home and all its contents,” the solicitor stated, his voice devoid of emotion. He turned his gaze to Elias. “And to you, Mr. Elias, the complete and utter responsibility for the family debts.” Elias felt the world tilting.