Damon shot up from his seat, his body tense, his eyes locked with Tyson's.
The air between them crackled with raw tension, thick and heavy, like the calm before a violent storm.
The family watched in breathless silence, their hearts pounding as the two brothers stood just inches apart.
Tyson's fists clenched tightly at his sides, his jaw rigid, his chest rising and falling with each shallow breath.
Fury radiated from him in waves, impossible to ignore.
"Tyson, please...let's talk about this," their mother's gentle voice sliced through the thick air, trembling yet firm.
But it was no use.
The rage that consumed Tyson was too wild, too deep.
It blazed in his eyes, a burning storm that words alone could never tame.
For a moment, Damon thought Tyson might strike him.
Every muscle in Tyson's body screamed for action, trembling with the effort of restraint.
Instead, Tyson's voice, low and dripping with menace, slithered into the room.
"Nothing happens until I say so. You have no idea what you've done, Damon..."
Each word fell like a hammer, striking Damon squarely in the chest.
The atmosphere tightened, suffocating in its weight.
Their mother stepped forward, desperate to pull her sons back from the edge.
But Tyson was deaf to reason, his fury a beast that refused to be chained.
"Tyson, please...calm down and talk to us," she pleaded again, her voice nearly breaking.
But it only fueled him more.
"I will not calm down, Ma," Tyson growled, never breaking eye contact with Damon.
His chest heaved with the battle between rage and restraint, his heart pounding like a war drum inside him.
Damon stared back at his brother, confusion and stubbornness flashing across his features.
"I don't understand," he bit out. "Tesmee is a threat. I'm protecting the empire... unlike you."
But before the words could settle, Tom Hale rose to his full intimidating height, his chair screeching across the floor.
In an instant, he stormed toward Damon, shoving him backward with a force that left no doubt about his anger.
Damon stumbled, shock etching itself across his face.
Tom's voice thundered through the room.
"Never — ever — speak to your leader like that again! Your protector! The head of this family!"
The house trembled under the weight of Tom's fury.
Tyson's anger simmered hot and steady, while the rest of the family recoiled in stunned silence.
Eva, sitting rigidly in her seat, laid a calming hand on little Tywin, who whimpered softly at the turmoil around him.
Her heart ached as she watched her sons tearing into each other.
This was not the legacy she wanted for them.
Damon, swallowing his pride, forced himself to lower his gaze.
Now was not the time to defend his actions — even if every fiber of his being screamed otherwise.
Eva's voice broke through the crackling silence.
Soft, sorrowful, yet commanding enough to draw their attention.
"Please... all of you, sit down. We can speak calmly."
Though anger still blazed in their chests, one by one, Tom, Tyson, and Damon returned to their seats, stiff and heavy with resentment.
The family sat like ticking time bombs, each second stretching into an eternity.
Tyson took a slow, deliberate sip of his drink, never once tearing his gaze from Damon.
The glass clinked softly as he set it back down, a dangerous calm settling over him.
"Damon..." he began, the name alone thick with warning.
Damon's hands balled into fists under the table.
Every muscle in his body screamed for a fight he couldn't afford to start.
"You acted recklessly," Tyson said coldly.
"You didn't just harm her — you shook the serpent's pit. And you have no idea how many fangs are ready to strike back."
The family fell into a silence so deep it was almost suffocating.
Zola, trying desperately to ease the spiraling tension, spoke up, her voice tender but firm.
"I'm not taking sides. Damon, you made a mistake out of anger. Tyson, Father... you did too. If we could just breathe and think, none of this would've happened."
But Tom's fist slammed against the table, silencing her.
"There's no 'though' here, Zola," he snapped. "There will be no further discussion!"
The power of his voice left no room for arguments.
The atmosphere thickened, every soul weighed down by the storm raging in their midst.
Just when it seemed the tension might snap the very walls apart, Eva stood.
The matriarch of the Hales, queen of the home, her presence demanded attention.
Her hands slammed down on the table with a sound like a whipcrack.
"Silence!" she thundered.
Every head turned toward her in stunned obedience.
"You will NOT turn my breakfast table into a warzone!" she barked.
Her voice shook the windows, and even Tom fell silent.
Tyson swallowed hard, glancing at her from beneath his lashes.
He knew better than to challenge his mother.
Eva's eyes flashed with a fury more potent than any of theirs.
"We are family," she continued, voice trembling with the weight of her heart.
"Not a pack of savages!"
When Tom tried to murmur a response, Eva cut him off, her voice rising higher.
"I said silence!"
Tom obeyed without another word.
She turned her fierce gaze upon each of them.
"If any of you want to fight, do it outside my house," she said.
"And when you do, drop the Hale name, because no Hale acts like this."
The words sliced into the air, leaving no room for argument.
Finally, Eva exhaled heavily, reaching for her drink.
Her voice softened, but her authority never wavered.
"Now, let's eat, my babies. We will have breakfast as a family. Like we were meant to."
The family slowly, reluctantly, returned to their meal.
The knives of tension had not fully dulled, but for now, they had been sheathed.
Eva had pulled them back from the edge.
Ashley remained silent throughout it all, her arms wrapped tightly around Tywin.
She rocked him gently, shielding his tiny body from the war of emotions swirling around them.
Her eyes stayed downcast, her soul aching.
In Tywin's soft coos and innocent gurgles, she found the only peace in a room full of broken hearts.
And as she pressed a kiss to her baby's forehead, she prayed — prayed that somehow, someday, this family would find a way back to each other.