______________
Background
Harley's family consists of their parents, Sebastian (46) and Ariya Hawthryne (41), and their younger brother, Percy Hawthryne (19). Harley changed their last name to Lane for simplicity while they were already legally changing their name (birth name Damien Hawthryne), and to separate themself from their parents. Percy chose not to.
Sebastian and Ariya sat on old money. They both were raised rich and had no concept of taking things easy. Harley grew up comfortable, but stifled by the vastness of their wealth and how they constantly flaunted it. They kept themselves busy with going to parties and digging their debt even deeper. Even then, it wasn't enough for them. They viewed themselves as royalty and bragged that they shared blood with the royal family (they didn't). They gambled and spread lies about their family to get into VIP areas and get attention and money. They were almost never home. At first, there were nannies to take care of Harley and Percy, and then there wasn't. They started leaving notes with money clipped to them and lists of restaurants to order from for food. Harley was only ten when it started, and Percy was seven.
Harley hated it, and resented Percy in turn as a consequence. They know now it was wrong, but they were young and upset, barely able to figure out themself and their place in the world, let alone capable of raising a little boy. Kinga, a neighbor and friend, often came by to help care for the house and Percy, but even her parents weren't all that supportive of her associating with the Hawthryne family, so Harley was often on their own. Percy knew how Harley felt about him then, even as a kid. When Harley had meltdowns after they were left alone again, Percy would comfort them, get instant noodles, and tuck himself into bed. Some nights, Harley would break into the liquor cabinet and drink their problems away on the kitchen floor. Those nights, Percy would cuddle up into their side with a blanket and often fall asleep there on the floor.
Sebastian and Ariya's greed and pride, though, got them into trouble. Things were normal for a while; they'd go out for days, then come back and pamper the kids with lavish things before doing it all over again. But then they started going out longer, and when they did come back, they were angry. Always yelling at each other, then going hush when Percy and Harley came to investigate the noise. They just said that everything was fine and told the kids to play somewhere else. They stopped bringing things for the kids. Things got progressively worse. On Harley's eighteenth, everything changed.
Come to find out, they had run out of money because of their gambling and lies, and had sold Harley to alleviate their debts with one man. Since it was their birthday, Kinga was there too, and saw everything happen. As Harley was dragged into the foyer by grunt men, their parents did nothing but look away as the man inspected them. Harley fought, using all that they could do to break free. Kinga fought too, and was temporarily handicapped by a particularly brutal shove into a wall. Neither of their efforts worked, and Harley was kidnapped for an entire month.
They don't talk about that month much, but it wasn't as bad as it was gearing up to be. They were taken to a stash-house with other people, and the traffickers put Harley through repeated invasive processes of getting pictures and "selling features," then left them with the others once the process was over. They spent the rest of the month waiting to be sold. In the end, they got free by a fluke—one of the men had tossed them next to a small decorative marble statue recently bought off the black market. It wasn't hard to bludgeon in their heads, even with their hands tied.
Kinga had taken the time to watch over Percy that month, both stubborn enough to refuse to grieve for their missing sibling and friend. Kinga saw Harley first, and when she went to meet with them, was horrified by the state Harley was in. They weren't quite the same, and still aren't, even if they are bubblier and more cheerful than they had been as a child. Something broke, but Kinga isn't sure what it is.
Harley now owns an apartment away from the family, and Kinga lives in the same building. Percy is a Freshman in college to become a social worker, and lives on campus. Harley is proud of their brother, but is scared of how their relationship is after everything, and hasn't reached out to him. Kinga's parents house Percy when he's on breaks, as per her request (and they adore him), but he silently hopes for the day Harley opens their home to him and lets him back into their life. He doesn't resent them for anything, not even the silent treatment. He understands that Harley went through traumatic shit, and still remembers how hard it was on them to be a single parent of him, and knows how they are. So he's waiting until they forgive themself enough to come to him.
But what happened to their parents?
Harley and Percy each got a visit from the cops that their parents were murdered. Several stab wounds, with their father having his face crushed in with a heavy object. Neither of the siblings could provide a viable option of who would want to kill them, as they had many enemies and many debts to pay. The case eventually went cold, as no evidence came up (no murder weapon, no unusual fingerprints, no clear suspect, nothing left behind but blood and their bodies).
It was Kinga. She went over there, knife in hand, to keep their family away from the siblings for good. She let herself in, then saw red the moment they stepped into her vicinity. Their father tried to get the upper hand, but Kinga grabbed the nearest heavy object and bludgeoned him to death, as if temporarily possessed by the spirit of Harley. Then they left, covered in blood, and Harley washed them up and made sure that the weapons were disposed of properly. Percy doesn't know.