Chapter 3 - Choosing Sides
I crossed the massive foyer in three long strides. Without a single word, I grabbed my mother’s ankle, lifting her foot off Elena’s shoulder with enough force to make her stumble backward.
"Daniel! What are you doing?" my mother gasped, steadying herself against the wall.
I ignored her, dropping to my knees. I gently took Elena’s soaking, trembling hands in mine and helped my wife stand. She was shaking so violently that I had to wrap my arm tightly around her waist to keep her upright.
"Pack a bag," I said to Elena, my voice deathly quiet.
My mother let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "For her? Where is she going to go? She has nothing."
"For us," I corrected, keeping my eyes locked on Elena’s pale face.
Lucas finally lowered his phone, his smug expression morphing into genuine confusion. He stepped off the staircase, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Are you serious right now?" Lucas asked, shaking his head. "You’re choosing her over your own blood? Over your family?"
I looked down at Elena’s trembling knees, then at the angry, red marks wrapping around her delicate wrists. My vision narrowed until all I could see was the physical evidence of their cruelty.
"I’m choosing my family," I said, my voice vibrating with a dark, controlled rage.
My mother’s face instantly hardened, her false smile vanishing.
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"You own absolutely nothing without me, Daniel," she hissed, pointing a manicured finger at my chest. "The company, the cars, this house, the accounts—everything you have came from your father. And I control your father's estate."
That was exactly what she believed. And it was exactly the delusion I was going to use to destroy her.
