Chapter 17 - A Mother's Venom
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I was walking out of my father’s quiet suburban house to get the morning mail when a sleek black sedan pulled up onto the driveway. The tinted rear window rolled down, revealing Helena Vance sitting in the back seat, dressed in dark silk, looking like a disgraced queen.
“Get in the car, Emily,” Helena commanded, her voice biting and sharp.
I stayed on the porch, keeping a safe distance near the heavy oak front door. “You’re violating the protective order, Helena. Detective Singh is five minutes away if I press this button on my phone.”
Helena let out a bitter, aristocratic laugh, stepping out of the vehicle onto the driveway. She held a chic leather clutch under her arm, but her face was weathered with panic despite her thick foundation.
“You’ve ruined my family,” Helena hissed, her eyes venomous. “Victor’s company stock plummeted forty percent this morning. Nora won't answer my calls. The country club suspended my membership! Is this what you wanted? To tear down a family that took you in when you were nothing?”
“Took me in?” I echoed, laughing aloud at the sheer audacity. “You treated me like an unpaid servant and a punching bag for your sociopathic son!”
Helena took two fast steps toward me, dropping all pretense of elegance. “He loved you! He was trying to fix you! You are a hysterical, ungrateful little girl, and if you don't drop these absurd criminal charges by noon, I will personally publish every single embarrassing medical record you’ve ever had!”
I stepped off the porch and walked directly toward her until we were standing mere inches apart. I didn't flinch. I didn't tremble.
“Publish them,” I said, my voice dropping to a icy whisper. “Publish every single one. Because every medical record shows the physical trauma your son caused me. And while you’re at it, tell the press about the offshore accounts Samuel found this morning.”
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Helena froze, her mouth opening slightly as the color drained completely from her face.
“Get off my property, Helena,” I said coldly. “Before I have you thrown in the same cell as Victor.”
