The mother slapped her daughter for "accidentally" hitting her in the stomach, shouting, "You're trying to kill my unborn child!" The daughter pulled a pillow from under her mother's shirt: "There's no baby, Dad! She's faking it so you won't divorce her for adultery!" The father looked at the pillow and slapped the mother: "You're lying about human lives? Pack your bags and get out!" The pillow fell to the floor. / Chapter 23 / 40

Chapter 23 - The Desperate Ambush

Evelyn’s narcissism refused to let her accept total defeat gracefully.

On a rainy Tuesday afternoon, Chloe walked out of her high school’s main entrance, zipping up her raincoat. She was heading toward Arthur’s car in the pickup line when a figure stepped out from behind a concrete pillar.

"Chloe, please wait,"

Evelyn pleaded, stepping into the rain without an umbrella, looking haggard and desperate.

Chloe froze, her heart skipping a single beat, before her spine stiffened into a rod of absolute steel.

"You are not supposed to be here,"

Chloe said coldly, gripping the straps of her backpack.

"I am your mother! You cannot just cut me out of your life because of a mistake!"

Evelyn cried, reaching a trembling hand out toward her daughter.

"It wasn't a mistake,"

Chloe corrected her smoothly, stepping safely out of her reach.

"It was two decades of calculated, premeditated lies. And then you strapped a silicone pillow to your stomach to trap the only man who ever truly cared for us."

"I was desperate!"

Evelyn wailed, tears mixing with the rain on her cheeks.

"You are toxic,"