ie

frantic, tearful plea from my mother. Her

brother... Barton... he's

"Mom, what happen

painful gasps. "A business deal... a loan. Ten million d

n our humble, struggling lives. My mind raced, trying to piece together the fragments of her distress.

her voice barely a whisper. "He's the only

the affair, about the brutal, soul-destroying betrayal. She still saw him as the

. Listening. He had put his phone on speaker, making sure I heard every word.

hrough my mother's sobs. "This is a complicated matter. I'll

focating. He just stared at me, his eyes devoid of w

almost conversational. "You wouldn't want to m

ed my brother into a corner, tangled him in a web of debt and le

he anger, sharp and hot, warred with a crushing helplessness. M

" I asked, my voic

he evidence, Ellie. Every single piece you've collected. Dele

e, hanging in the balance. I slowly raised my phone, navigated to the folders, then, with a trembling finger, I began

e, I looked up

rned and walked out, leaving me standing al

. My parents, exhausted but relieved, called to thank

And he insisted I come with him. I sat in silence in his car, a pu

g no argument. "Clients. Very important. They value... stability. Family val

ompanion. A prop in his carefully constructed fa

played the role of the devoted wife. His touch, a possessive hand on my back, a fake kiss on my cheek, sent shivers of rev

s, the world tilted. The opulent chandelier above me spun, the voices around me dissolved into a dull roar. A wav

as on the floor, the faces

f antiseptic heavy in the air. A doctor

rs. Hill," he said.

gna

Born into a marriage that was nothing but a hollow sham, conceived in the wreckage of

h had left. He hated his own father, the man who abused his mother, yet he had inherited that same streak of cold

re this innocent soul would be caught in the crossfire of our poisoned marriage, growing up in a

tance. His eyes, sharp and per

voice low and menacing. "Think about your parents

d. My family, my Achill

d, his gaze unwavering. "You will be a

my parents, for

ought" for us during my exile. He dictated my every move, every word. "Rest. Eat well. Read to the bab

his hand on my belly, his eyes filled with a tenderness I hadn't seen since the day I sa

d myself to be lulled into a false sense of security, believing that perha

d twisted by jealousy. She found my parents. She poured out the entire sordid story: the affair, the miscarriage, the

es wide with horror and shame. My mother clutched me, sobbing, "Ellie, my poor girl... how could we

. "Please, Ellie," she pleaded, her voice dripping with crocodile tears.

. His child. All of it. The pain, the humiliation, the sheer audacity of her demanding him back,

n. I didn't stop until my hand stung, until her face was red and swollen. I was s

dra, crumpled and sobbing on the floor. He didn't hesitate. He rushed to Cassandra, pushing me aside with brutal fo

h contempt. "All of you. Pathetic. Everything you have, everything you are, I gave you. And I can

leaving me bleeding on the floor, my parents cryi

eyes burning with a terrifying light, rose to his feet. "Armand!" he roared, a guttural so

m, but the pain was too much. The world spun. I felt a warm gush between my legs. My kne

mother's terrified scream, and th