"You have some nerve showing up here," Nnenna said, her voice shaking with fury.
"Nnenna," Athena replied smoothly, almost too calmly, as if they were having a polite conversation instead of standing on the edge of violence.
The air grew thick, too quiet except for the faint hum of the basement lights.
"Sweetheart," Athena sighed, her voice dripping with tenderness. "I'm just trying to help you. Everything I've done… was to help you."
Nnenna let out a humorless laugh. "Help me?" she repeated, amused yet furious. "Were you helping me when you killed my parents? When you betrayed your own family? Or when you joined forces with that thing that got Somto killed?" Her eyes hardened. "You have a funny way of showing help, Aunt Athena. A very funny way."
"No, sweetheart, you don't understand," Athena said, shaking her head. She tried to step forward, but Arthur's hand tightened on her arm, holding her back.
