"Look who's worried about the consequences now. Shouldn't you worry about your own skin first? Didn't Father prepare the divorce papers? After Jean humiliated you in front of the media?"
Darla flinched, swallowing hard. The reminder burned deeper than any wound. Alex's smirk widened, cruel and sharp.
"So instead of lecturing me, Mother… maybe start thinking about how you're going to survive." Alex spat his words at Darla, his own mother; and left the house.
The silence that settled was thick, venomous… Mother and son bound by shared guilt, yet drowning in separate fears.
________________________
Outside, the wind howled against the windows, as if the very walls of the Adams estate whispered of all the sins buried within.
Darla stood frozen, Alex's cruel words still echoing in her head. The bitter taste of fear and humiliation tightened around her throat. Slowly, she turned toward Derek, her husband, her partner in ambition and secrets.
