The Night Silk Turned to Blood
Elara Kingsley learned too early that silk could burn.
The Kingsley mansion had always smelled like wealth—polished marble, expensive flowers, and quiet power. That night, however, the air felt heavy, thick with something darker. Fear. Elara did not have a name for it then, only a tight ache in her chest that refused to go away.
She was ten years old.
Barefoot, dressed in a thin nightgown, Elara stood halfway down the grand staircase, hidden behind the carved wooden rails. Her small fingers clutched a piece of silk fabric—the edge of her mother's robe—so tightly her knuckles ached. The silk was soft, familiar, comforting. Her mother always smelled like jasmine and strength.
Voices echoed from the living room.
"I built this company," her mother said calmly. Too calmly. "You will not touch it."
Isabella Kingsley.
CEO. Founder. Queen.
Elara's heart swelled with pride. Her mother never raised her voice, never needed to. Authority lived naturally in her tone.
Her father's voice followed, sharp and strained. "You think you can keep everything from me forever? I'm your husband."
"You're a liability," Isabella replied. "And I'm done pretending otherwise."
Elara swallowed.
Then came another voice—soft, sugary, poisonous.
"Darling," the woman said gently, "you're being emotional."
Vivian.
Elara had seen her only a few times before. Always smiling. Always watching. Always too close to her father.
The sound of a glass being placed down followed.
Elara leaned forward, her heart pounding wildly.
"You signed those documents behind my back," her father snapped. "You humiliated me."
Isabella laughed quietly, bitterly. "You humiliated yourself the moment you slept with her."
Silence.
A sharp slap rang out.
Elara gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, tears instantly flooding her eyes. Her body trembled as she pressed herself further into the shadows.
"You will regret this," her father said, his voice cold now. Dangerous.
Isabella did not respond.
That was the last time Elara heard her mother's voice.