Lana patted her hand like a mother smoothing a fevered brow. “We’ll see about that,” she murmured. “We’ll make sure she pays.”
Adrian sat in his office, the room dark except for the city lights flickering through the window. He rubbed his temples, exhausted. Elias’s empty room haunted him the most. Every corner of that space reminded him of laughter that no longer existed. His chest tightened every time he remembered the nurse’s voice saying, “I’m sorry, Mr. Calder… he didn’t make it.”
But deep inside, something didn’t add up. Vivienne couldn’t have just vanished. He had people searching day and night, but it was as if she had disappeared from the world.
His thoughts were broken when the door opened without warning. Standing there was a woman he hadn’t seen in weeks — his mother. Her face was pale, her eyes burning with fury.
Before he could speak, her hand met his cheek with a sharp slap. The sound echoed in the room.
“You’ve ruined everything,” she said, her voice low but trembling with rage. “You destroyed your marriage, your name, and our family’s dignity. You lied, you cheated, and now you expect me to stand by you?”
Adrian stared at her, speechless.