Chapter 12 - The Woman at the DoorThe door opened.
A woman stood outside.
Silver-grey hair.
Black coat.
Pearl earrings.
Mark couldn't breathe.
“Mom?”
Eleanor Vance looked at her son.
Then at Lily.
Then at Ethan.
Her eyes stopped on Ethan.
“You shouldn't have come back.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“You shouldn't have survived.”
Eleanor smiled.
“I've survived everything.”
Mark stepped forward.
“Did you kill Dad?”
Eleanor didn't answer.
“Did you kill Clara?”
Still nothing.
Mark's voice cracked.
“Answer me!”
Eleanor finally looked at him.
“You were always the emotional one.”
Mark stared.
“Why?”
“Because your father was weak.”
“And Clara?”
“She was dangerous.”
Lily stepped behind Sarah.
Eleanor looked at her granddaughter.
“Lily.”
The child shook her head.
“I don't like you.”
Eleanor smiled.
“You don't remember me.”
“I remember Mommy telling me not to trust you.”
Eleanor's smile disappeared.
Mark moved between them.
“You're not coming near my daughter.”
Eleanor calmly removed a folded document from her purse.
“You should read this.”
She handed it to Mark.
It was a court order.
Temporary guardianship of Lily.
Mark's face went white.
“What is this?”
Eleanor said:
“Your daughter is now legally under investigation as a beneficiary of assets connected to a criminal enterprise.”
Mark looked at Arthur.
“Can she do this?”
Arthur read the document.
His expression darkened.
“It's real.”
Eleanor smiled.
“By tomorrow morning, Lily will be removed from this house.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Not if I have anything to say about it.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“You always were a fool.”
Then she walked away.
Mark watched her disappear into the darkness.
May you like
And suddenly understood.
The war had just begun.
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