Chapter 10 - Walking Away
Eleanor raised her hand to strike Vada across the face, but before the slap could land, Vada caught her mother’s wrist mid-air, gripping it with an unyielding, ironclad pressure.
The air in the foyer went dead silent. Never in the history of Meadowlark Hall had anyone dared to physically stop Eleanor Kinnard.
"Don't ever raise your hand to me again," Vada whispered, her eyes burning with a fierce, terrifying intensity. "Because the next time you try, I won't just block it. I'll hand the entire forensic audit directly to the state prosecutor."
Vada released her mother's wrist with a sharp shove that sent Eleanor stumbling backward into Chloe's arms. Without looking back, Vada turned and marched up the grand staircase toward her tiny bedroom.
Ten minutes later, she walked back down carrying a single, battered leather suitcase. Her sisters watched in stunned silence as she crossed the foyer.
"Where do you think you're going, you ungrateful wretch?" Eleanor yelled from the floor, clutching her bruised wrist. "If you walk out those doors, don't ever expect to return! You will starve on the streets!"
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"I am not ungrateful, Mother," Vada said softly as she opened the heavy front door. "I am just finally setting myself free."
The heavy oak door clicked shut behind her, sealing her departure from the golden cage of Meadowlark Hall forever.
