Chapter 2
Margaret Vance stepped back into the light of the grand staircase, her emerald green silk dress rustling with absolute aristocratic disdain. Her silver-grey hair was pinned into a flawless French twist that matched the cold calculation in her eyes.
"Arthur, stop coddling the boy and have this disgusting mess cleaned up immediately," Margaret commanded, her voice slicing through the tense air like a scalpel. "The staff is becoming far too familiar with these emotional outbursts."
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Arthur slowly rose to his feet, turning to face his mother with a conflicted expression that hovered between filial obedience and mounting dread. "Mother, Noah just said something very disturbing about Catherine."
Margaret didn't even blink, her pearl necklace gleaming under the bright crystal chandelier. "Your wife packed her bags and abandoned this family in the middle of the night, Arthur, and I will not have her ungrateful absence used as an excuse for hysterics."
