Chapter 8
“Where have you been all afternoon, Elena? You can't just vanish into the city without telling us during your honeymoon week,” Julian asked coldly. “I needed some air, Julian; being trapped in this mausoleum with your mother is driving me insane,” Elena answered honestly.
Julian stood up, walking slowly toward her with an expression of icy disappointment that mirrored his mother's chilling demeanor. “You made vows to this family yesterday, Elena, and part of those vows is respecting the woman who raised me into the man you married,” Julian lectured.
“She isn't just raising you, Julian, she is consuming you, and you're letting her destroy our marriage before it even starts,” Elena shot back. Before Julian could reply, Victoria glided into the hallway holding a thick manila envelope bearing the official stamp of a local medical lab.
“Looking for this, my dear? It fell out of your coat pocket when you threw it over the chair in the mudroom,” Victoria smiled sweetly. Elena’s heart skipped a beat as she realized she had accidentally dropped Arthur’s business card right where Victoria could find it.
Julian snatched the card from his mother's hand, reading the embossed gold lettering of the elite Manhattan litigation firm with growing fury. “You went to a divorce lawyer on our honeymoon week? You didn't even give our marriage twenty-four hours before plotting behind my back?” Julian yelled.
“I didn't go to a divorce lawyer, Julian; I went to seek legal protection from a household that terrifies me!” Elena defended herself loudly. Victoria stepped between them, her gray eyes gleaming with triumphant malice disguised as maternal heartbreak.
“You see, Julian? She never loved you; she just wanted access to the Vance family estate and our corporate holdings from day one,” Victoria manipulated. Julian’s face flushed dark crimson with rage, his hand gripping the edge of the antique hallway table until his knuckles turned white.
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“Pack your bags, Elena; I want you out of this house tonight before I call security to throw your things onto the front lawn,” Julian ordered. Elena didn't flinch, standing her ground against the two of them with a fierce, quiet defiance that rattled their cage.
“I am legally a co-owner of this property by marriage, Julian; you cannot throw me out without a formal family court eviction order,” Elena reminded them. Victoria’s smile vanished instantly, replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated venom as she realized Elena wouldn't be easily broken.
