Chapter 1 - Shattered Porcelain
"Learn some respect!" Eleanor screamed, her fingers biting fiercely into Clara’s throat as the bright white kitchen lights reflected off the jagged edges of her pearl necklace.
Clara gasped for air, her long brown hair sticking to her tear-streaked face while the tight blue bodycon dress restricted her heaving chest. Tears blurred her vision, magnifying the absolute fury burning inside her mother-in-law's piercing blue eyes.
"Mom, stop it right now! Have you completely lost your mind?" Julian yelled, dropping the heavy dark suit jacket he had been carrying as he lunged forward.
Julian grabbed Eleanor’s frail yet surprisingly iron-tight wrists, physically tearing her away from Clara with desperate strength.
"Let go of me, Julian! This deceitful little monster is destroying everything we built!" Eleanor snarled, her voice cracking with deep venom as she stumbled backward against the spotless marble counter.
"She is pregnant with my child, and you just tried to choke her over some trash!" Julian shouted back, his chest heaving with exhaustion and disbelief as he pulled the shaking Clara behind his protective frame.
Clara clutched her swollen stomach, gasping for breath as she stared past Julian toward the corner of the kitchen. A stainless-steel trash can filled with discarded paper overflowed beside the refrigerator, the contents half-burned and smelling faintly of scorched ink.
"Look at the trash can, Julian! Look at what she was destroying before you walked in!" Eleanor pointed a trembling, manicured finger toward the paper-filled bin, her expression twisting into a chilling smirk.
Julian glanced at the trash can, frowning deeply. "It's just old paperwork, Mom. Office junk. Why are you acting like this?"
"It’s not office junk," Clara whispered, her voice trembling violently as a fresh tear cut through the powder on her cheek. "It’s the adoption papers for your real father's estate."
Eleanor froze instantly, her face turning the color of ash.
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Julian turned slowly back to his wife, his eyes narrowing in sudden, terrifying confusion. "What did you just say?"
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