A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 1015

Darian was completely rendered speechless by Starla's brutal shut-down.

"Think long and hard about it," Starla murmured. Then, she hung up.

Her stance was absolute. Things had escalated to the point of no return, and no one was going to talk her out of it. Even if Tanya herself asked for mercy, Starla wouldn't grant it.

...

Back at Sylvan Vale.

Starla put her phone away and glanced at Romy, who had been sticking to her like glue. No matter where Starla went, Romy was right behind her.

Seeing the call end, Romy muttered, "These people from Marina City are really..."

She trailed off, not wanting to generalize an entire city, but the phone calls Starla had been fielding were genuinely repulsive.

"Sir used to be just like that," Romy couldn't help but add, drawing a parallel between Darian and Fairfax. Both men were hopelessly blind to their own toxic entanglements.

Starla's face instantly darkened at the mention of her ex-husband.

"Yeah. He was," she agreed softly.

Which was exactly why she was going to force Darian to face the music. She wasn't going to let Yulisa walk away unscathed.

"Ms. Mercer is lucky to have a friend like you," Romy said gently.

Without Starla, Tanya would have been chewed up and spat out by those vultures.

"I'll take the blame," Rowena said, her voice freezing over. She had committed Tanya's name to her blacklist forever. They had hit a speed bump, but she was still determined to secure Yulisa as her daughter-in-law. If Yulisa's reputation was ruined, a marriage to Darian would be impossible. Rowena absolutely refused to let that happen.

Her declaration, however, threw the Lynn Elders into a towering rage.

Patrick Lynn, the family patriarch, slammed his cup onto the table with a deafening crack. "You'll take the blame? What right do you have to take the blame? Do you want to drag the Lynn family's name through the mud all over again?!"

Rowena hadn't even consulted them before tossing Brooke into the fire. She had fed the press some garbage story about Brooke disliking her 'future sister-in-law'. While it hadn't destroyed the family's business, the Elders had grand plans for Brooke. She was beautiful, meant for a high-society marriage alliance. What prestigious family would want a girl known for maliciously targeting her brother's pregnant girlfriend?

The Elders were already furious about Brooke. Now, Rowena wanted to offer herself up? The scandal of a matriarch orchestrating such vile sabotage would cripple the family's public standing.

"Then what do we do?!" Rowena choked out. "We're backed into a corner! If Yulisa takes the fall, her future with Darian is over!"