A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 1148

The radio silence was what made it so terrifying. Nobody had a clue what was going to happen next, or worse—what had already happened. Yoran Country felt completely cloaked in shadow, hiding whatever nightmares were unfolding inside.

It was too horrifying to dwell on. If she thought about it too much, the sheer panic would swallow her whole.

When she finally asked the question, a dark, low chuckle echoed from the other end of the line.

"Take a guess."

Those words instantly shattered whatever fragmented courage she had left.

Her heart slammed into her throat.

"Do you want to come back and see for yourself if they're still around?"

His voice was deceptively light, casual even, but the underlying menace was suffocating. If they're still around. He said it with such chilling nonchalance.

Were they still alive? The question tore through her mind, amplifying her terror. A cynical voice in the back of her head whispered that they were probably already dead. The fact that he hadn't bothered to leverage them against Fairfax all this time felt like a grim confirmation.

"So, you finally remembered I have them," Yardley mused lazily. "I assumed since they treated you like garbage, you wouldn't care if they lived or died."

It was true that the Yelchin family had never been kind to her. Fairfax was the only exception—he was a chronic people-pleaser, but when it truly mattered, he had always been a good brother. As for the rest of them...

Yardley wasn't a fool. He knew exactly how every single member of that family had treated her. Since she hadn't called, he had genuinely believed they meant nothing to her. Using them as leverage had seemed pointless.

He hung up before she could even finish her sentence. He had zero patience. What he said was absolute law; any attempt to argue was instantly shut down. He wanted her in Yoran Country, and that was that.

Susanna gripped her phone until her knuckles turned white.

Go to Yoran Country...

She would never, ever forget the agonizing price they had paid to get her out of there. It had cost them Starla's life.

Thinking of Starla's death drained all the color from her face. No one understood the crushing guilt she carried over it. Every single day was sheer torture. When she really thought about it, her debt wasn't just to Starla; it was to the entire Hoggart family. Starla had been one of theirs.

If she surrendered her own life to them now, would that finally clear her conscience?