A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 1222

Starla was the root cause of the Yelchin family's tragic downfall. She was the reason Darleen, Xenia, and the others had perished in Maxlandia.

Even believing she was dead, Fairfax's hatred for her was a living, breathing monster. He wanted to drag her back from the depths of hell itself.

And now? She wasn't dead at all.

"Maybe Herbert just wanted to walk away from all the corporate warfare," Caden offered weakly. "Maybe Starla really is gone?"

Feeling the temperature in the room plummet even further, Caden felt a spike of dread. If it turned out Starla was alive and Fairfax dragged her back... it would be an absolute bloodbath. Their already shattered relationship would descend into a living nightmare.

"If she were dead, why the hell would he go through the trouble of faking his own death?" Fairfax snapped.

Caden winced. He had a point. If Starla was gone, Herbert wouldn't have pulled such an elaborate stunt.

"But we don't know anything for sure yet," Caden tried to reason, his anxiety spiking. "Maybe he really is gone."

Caden had a terrible premonition. If Herbert was out there, Starla was undoubtedly with him. If both of them were alive, all hell was going to break loose.

With the Yelchin family having suffered such catastrophic losses, if the architect of their misery was still breathing, the fallout would be catastrophic. And worst of all... Starla was completely in the wrong this time. This wasn't like the mess with Brinley Seabrook. Even if you multiplied the Brinley situation by ten, Starla still couldn't justify the devastation she had caused his family.

Fairfax shot Caden a withering glare but said nothing. His eyes were terrifyingly hollow.

"Look, man, this—"

"Thad!" Fairfax barked.

Leaking this to Yardley...

From what Caden had heard, Starla's return to the Hoggart family hadn't been a fairy tale. That ultra-elite dynasty was nothing more than a gilded, freezing cage. Zero warmth. Zero familial love. If Yardley found out she was alive, wouldn't Starla just be dragged right back to square one?

"If she's really out there, doing this is practically forcing her into a dead end," Caden said softly.

She had gone to unimaginable lengths to break free because she couldn't endure that life anymore. For Fairfax to dig her up again... it was unspeakably cruel.

Fairfax sneered. "Dying is far too easy for her."

Caden closed his eyes. The hatred ran too deep.