A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 388

Even though they were alone, she lowered her voice to a whisper. “You’ll go to jail for that.” Besides, Starla’s people now controlled the kitchen. It would be impossible to tamper with her food.

“I’d rather go to jail than suffer this humiliation,” Darleen spat.

She refused to surrender. Give in to Starla? That woman was nothing, a nobody the Yelchin family had disdained, and now she was walking all over them? The fire in Darleen’s heart had ignited a venomous resolve. Her mind was consumed with a single thought: Starla had to die.

“But we have to get something to eat tonight,” Xenia pleaded. “Even if we can go without, what about Brinley? She’s still recovering from childbirth!”

It was clear that no matter what Darleen plotted for the future, they had to yield for now.

The mention of Brinley made Darleen’s chest heave with frustration. “Right. Brinley has to eat.” Though she was irritated by Brinley's delicate nature, the thought of her formidable mother, Harriet, forced Darleen to act. She had to ensure Brinley was cared for.

Finally, suppressing her rage, she took the rag from Xenia, the simple act nearly making her gag with disgust.

“Let’s get this over with,” Xenia said. “It’s late. We can get something to eat and finally go to sleep.”

They tried to work quickly, but Starla’s servants watched them like hawks, pointing out every missed spot and forcing them to redo their work. They even made them scrub the marble floors by hand. Even when the Yelchins had their own staff, they had never treated their servants so cruelly. This was pure torture!

Just as they were on their hands and knees, scrubbing the grand staircase, Fairfax returned. He stopped dead at the sight of his mother and sister in such a debased state. Though he often disagreed with Darleen, seeing his own mother subjected to this torment sent a surge of fury through him.

“What are you doing?” he roared. Striding forward, he kicked the bucket of dirty water, sending it splashing all over the stairs.

Xenia began to cry as well. “Starla said the family doesn’t support idle people. She said if we want to eat, we have to work for it. She’s cut off all our access to money—hotels, restaurants, even our bank accounts are frozen. The only way we can eat is by doing whatever she says.”

Fairfax’s breath caught in his throat. “You can’t use anything?”

“No,” Xenia confirmed, wiping her eyes.

Darleen, who rarely cried, was now weeping uncontrollably.

A mother’s display of weakness is often the hardest thing for a child to witness. Despite all their past conflicts, seeing Darleen so broken filled Fairfax’s chest with an overwhelming rage directed at Starla.