A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 818

That phrase—*everything I put you through*—finally betrayed Fairfax's regret. He was fully admitting that he had been a terrible husband and that he had caused her a massive amount of pain.

"Mind your own business," Starla snapped. "Worry about your own neck. Herbert isn't the only one who wants you dead..."

She paused, her voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "I want it too."

It was the truth. After everything that had happened to her mother and with Brinley, she had wanted him dead for a very long time.

Fairfax went dead silent.

After a long pause, he let out a bitter, hollow laugh. "I know."

He did know. Her tearing the Yelchin family apart piece by piece hadn't been an accident. She had been out for blood, and not a single one of them had been spared.

Done wasting her breath, Starla hung up the phone.

Herbert was still holding her wrist.

"I need to go," she stated, her voice flat and emotionless.

"You believe him?" Herbert asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

Fairfax had suggested he had an ulterior motive for coming to Yoran Country. A motive. Even the suggestion of a hidden agenda was enough to plant the seed of doubt. And once doubt took root, it dug deep.

"Was he wrong?" Starla countered.

Those three words, combined with the utterly dead look in her eyes, made Herbert's heart sink.

She really did believe Fairfax. Even after their marriage had crashed and burned in the most spectacular way possible, she still trusted his warning.

Starla took a deep breath. "The second I found out you were protecting Brinley, I started questioning every single thing you've ever said to me. Maybe none of it was real..."

He wasn't entirely sure he could resolve the mess in thirty days, but with Starla acting like a cornered animal, he needed to give her a concrete timeline.

But even that wasn't enough to thaw her expression. She stared at him blankly. "I really need to go."

He glared at her, his fingers digging in.

Finally, Reba stepped forward, her tone carrying a hard edge. "Mr. Farley, she really does need to leave."

They had already wasted enough time this morning.

When he still didn't move, Reba added, "She just returned to the Hoggart family. There is a lot she needs to get up to speed on."

It was a polite way of saying she was too busy to deal with his drama.

Reluctantly, Herbert finally let her go.