Chapter 417
Meredith’s POV
She took a heavy step forward, shoving past my shoulder with a light brush, and swept into the house with a disturbing, effortless elegance. I was left standing there like a fool next to the open door, completely frozen.
Turning my head, I watched her glide in, asking in a trembling voice, "What brought you here?"
Her sharp, falcon-like green eyes scanned the living room before she made her way toward the leather sofa, sinking into it with total relaxation. Crossing one leg over the other, she looked up at me with a mocking smile.
"Is this how you greet your sister whom you haven’t seen in over twenty years?"
I gripped the doorknob so hard my knuckles turned white, my voice dropping into a cold rasp. "And what made you remember me after all this time?"
Curling her lips, she replied with a tone dripping in fake guilt:
"Shame on you, dear sister..." She adjusted her position against the cushions. "...How could I ever forget you?"
I stepped toward her, my facial muscles tight with anger as I snapped, "Please stop this cheap act! What do you want, exactly?"
Fixing her harsh pupils onto my face, her smile vanished in an instant. She delivered three words sharp enough to cut like a sword:
"I want my children."
The blood turned to ice in my veins, a sudden chill rushing through my entire body.
It had never once crossed my mind that she would suddenly show up demanding them or that the thought of looking for Julie and Steve would even enter her head after all these long years!
How was I supposed to open my mouth now and tell her that her son had dragged his bruised body away and run away at fifteen to escape the brutal beatings?! How was I supposed to face her with the reality that her daughter had been sold off to a club that rented out girls at just eighteen years old?!
The sharp wall of silence broke as she sat up straight, her voice cutting through the heavy air:
"I’m waiting... Where are my children, Meredith?!"
I wrung my hands together tightly, staring at her in genuine shock. "Your children?!... You’re asking for your children *now*?"
Tilting her head steadily to the side, she asked, "Yes... Where are they?"
Gathering my scattered composure, I quickly painted a look of fake disapproval onto my face. "After all these long years and abandoning them... you remember them now?"
"That is none of your concern," she interrupted, her voice flat and absolute.
Taking a sharp step closer, I forced a flare of false emotion into my tone. "I’m the one who raised them, Violet, and spent my life with them!... I have every right to ask!"
She straightened her spine, looking up at me with a terrifying, suffocating calm. Her voice dropped into a low, threatening murmur:
"Meredith... you know very well that I don’t usually get angry or lose my temper. But do not push me there right now... because my anger is something you will not be able to handle."
I swallowed hard, averting my eyes as I stammered, "Your children aren’t home."
"I’ll wait for them here," she replied simply.
"How can you wait for them so easily?" I asked, trying to plant a seed of doubt in her chest. "How are they going to accept the fact that you’re their real mother and not me?"
She shrugged off the thought with cold indifference. "Don’t bother yourself with things that don’t concern you."
I tried playing another card to drive her away. "Stewart will be here shortly, and he’ll lose his absolute mind when he finds you here in his house."
The corner of her mouth twitched into a smirk. "Really, Meredith? Will he actually be angry?"
I nodded firmly. "Yes... He hates you and never wants to see you again."
She ignored my words entirely. Rising from the sofa with a fluid, effortless motion, she walked out of the living room with confident steps, heading down the hallway.
Panicking, I rushed right behind her. "Where the hell do you think you’re going?!"
She didn’t turn around. She kept walking until she stopped right outside Julie’s room. Raising her palm, she pushed the door open in a single swift motion revealing a dark, abandoned room covered in dust and heavy with the scent of neglect.
Her eyes locked onto the empty bed for a few agonizing seconds. Then, she turned around slowly to face me, speaking in a tone devoid of any warmth:
"Tell me the truth, Meredith..."
I struggled to swallow the dry lump in my throat. "What?"
She took a single step toward me, demanding an answer with absolute authority. "Where are my children?"
"I told you they’re not home!" I insisted, my voice tight with rising anxiety.
She advanced with slow, calculated steps, forcing me to hesitate and stumble backward. Leaning in slightly, her low whisper choked the air right out of my lungs:
"Meredith... speak."
I crossed my arms over my chest in a wave of fake defiance. "I won’t tell you anything!"
Tilting her head slightly, she asked calmly, "Are you stubborn now?"
I threw my head back in pride, shouting, "And what are you going to do?!"
Her emerald eyes locked onto mine. Her tone remained completely unbothered. "What I do is something you can’t even fathom, Meredith... so you’d better speak immediately."
A bitter, mocking laugh escaped my lips. "You’re still the exact same... a whore!"

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