Vivienne
My mother looked terrified.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Not the ropes around her wrists.Not the chair.
Not even the fact that Edward Ashworth was standing beside Clarissa like a ghost who had stepped out of the grave.
Margaret Ashworth looked afraid.
For as long as I could remember, my mother had never been afraid of anything.
She had controlled every room she entered. She had manipulated people with a smile and destroyed lives without raising her voice.
But the woman on the screen looked broken.
The live feed crackled.
Clarissa stepped closer to the camera.
Her blonde hair was pulled back neatly, and she wore a dark coat. She looked calm while the rest of us were barely holding ourselves together.
"Now you finally have everyone's attention."
My heart pounded.
