Chapter 3: The Plum Viper
Evelyn cupped Leo’s face. Blood was streaming down his pale skin, dripping off his chin and staining his collar. The boy was hyperventilating, his eyes wide with a mixture of agony and absolute terror. He grabbed his mother's wrist, his voice cracking.
"Mommy, I didn't take it," Leo sobbed, the tears cutting tracks through the blood on his cheeks.
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Before Evelyn could comfort him, a shadow fell over them. Eleanor, Richard’s elderly mother, stepped forward. Swathed in a magenta plum gown and draped in pearls, she placed a reassuring hand on her son’s shoulder, validating his violence. Then, she looked down at Evelyn with eyes as cold as a morgue.
"Evelyn, stop making a scene," the old woman sneered, her voice dripping with aristocratic contempt.
