Chapter 414

Linda prided herself on control. On knowing when to smile, when to cry, when to twist a story until it bent in her favor. But lately, something felt… off.

She felt it in the garden when she whispered to Brandon about Hannah’s “betrayal” and glanced up to find two little faces peeking from behind the hedges.

She felt it in the study when she leaned close to Brandon’s ear, spinning lies about Arianna, only to see a pair of wide eyes vanish behind the half-open door.

And she felt it most when she caught them in the hallways, silent, still, staring at her with Brandon’s same defiant gaze.

At first she laughed it off. “Children are nosy,” she told herself. “They’ll forget in a day.”

But they didn’t forget.

***

One evening, Linda cornered Bran