A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 425

Fairfax stormed out of the room, determined to confront Starla, but her guards blocked the hallway.

“She’s resting,” one of them said flatly. “No one is to disturb her.”

Fairfax felt like his lungs would burst from sheer rage. She claimed she didn’t want a divorce, but was this how a wife acted? His own home was filled with strangers, all of them loyal to her. He, her husband, needed her permission just to see her.

“I have a flight at five. Tell her I need to talk to her about something important.”

“I’m sorry. When our lady is resting, no one is allowed to disturb her.”

No matter what Fairfax said, the guard’s answer remained the same. It was simple: he would have to wait.

The irony was suffocating. In their villa, it had always been Starla waiting for him. Now, the roles were so thoroughly reversed it was dizzying.

Fairfax closed his eyes, his voice tight. “My flight is at five.”

He still had to walk to the main road since his car was out of commission. The whole situation was a farce.

“There’s nothing we can do about that,” the man replied, as impenetrable as a stone wall.

It was just like him, Fairfax realized with a jolt. This was how he must have sounded whenever Starla had tried to talk to him about Brinley.

His anger was a useless, burning thing. He knew he couldn't force his way past them, not when Starla didn't want to see him. The feeling of being so utterly powerless was infuriating.

Finally, without having spoken a single word to her, he gave up and turned, striding angrily back downstairs.

…

“Sir,” Gabriel said, his voice grave, “I think the Yelchin Group is in serious trouble this time.”

They were trapped. Even if Fairfax wanted to solve the problem, he couldn’t get to the source of it. A dangerous aura began to emanate from him.

“Was it Yardley himself?” he asked, his voice low. “Was he the one who issued the ban?”

Yardley, the heir and undisputed ruler of Hoggart Group. A man whose power was so absolute that his decisions required no board meetings, no consensus. His word was law.

“I’m not sure, sir,” Gabriel admitted.

It was the truth. For weeks, they had suspected a rogue executive was behind the attacks. But a travel ban? That was a move of a different magnitude, suggesting a far more powerful enemy. Whether it was Yardley himself, however, remained a mystery.