A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 696

If that was the case, what in this world could actually bring her down?

"Kill you?" Starla scoffed. "That would be letting you off far too easy."

"Then what will it take for you to let the Yelchin family go? They're innocent!" Darleen roared, her voice hoarse.

"Innocent?" Starla's eyes went glacial. "You dare use that word with me? Don't you find that hilarious?"

"Does a woman like you even know the meaning of the word innocent?"

Hearing her plead for the innocent was a sick joke.

Darleen was silenced.

Yes, it was a joke.

What did she know about innocence? Back when she was helping Harley consolidate power over Yelchin Group, how many innocent people had she destroyed in the process?

"Weren’t the people you killed innocent?" Starla demanded. "They were the most innocent of all, and you didn't spare them."

"I'm only dismantling the Yelchin family. I haven't dragged any outsiders into this."

Darleen's voice broke. "Then what will it take to make this stop?"

"Yelchin Group isn't in my hands yet, is it? Once it is, this ends." Starla picked up her glass and took a slow sip.

Darleen stared in horror.

The company. She wanted the company.

The only reason Darleen was offering her own life was to prevent Starla from taking the family empire.

She hadn't realized Starla's obsession with destroying them financially was so absolute.

"Who exactly is backing you?" Darleen asked, suffocating under the weight of it all.

After that phone call with Mrs. Shipley, Darleen knew Kael wasn't the one pulling the strings for Starla.

There had to be someone else.

"Didn't you all insist it was Herbert Farley?" Starla mocked.

Herbert Farley!

"A person like you doesn't even have a heart. Do you honestly think you possess something as rare as a conscience?"

Guilt, remorse, the agony of living with one's sins—those were burdens for people with a conscience.

As far as Starla was concerned, Darleen was utterly devoid of humanity. She couldn't feel those things even if she tried.

Darleen felt the breath leave her lungs.

Just then, Fairfax walked through the door.

He hadn't been home in days, and he looked even more gaunt than before.

Seeing a family member endure such torment because of her actions twisted the knife deeper in Darleen's chest.

Her lips trembled. "Fairfax..."

But Fairfax looked at her with nothing but absolute ice. He knew she was the one who murdered Starla's mother.

Meeting his freezing gaze, Darleen felt her soul fracture.

To be alienated and despised by everyone you love—this was what it tasted like.