Chapter 2 - The Line in the Sand
Jake’s posture shifted instantly from arrogant dominance to panicked persuasion. "Sarah, honey, let's calm down. It was an accident! Mom was just trying to bring us food."
"He's right!" Linda chimed in, though her voice wavered. "You're overreacting over a little soup!"
"It's scalding stew, Linda, and it burned through my clothes," I said, pointing to the red, blistering patches on my skin. "And you used a key combination you were never authorized to have."
I walked over to the digital lock panel near the front door, entered my master administrator code, and wiped all secondary entry permissions. The lock chimed softly, resetting itself.
"Your access code no longer exists," I told Linda. Then I turned to Jake. "And as for you, if you don't take your mother and walk out that door right now, my next call is to my corporate attorney, who also happens to hold a copy of our prenuptial terms."
"You wouldn't," Jake whispered, his jaw clenching. "We just got married three days ago! Think about how this looks!"
"You should have thought about how it looked when you watched your mother scald me and demanded I apologize," I replied.
Seeing that I was unwavering, Linda grabbed her designer handbag in anger. "Come on, Jake! Let her throw her little tantrum. She'll be begging you to come back by tonight when she realizes she's all alone."
Jake glared at me, hurt pride turning into resentment. "You're making a massive mistake, Sarah."
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"The mistake was trusting you," I said coldly. "Out."
They walked out, and the door slammed shut. The silence that followed was heavy, but as I immediately grabbed ice packs for my legs, I felt a strange sense of liberation wash over me. The war had begun, but I was fully armed.
