Chapter 4

Ethan stayed away for the next few days. Probably couldn't face me. Or maybe Veronica kept him busy.

She, however, did not stay away.

Veronica appeared in my doorway, looking radiant and healthy. She carried a small, ornate silver box.

"Feeling better, Elara?" she asked, her voice dripping with false sympathy.

I didn't answer. I just stared at her.

"Ethan is so worried about you," she continued, gliding into the room. "But Eleanor and I, we understand. Grief can make people do... rash things."

She sat on the edge of my bed, placing the silver box beside her.

"Like trying to poison your sister-in-law," she added, her eyes glinting with malice.

"I didn't try to poison you, Veronica, and you know it."

She laughed, a light, tinkling sound that made my skin crawl.

"Oh, Elara. So naive. It doesn't matter what I know. It only matters what Ethan believes. What Eleanor orchestrates."

She picked up the silver box. "You know, Eleanor was so disappointed your little... *creature*... didn't survive."

My breath hitched. Creature.

"She had such plans. A true Caldwell heir. But then, you're not exactly suitable breeding stock, are you? An outsider."

Her cruelty was breathtaking.

"But don't worry," Veronica said, her smile widening. "We found a use for him after all."

She opened the silver box.

Inside, nestled on velvet, was a small, intricately carved jade pendant. The jade was a strange, milky color, shot through with faint greyish-white specks.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Veronica purred. "Eleanor has a craftsman, very discreet. He grinds bone into the jade powder. An old family tradition, she says. For vitality. For luck."

She paused, letting her words sink in.

"Your son's ashes, Elara. They make the jade so... unique."

The world stopped.

Air left my lungs. I couldn't breathe. My son. His ashes. Ground into... that.

A roar started in my ears. Rage, grief, horror – a tidal wave of emotion so powerful it threatened to consume me.

I launched myself at her.

"You MONSTER!" I screamed, clawing at her, trying to get to that hideous pendant.

Veronica shrieked, more in surprise than pain, and pushed me back. She was stronger than she looked.

I fell against the nightstand, a lamp crashing to the floor.

"He was my SON!" I sobbed, scrambling up, lunging for her again.

She held the pendant high, out of my reach, a cruel taunt in her eyes.

"Temper, temper, Elara. He was never a *true* Caldwell. Just... material."

With a flick of her wrist, she threw the silver box. It hit the wall, the lid flying open. The jade pendant skittered across the wooden floor, landing near the shattered lamp.

The empty box lay on its side.

I scrambled for the pendant, my fingers closing around the cold, smooth jade.

My baby. This was all that was left. This abomination.

Ethan burst into the room, alerted by the noise.

He saw Veronica, looking frightened and disheveled. He saw me, on the floor, clutching the pendant, tears streaming down my face.

"Elara! What are you doing to Veronica?" he yelled, rushing to Veronica's side.

"She's insane, Ethan!" Veronica cried, clinging to him. "She attacked me! Look at this room!"

Ethan pulled Veronica behind him, shielding her.

"Elara, stop this! You're out of control!"

"She... she..." I couldn't form the words. The horror was too immense. I just held up the pendant, my hand shaking violently.

Ethan glanced at it, then back at me, his face hard.

"It's just a piece of jewelry, Elara. What is wrong with you?"

He didn't understand. He wouldn't understand. He chose not to.

He saw me as the aggressor, Veronica as the victim.

His blindness was absolute.

I looked down at the pendant in my hand. The cold, defiled remains of my child.

A deep, aching wound opened in my soul, a wound I knew would never heal.

My fight left me.

I just sat there, on the floor, amidst the wreckage, clutching the jade.

Numb.

Completely and utterly numb.

My detachment from Ethan was now a chasm, deep and wide and permanent.

He was not just a stranger. He was the enemy.