Phoenix Project: Her True Self

voice was quiet, but it cut throug

yebrow raised in

" I repeated, my gaze locked on

if I were a child throwing a tantrum. "It's just a pictu

ant to me," I countered. "I

"We have to focus on the living, on our son's happiness. Julia was kind e

own it was so special to you, I wouldn't have... Mark, maybe you should put it back." She played

e was enjoying this, asserting his dominan

appointment lately. After your accident, I gave you everything. A home, a child, a purpose. And a

e chronic pain from my injuries that I never spoke of, the exhaustion that clung to me like a second skin, th

harsh," she said softly, placing a hand on his arm. "Elara is j

well, unstable. She was the capable

sugar and the thrill of his new toy, ran at me. He wasn't p

!" he screamed, and

tumbled backward, my legs tangling. My hip hit the sharp corner of the coffee table with a sick

aw Leo's face. He wasn't scared or remorseful. He looked triumphant. A

had coached my own child to attack me. A wave of nausea, more potent than the pain, washed over me. The darkness at the edge of m

" she said.