Susan stepped into the room, her hand flying to her mouth. She didn’t need to be told what had happened.

"Mark, let him go!" she said, her voice cracking.

Mark did not move. His knuckles hurt, covered in dark blood. He kept Alex pinned against the wall.

"How dare you," Mark hissed, his voice shaking with rage. "You’re my brother."

Alex swallowed hard, barely able to speak. "I... I’m sorry," he stammered. "It was just sex."

That was enough. Mark drove a fist hard into his side.

Alex doubled over, coughing painfully as he slid down the wall. Clarisse shrank back into the headboard, weeping loudly and hiding her face in her hands.

Mark stood there, his chest rising and falling heavily. He stared at both of them as if he no longer recognized the people in front of him. Then he turned. Without another word, he walked out of the room.

At the doorway, Elena appeared and froze. "My God... Alex!" she gasped.

Susan snapped her head toward her. "Elena. Go and tell Paul to get the car ready. Now."

Elena did not move at first. She was staring at Clarisse, frozen in absolute shock.

"Elena!" Susan shouted. "Now!"

Elena kept staring at Clarisse, not moving a muscle.

"Elena, now! Go, now!" Susan screamed.

Downstairs, Mark was pacing back and forth in the living room. He was seething with anger. Suddenly, loud shouts erupted behind him. His father’s voice barked something upstairs, followed by even more yelling.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Mark?! Why did you beat your brother like that?" his father yelled, rushing down the stairs. "If you kill him..."

"I don’t give a fuck about his life," Mark barked back, turning around. "Why are you supporting him after he slept with Clarisse?" He turned and walked toward the main door.

"What?" came Maya’s voice as she hurried down the stairs. "He did what?"

"I don’t care what he did!" Mr. Vaughn replied loudly. "Mark, get back here!"

Mark stopped walking. He looked back at his father. "You always defend Alex," he said coldly. "Even when you know he is wrong."

"You should be blaming Clarisse!" Mr. Vaughn shouted back. "It’s obvious she’s a slut!"

Slap.

Susan’s hand flew across his face.

Mr. Vaughn turned to her, shocked.

"This is your fault," Susan snapped, her voice trembling with years of built-up anger. "You let Alex get away with everything. You made him like this."

Slap.

She hit him again. And then another one.

"You’re a useless father!" she shouted, striking him again.

​Mark didn’t wait to see what happened next. He turned and walked back up the stairs, down the hallway, and straight into his bedroom.

​The laptop still sat on the desk exactly where he had left it. He yanked open the closet, grabbed a clean shirt, and pulled it on. His knuckles screamed in protest, but he didn’t care.

He snatched his car keys off the desk and headed for the ddoor

​Minutes later, he slid into the driver’s seat of his car and slammed the door shut. For a moment, he just sat there in the dark. His hands tightened around the steering wheel until his sore knuckles turned white. He let out a harsh breath and rested his forehead against the cold leather. Everything had completely fallen apart.

​Finally, he turned the key. The engine roared to life. Without knowing exactly where he was going, he pulled out of the driveway and drove into the night.

A few hours later, Susan arrived from the hospital with Alex.

He moved slowly, looking pale and holding his side where Mark had hit him.

Susan went straight upstairs to find Clarisse. She pushed open the bedroom door. Clarisse was sitting on the edge of the bed with her eyes red and swollen from crying. When she heard the door open, she looked up.

Susan stood in the doorway, staring down at her.

"Pack your things," she said. "You are leaving this house tonight."

Clarisse asked. "Susan, please... let me explain. It wasn’t what it looked like. It was a mistake. I didn’t mean to..."

"I said pack your things," she snapped. "The driver will take you home right now!"

"W-Why?"

​"You ask me why?" Susan said, stepping into the room. "You slept with my son’s brother in our home. You broke this family apart in one night, and you dare to ask me why?"

Susan went straight to the closet and pulled it open. She grabbed handfuls of Clarisse’s clothes, ripping them off the hangers, and began throwing them violently at her.

"You slut!" Susan screamed, her face red with anger. "Get out of my house!"

Clarisse tried to block the flying clothes with her arms, crying out as a heavy jacket hit her face. "Susan, stop! Please!"

But Susan didn’t stop. She threw the last bunch of clothes onto the floor, then turned and walked right up to Clarisse, stopping just inches away.

Her eyes locked onto Clarisse’s stomach.

"Whose child are you carrying, you bitch?" Susan demanded.

​"What do you mean? It’s... it’s Mark’s. It’s Mark’s child, Susan. I swear." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

​Susan let out a bitter laugh. "You swear? You expect me to believe a single word that comes out of your mouth after tonight? If this truly is Mark’s child, we will do a test to prove it. But you are not staying under my roof for another second. Pick up your clothes and get out before I throw you out myself."

Susan didn’t wait for Clarisse to answer. She grabbed her tightly by the arm and dragged her out of the bedroom. Clarisse stumbled and cried out, but Susan didn’t slow down, pulling her roughly down the stairs and straight toward the front door.

​She then pushed Clarisse out onto the front porch.

​"Stay out!" she shouted. Then turned to the servants who were standing in the hallway, watching the drama. "Go upstairs right now. Pick up all her trash clothes and bring them here!"

​"Susan, please, don’t do this!"

"You pretended to be perfect," Susan sneered, her eyes full of disgust. "If not that Lyvana couldn’t have children, she was better than you in every way. At least she had dignity!"

​