When Love Dies, Fury Awakens

a sleek black card, a symbol of the wealth and freedom I thought I was p

th a sharp crack that e

wo pieces into

a new, pristine card from a private account Mark knew nothing about. I gave it to Leo. "This

action, so simple, felt like a monumental shif

their eyes. As we got ready for school, Mia

hispered, looking at the fl

w tight. "She tells everyone we're poor now

in. I knelt in front of Mia and gently pulled up her sleeve. Beneat

his?" I asked

She cornered me by the lockers yesterday. S

p. "Let's go. I'm taki

one of calm, privileged academia. But as I walked in with Leo and Mia, I felt a different energy. The

cognize me. In all my years of funding the school, I had always done it thro

g off my children

, I heard the receptionist talking to anot

partner, Karen, is on the fundraising committee now. A real po

the new power couple, living off my money while painting me as a failure. The audacity wa

cornering Mia against the lockers. In the center was a sharp-feature

ica sneered, loud enough for everyone to hear

toward them, my bl

of his sister. "Leave

your daddy? Oh, wait. He's my mom's problem now. And he lik

d her hand to push Mia again. I grab

my voice quiet but carryi

hen narrowed in defiance. She tried t

she spat. "Let go of me!

Then I looked at my son, standing guard with his fists clenched. T

voice barely a whisper, b

's Jessica. Dad's new