Chapter 287 Family, fractured

Chapter 287 Family, fractured
Isabel’s POV

“Why are you doing this, Selene?” my mother asks, her voice cracking beneath the weight of emotion. “Why are you after my family? What did I ever do wrong to you?”

Selene doesn’t answer. She turns her back slowly, her silence louder than any scream. She takes a step forward, shoulders stiff, like she’s holding something back.

“If I’ve ever done anything to hurt you, then come at me directly!” my mother shouts suddenly, her voice louder, more desperate. “You have me now, Selene. Just take me. Let my family go. I’m the one you want. Not them.”

“Mom!” I call out, heart thundering.

But Selene only turns halfway, eyes cold. “That would be too easy. And where’s the fun in that?”

“Fun?” My mother’s voice breaks, baffled. “Is destroying people’s lives fun to you? When did you become like this, Selene?”

Selene whirls around. Her voice, when it comes, is sharp, brutal. “Because of you, Victoria. You made me this way.”

My mother’s face twists in confusion. “What? Selene, I loved you. I treated you like a true friend. I went against everyone to be friends with you, even when—”

“If you ever say that word ‘friend’ again,” Selene snaps, raising a gun toward her, “I swear I’ll pull this trigger and shoot you right between the eyes.”

My mother freezes. The room stills with her. The kids cry louder, trembling. The men stand alert, hands twitching near their weapons.

Selene holds the pose for a beat longer, then lets out a mock laugh as she lowers the gun. “Oh wow. Did I scare you?” she chuckles, clapping her hand against her mouth. “The almighty Victoria, afraid of me.”

She spins toward Cynthia and the men, gesturing wildly. “Did you all see that? Victoria got scared.” She lets out another humorless laugh.

My mom’s knees buckle as she sinks slowly to the ground, trembling.

I watch from where I’m held, and I hate myself for being this useless—watching them hurt her, hurt everyone I love, while I sit powerless.

Selene’s gaze narrows. “That’s exactly how I want you to feel. Broken. Exposed. Like you made me feel all those years you pretended to be my friend.”

My mother shakes her head slowly, eyes glistening. She doesn’t speak.

“Yes,” Selene growls. “You became my friend just to rub it in everyone’s face. To show you were better. So I could always be beneath you. At your mercy.”

“That’s not true,” my mom finally says, voice shaking. “I truly valued our friendship. That’s all I ever wanted.”

“Then you shouldn’t have lied to me.”

“Lied?” My mother frowns. “Lied about what?”

“You said you had nothing to do with Felix,” Selene hisses. “But look what happened. You made him fall for you. He chased you, not me.”

I glance at Aria.

Her body is still, but something shifts. Her eyes flicker toward Cynthia—quick, almost nervous. Then away.

She won’t meet my gaze.

Why?

My mother looks completely thrown. “Selene… I couldn’t control how he felt. And I stayed away from him. You know I did. I tried my best to prove I wanted nothing with him.”

“You should have tried harder!” Selene screams. “He never saw me. Never looked at me the way I did him. Because of you, I lost everything.”

Aria’s jaw tightens.

A quiet twitch. Barely noticeable. But I see it.

Her shoulders tense, shifting ever so slightly. Like she’s holding something back.

What is it?

A chilling silence falls. The words hang like ice.

I glance at  Aria again.

A flicker of something flashes across her face. Anger? Regret? I can’t tell. She’s been so quiet. So tense.

Selene keeps going, voice ragged. “And even after I begged you for help, begged you to support what made me happy, what did you do? You pushed Felix toward Vivianne instead!”

My mom’s mouth parts slightly as the realization crashes over her.

“I… I didn’t know you had feelings for Felix, Selene,” my mother murmurs. “I only helped Vivianne because she came to me. She asked for it. She loved him. I was trying to show you I had nothing with him, nothing to hide.”

Suddenly, Aria shifts. Her jaw clenches tight.

Something in her twitch draws my gaze again.

What’s going on with her?

Why does she look like she’s going to explode?

Then Selene yells, “Just shut up!”

“Enough!” Aria’s voice slices through the room.

Everyone turns. Even Selene looks startled.

Aria slowly stands, her hands still tied behind her back.

“Enough of all this,” she says, steady and clear. “You got what you wanted. So let my mother go.”

She turns to Cynthia, eyes pleading. “Cynthia, you promised. You said if I helped bring the kids to you, you’d leave my mother alone. You said you wouldn’t hurt her again. So please. Let her go. Tell your men to let her go. I’ll disappear. I’ll leave this city, this entire life. Just don’t hurt her anymore.”

My mother gasps. Her eyes widen, hurt crashing through her.

“Aria…?” she whispers, voice breaking.

Her body trembles where she’s seated. “No… not you.”

She looks at Aria like she’s seeing a stranger.

My lungs seize.

I stare at Aria, unable to breathe.

“You… it was you?”

I don’t even feel the floor beneath me anymore.

“You helped them?”

Cynthia watches her, silent.

Selene just chuckles, slow and sinister.

“Oh, poor Aria,” she coos. “Too late. You’re already part of this now. You think I’ll let you go? After everything? No, sweetheart. Remember, we’re a family.”

Family?

The word hits me like a punch.

I repeat it in my mind, heart pounding, as I look between them.

Family?

What does she mean?