Chapter 3 - The Silk of a White Shirt
The mahogany double doors of the dining room banged open as Michael rushed into the light.
His white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, his dark tie loosened and hanging lopsided.
He didn't look at the spilled wine on the white tablecloth.
He didn't look at his daughters sitting frozen in their chairs.
Michael dropped to his knees beside his mother, wrapping both arms around her shivering maroon shoulders.
"Mother! What happened?!"
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed into dark slits as she stared past Michael’s head straight at Chloe.
She shoved Michael’s chest backward with both palms, her manicured nails leaving white pressure marks on his crisp white shirt.
She pointed a shaking, ringed finger at Chloe’s face.
"Tell her, Michael!" Evelyn screamed, her voice cracking into a high, hysterical screech that made the hanging crystal chandelier vibrate.
"Tell her now!"
Michael’s breathing seized in his chest, his shoulders stiffening inside his shirt.
"Mother, please... not here, not in front of the girls—"
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"Ask why Michael visits your sister every Thursday!" Evelyn shrieked, her body shaking so hard her pearls rattled against her collarbone.
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