Back at the Ashford mansion, Mrs. Ashford was seated gracefully in her luxurious room, a delicate porcelain cup of warm tea resting in her gloved hand. A wide, almost sinister smile played on her lips as she gazed out the tall window overlooking the estate.
The peaceful moment shattered when the door burst open.
"Are you seriously going to support Victoria too, Mother? Since when did you become so soft?" Mirabel's voice cut through the air, dripping with venom and disbelief as she stormed into the room. Her eyes were ablaze with fury.
"When did you start playing the kind-hearted matriarch, huh?" she continued, pacing furiously. "You drove her out of this mansion all those years ago. And now that she's returned, you welcome her back like nothing ever happened? You of all people loathed her mother. You hated everything about hee. So why are you suddenly treating her like some beloved child?"
