A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 366

Darleen’s face was a mask of fury. She glanced at Fairfax, who was still dead to the world.

The mention of Herbert was Caden and Darian’s cue to leave. They had relied on the patronage of both powerful men for years, and now that Fairfax and Herbert were at war, they wanted to be as far from the battlefield as possible.

"Well, we should get going," Caden said quickly.

They deposited Fairfax into the care of his mother and beat a hasty retreat, making sure not to say another word about Herbert.

Once they were safely in the car and a good distance away, Caden finally spoke. "Looks like Starla is playing for keeps this time."

"No kidding," Darian agreed. "Did you see Darleen? Eating stale bread on her front steps. Outside."

To be banished from her own house like that… it was hard to imagine what sort of power dynamic was at play inside the Yelchin estate now.

"You know," Caden said thoughtfully, "there’s something oddly satisfying about all this."

Darian shot him a look. "Are you serious? If Fairfax finds out you said that, he'll kill you."

"I am serious," Caden insisted. "Think about how Darleen used to treat Starla. Now it’s like… what goes around, comes around. The tables have completely turned."

It was a twisted kind of justice, and as wrong as it felt to think that about his friend’s mother, Darian couldn't help but agree.

"And one thing's for sure," Darian said, "Starla's grudge against the Yelchins runs deep. This is more than just revenge."

Darian was silent. Destroy the entire family was a battle of giants, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Trying to mediate would be suicide.

"Are you going to talk to Herbert?" Darian asked after a moment. "You've been friends for years. Maybe you could ask him not to be so ruthless."

He still believed Herbert was the puppet master pulling Starla's strings.

Caden just raised an eyebrow. "And say what?"

He had no intention of getting involved. He could see that the fire between Fairfax and Starla was raging, and throwing himself into it would only get him burned. Besides, it wasn't his skin in the game. It was better to just stay out of it.