Chapter 8 - The Executioner's Verdict
"Do not speak," Mark commanded. His voice wasn't a yell. It was a low, vibrating growl that carried the absolute, terrifying finality of a judge passing a death sentence.
He didn't stand up. He kept one strong arm wrapped securely around Leo, refusing to let the child go for even a second.
"I spent a year learning his language," Mark stated coldly, his eyes burning with an intense, unyielding hatred for the woman who had birthed him. "He doesn't lie. He doesn't know how to manipulate. That is your disease, Helen. Not his."
"Mark, I am your mother!" Helen shrieked, completely abandoning her high-society elegance as she realized she had entirely lost control of her golden boy. "You cannot take the word of a broken child over your own flesh and blood! I was trying to save you from this burden!"
"He is not a burden," Mark replied, his voice rising with lethal authority. "He is my son. You are nothing but a monster."
Mark pulled his smartphone from his pocket. He didn't hesitate. He dialed 911, holding the phone to his ear while he glared at his mother.
"What are you doing?!" Helen gasped, pure, suffocating panic draining the remaining color from her wrinkled face.
"I am reporting an assault on a minor," Mark said smoothly. "I am going to tell the police exactly what I saw when I walked into this room. I am going to show them the glass you were holding to his head, and I am going to show them the bruises you left on his arms."
"You would send your own mother to jail?!" Helen wept hysterically, struggling to stand up, her legs shaking with absolute terror.
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"I would burn the entire world to the ground to keep him safe," Mark delivered in a chilling, decisive whisper. "Get out of my house. If you are still standing in this room when the sirens arrive, I will physically drag you out to the curb myself."
👉 Continue to Part 10 for the heartwarming final conclusion.
