Page 7 of Lethal Weakness

“Mommy?”

“Bath time, Avery.”

Chapter Three

Linden

Well, it happened. I was asked- no, told to bring Avery to the Scott mansion for a big, elaborate party that we have no business at.

Her grandparents are the wealthiest people in Noddingbell. An anesthesiologist and a surgeon who know and are “friends” with every other wealthy person in the state.

Their estate is an elaborately maintained historic stone mansion. The landscaping is immaculate. The furniture was shipped from Italy.

They also have more staff than any hotel that I’ve ever been to, who wear crisp uniforms and don’t make eye contact with you unless they’re spoken to. It bothers me to my core, and I make a point to make small talk any chance I get. The Scotts probably pay them well, but that is as far as their humanity goes.

They insist on perfection.

I swear they only want Avery around for appearances’ sake, and it makes my skin crawl. Merrill always sends a new dress to the house for Avery to wear every time she visits, even though her closet is filled with dresses she’s worn once and fit just fine.

She tried to send me dresses too, but I put a stop to that in an instant. I don’t want her handouts. And I don’t want to be a part of her perfect image.

A simple black dress and the same black heels I wear for all nice occasions will suffice. My sandy brunette hair is pinned back at the nape of my neck, but I refuse to straighten away my liveliness.

My nonuniform waves aren’t meant for some formal updo, and a few loose curls have already escaped around my temples and down my cheeks. The look of disdain on Merrill’s face because of it brings me more joy than anything.

“Linden, I’d like you to meet someone,” Edmund, my former father-in-law, says from behind me.

We’re on the back terrace, aka their backyard, surrounded by at least one hundred people who are complete strangers to me. My glass of champagne is a placeholder in my hands while Avery dances around in circles on the makeshift dance floor in front of the string quartet.

I don’t drink around Avery, other than a few sips to ease some of the tension in my shoulders.

“I really shouldn’t leave Avery,” I tell him, barely sparing him a glance. Besides the salt-and-pepper hair, Turner resembles his father a lot.

“She’ll be fine. It’ll only take a moment,” he insists. He seems kind on the surface, but I’ve seen the malice behind his eyes. He hates that I was ever with his precious son.

But I have to play nice, or they’ll come after me with that vindictiveness they keep hidden so well.

“Just for a minute,” I agree, giving Avery one final glance.

He leads me over to a group of people who are standing further from the dance floor than I would like, but I do my best to keep an eye trained on Avery. She’s still twirling in circles in front of the violinist.

“Reginald, this is my granddaughter’s mother.” Don’t even give him my name, nice. “I wanted you to tell her all about the opportunities Glenwood Prep has to offer. Avery will be ready for school before we know it, and I want her to have the best education.”

My molars clench in my mouth at the ambush. He knows how I feel about sending Avery to a prep school.

She should start preschool next year, and after that, kindergarten. All of which will be at a public institution that I can afford. I am not getting trapped under their wallet for the next fifteen years.

The man in front of me starts his spiel before I even have a chance to respectfully decline, and I feel my blood pressure rising.

These pompous rich assholes. They think they can walk all over anyone who has less money than they do.

“I’m sorry, but I need to go check on my daughter. She doesn’t know anyone at the party,” I say pointedly, looking at Edmund. He hardly controls his jaw from locking in annoyance.

My head swivels, looking at the last spot I saw her, but she’s no longer on the dance floor. I shoulder through throngs of people, barely being polite about it, because I don’t really care what they think.

Until my eyes are on my daughter, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about these people.

I make it to a railing that overlooks the lower terrace level, and my breath catches. Avery is all the way past the patio full of people and on the pool deck.