Chapter 45: Morning Contrasts
The breakfast table at the Sterling mansion was a battlefield disguised as a domestic scene. Sandra sat draped in an expensive silk morning gown, pushing a piece of avocado toast around her plate while she watched Liam over the rim of her coffee cup. She was trying a new tactic: the "supportive partner."
"You look tired, Liam," she said, her voice dripping with a rehearsed, honeyed concern. "You've been staying at the office so late. Perhaps we could take a weekend at the beach house in Ilashe? Just to disconnect. I've already spoken to Sarah about the menu."
Liam didn't even look up from the financial report on his tablet. "I don't 'disconnect,' Sandra. And Sarah takes orders from me, not you. If you're bored, find a charity to fund. Leave my schedule out of your mouth." He stood up abruptly, leaving his coffee untouched, the air in the room turning to ice as he walked out. Sandra's smile didn't falter until the door clicked shut; then, her expression shifted into a mask of pure, venomous resolve.
Miles away, in a cramped, sun-scorched apartment in a working-class neighborhood, Eliana was leaning against a cracked kitchen wall, her voice a fragile whisper into her phone. "How is she, Tobi? Did the doctor say anything about the new labs?"
"She's stable, Eli," her younger brother's voice crackled through the line, sounding far too old for his years. "But the nurse says we need to settle the balance for the oxygen by Friday or they'll move her to the general ward. I'm trying to find extra shifts at the pharmacy, but—"
"Don't worry about the money, Tobi," Eliana interrupted, blinking back tears as she looked at her swollen, bandaged ankle. "I have a big night coming up at the... the catering job. The tips are good. Just stay with her. Tell her I'll be there on Sunday." She hung up and slid down the wall, her head resting on her knees. The "Girl in Red" had to dance tonight. There was no other choice. Her mother's breath depended on it.