A Surprising Twist of Fates (Sierra and Theo) novel Chapter 184

Madison let out a soft sigh.

Sierra lowered her eyes. Then, she explained softly, "It's not that my mom hasn't thought about leaving, but William won't let her go so easily. As long as he thinks of using me, my mom can't divorce him."

"That's just disgusting. He's so manipulative and so cruel." Madison couldn't believe that a husband—a father—could do something like this.

He had to be written into a novel where the readers would tear him apart.

Honestly, if she were in Sierra's shoes, she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle things as well as Sierra had.

Before, she used to think Sierra was too weak. But if her own mother were trapped in an abusive marriage and had no way out, she'd probably feel even more powerless.

At the Shaw residence, a furious William stared at his phone after the call was cut off. He slammed the device onto the table and then turned his anger toward the woman beside him. Without warning, he raised his hand and struck her hard across the face.

Vera was knocked onto the couch. But even that didn't seem to ease his rage. He lifted his hand again and was ready to hit her once more.

She trembled violently, too scared to even raise a hand to shield herself.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

Xavier walked in from outside, and his voice was sharp with alarm. He saw Vera collapse on the ground while William stood over her with a furious expression and his hand raised.

William froze for a moment, then turned to see Xavier. He lowered his hand and straightened up, but his face remained dark with anger.

Xavier strode forward and helped Vera up. When he saw the red, swollen imprint of a slap on her cheek, his expression turned to shock and disbelief.

"Why did you hit Mom?" he demanded.

"This has nothing to do with you. Go upstairs," William instructed impatiently.

"Even if something happened, you can't just hit her like this!"