Silence turned into dread across the room. They were no longer cheerleaders of the perfect family show—they were complicit witnesses to a crime. I realized Maxwell’s own flesh and blood had turned on him—and that revelation shattered his control.
Behind the Smile: Years of Hidden Pain
Just hours earlier, I had been in the kitchen, trembling while basting the turkey. The bruises on my ribs still hurt. They were from “lessons” Maxwell had taught me the week before. But I cleaned and plated everything, hiding my cyclone of pain from visiting eyes……
