Chapter 2 - The Son on the Lawn

The crystal champagne flute in Ethan’s hand slipped through his fingers.
Crash.
The glass shattered against the flagstone terrace, golden wine splashing across his polished leather shoes.
Ethan did not look at the broken glass. He did not look at Vanessa, who was already turning toward him with a charming, rehearsed pout. His eyes were wide, dilated with sheer, unadulterated horror as he stared at the woman sitting in the wet grass.
“Ethan, darling!” Vanessa called out in a melodious, performative voice, pointing the garden hose toward the driveway. “Thank goodness you came out! Some deranged homeless woman snuck past the gate security and started begging for handouts! I had to use the hose to keep her away from the hors d'oeuvres tables!”
Patricia Mitchell nodded vigorously, smoothing her pearl necklace. “Can you imagine the nerve of these people, Ethan? Trespassing during your private celebration! George called the precinct; the police will drag her away in a squad car shortly.”
Ethan didn't hear a word they said.
The silence that fell over him was terrifying—a suffocating, heavy vacuum that seemed to suck all the air out of the Belle Meade garden.
Ethan stepped off the stone terrace. He didn't walk; he ran.
He sprinted across the wet lawn, his bespoke tuxedo trousers splashing through puddles, pushing past George Mitchell so hard the older man stumbled backward into a rose bush.
“Ethan? What are you doing? Don't get near her!” Vanessa shrieked, reaching out to stop him.
Ethan shoved Vanessa’s arm aside with ferocious intensity and dropped straight to both knees in the wet, muddy turf right in front of me.
He didn't care about the mud soaking through his pants. He didn't care that thirty of Nashville’s wealthiest executives were watching him with open mouths.
With trembling, frantic hands, Ethan pulled off his heavy black wool tuxedo jacket and wrapped it around my dripping shoulders. He pulled me into his arms, burying his face into my wet shawl as a violent, ragged shudder racked his entire frame.
“Mother…” Ethan choked out, his voice cracking into a high, broken sob that echoed across the silent lawn. “Mom… oh God, Mom… what did they do to you?!”
The entire garden stopped breathing.
May you like
Vanessa froze. Her hand, still holding the brass hose nozzle, began to shake violently. The bright, smug smile on her face seemed to melt away, leaving behind a hideous, ashen mask of pure dread.
“M-Mother…?” Vanessa stammered, taking a staggering step back. “Ethan… what… what did you just call her?”