The plan

Margaret sat alone in the dimly lit room, her once-beautiful features twisted with bitterness as she stared at the faded, ornate mirror in front of her. The reflection that greeted her was almost unrecognizable—haunted eyes, deep lines etched into her face from years of anger and resentment. She traced the lines with a trembling finger, her thoughts spiraling into the past, to the time before everything went so horribly wrong.

There was a time when Margaret had been the center of attention, basking in the wealth and influence that came with being the wife of a powerful man. She had been respected, even feared, in the circles she moved in. People listened when she spoke, they sought her approval, her favor. But all of that had been stripped away, ripped from her grasp by the very person she had once thought she could control—her niece, Abigail.