Chapter Eighteen: Fractured Trust

Ava had barely stepped through the front door of her apartment when her flat phone started ringing shrilly. Dread coiled in the pit of her stomach as she saw the caller ID - it was her mother, Victoria. She accepted the call with a weary sigh, bracing herself for the inevitable barrage of demands and criticisms.

"Hello, Mother," she answered flatly, unable to inject any warmth into her tone.

"Ava, darling!" Victoria's saccharine voice gushed through the speaker. "I'm simply calling to give you an update on my little vacation getaway."

Ava clenched her jaw, fighting back the wave of bitterness that threatened to spill over. "How nice for you, Mother."

"Oh, it's been perfectly dreadful, I must say," Victoria prattled on in that same syrupy tone. "The service here is abysmal, the amenities subpar. But enough about my troubles - how are things faring at the estate?"