"Mmm... No... Marcellus..."

"Coco... please, help me..."

Marcellus Spencer’s eyes were swirling with a terrifying, bloodthirsty rage, his hands tightening around her throat. Every shared memory, every moment of supposed affection they had once held, was erased from his mind. There was only one thing left—a primal, savage urge to kill. He needed to exact vengeance for Elaine Miller.

"Let go of Mommy!" A thin, juvenile voice echoed through the room. A small body charged out from the corner, slamming into Marcellus like a cannonball.

Marcellus’s grip faltered, and Morgan Rose collapsed onto the floor, clutching her chest and coughing violently, her body racking with spasms.

Max Spencer stood between them. His face was a map of fresh bruises, his arms crisscrossed with jagged red whip marks. He looked terrified, yet he stubbornly planted himself in front of Morgan.

Marcellus stared at him, stunned. "How did you get those injuries?"

Max shivered. The defiant light in his eyes flickered and died, and his shoulders slumped. The answer was painfully obvious. It was Morgan.

The boy didn’t understand exactly what was happening. He didn’t know why the woman who had doted on him for so long had suddenly swapped her gentle mask for this twisted, cruel face. He didn’t know why he had become a punching bag. But when he saw her being hurt, his instincts had flared, and he had thrown himself into the fray to protect her.

But Morgan wasn’t his mother. She was the one who had murdered his real mother.

Marcellus felt a pain so sharp in his chest he could barely breathe. He crouched down, his voice gravelly. "Max, she isn’t your mother. She’s a monster."

Max shook violently. "She is!"

"She tried to kill you! She tried to kill your siblings! How is that not a monster?" Marcellus roared.

Tears welled in Max’s eyes, tracking clean paths through the grime on his cheeks. He was seven; he understood more than he let on. He knew Marcellus was telling the truth. The mother who promised to love him forever was gone, and the woman standing before him was a predator waiting to strike.

"Be a good boy, Max. Step aside," Marcellus said, forcing his tone to stay level. "This is grown-up business. Stay out of it, okay?"

"No! Marcellus! He’s going to kill me! Please, save me!" Morgan screamed in desperation. She lunged, grabbing for Max, her long nails digging into his skin.

Max let out a sharp cry of pain and instinctively shoved her away.

This wasn't right. His mother wouldn't be like this. She wouldn't hurt him. He remembered a rainy night, a warm, protective embrace. Maybe... maybe that other woman was his real mother after all.

As Morgan scrambled to grasp her last shred of hope, Max’s mind spun in confusion. He instinctively retreated.

Marcellus seized the opportunity to haul Morgan up by her collar, his eyes ice-cold. "What’s the matter? Afraid I’m going to kill you?"

"Don't worry. I won't."

Morgan blinked, her face lighting up with a delirious, frantic joy. "Marcellus, I knew you couldn't do it! I knew you couldn't stand to lose me! It’s all just a misunderstanding. Let’s sit down and talk—"

Marcellus let out a low, chilling laugh. "I couldn't stand to lose you, that's right."

"You made Elaine suffer so much. Why would I ever let you die so easily?"

***

Meanwhile, in Australia.

"Elaine, apartments are tough to find right now. This one is in great condition, but you might have to share a place..."

Elaine Miller dragged her suitcase along the sidewalk, keeping the phone pressed to her ear as she replied casually to her friend. "That doesn't matter. As long as the person is decent, I’m fine with it."

"I just feel terrible about it. You never had to live like this back home..."

Elaine felt a flicker of nostalgia and cut him off. "Let the past stay in the past. Life back there was 'comfortable,' but it was suffocating."

She stopped in front of the door and knocked twice.

The door swung open, and a man leaned out. He was dressed in charcoal loungewear, his gaze cool and imposing behind gold-rimmed glasses.

Elaine’s voice died in her throat.

"Did you meet your roommate yet? I heard she's supposed to be a total knockout."

"Hello? Elaine? Why’d you go quiet?"

Elaine remained silent for a long moment, eventually whispering, "She’s a beauty, alright. But..."

"Why is my roommate a man?"