A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 227

At Carmela’s words, her anger erupted—her eyes went wide with disbelief. “Are you serious?”

They hadn’t even gotten the divorce papers yet, and Elissa was already making a fool of the Atwaters?

The more Carmela thought about it, the angrier she became, completely forgetting how her own son had treated Elissa in the first place.

If Elissa was still living in Atwater Manor, she’d have no trouble figuring out where Frank’s double standards came from—clearly, it was in his DNA.

Mother and son, both cut from the same cloth.

Marcia, seeing Carmela’s reaction, knew she’d hit her mark. Smiling sweetly, she said, “Why would I lie to you? Remember last time at Vistapeak Gardens? You probably haven't heard, but Rowan’s living right across the hall from Elissa now.”

Carmela nearly choked in outrage.

How was that any different from shacking up together?

One minute she’s divorcing her son, and the next she’s cozying up to someone as powerful as Rowan. If word got out, people would say something was seriously wrong with the Atwater family.

Her chest heaved as she fought to steady her breathing, eyes icy with fury. “So that’s why she was in such a rush to get those divorce papers—she was worried her little affair would blow up in her face and ruin her reputation!”

It all made sense now.

Elissa hadn’t been devastated by Frank; she’d just found herself a better option.

But if she was already involved with Rowan, why had she come running to the Atwaters for help when Tanya Foster got into trouble?

Still, Carmela was too worked up to care about those details.

Marcia, on the other hand, was momentarily thrown by Carmela’s words. “Wait—divorce papers? Who’s getting divorced?”

The answer hovered right in front of her, making her heart pound.

“Who else could it be?” Carmela shot her a sharp look. “Frank and Elissa, of course.”

Carmela shot Marcia a glare. “How’s that project coming along? I heard from Matriarch Paige Murphy that you guaranteed you’d get your hands on the research results, or she wouldn’t have given you the funding. If you fail, you know what the Murphys are capable of.”

“Don’t let your scheme backfire and drag the Atwaters down with you.”

That much was true.

Marcia’s current project only existed because Matriarch Paige Murphy had invested in it.

Research and development was a money pit.

Paige had been hesitant at first. After all, Rowan was the real power in the Murphy family these days, and the old lady only controlled a limited amount of funds.

But Marcia had made a solemn promise—if Elissa could pull off the research, the results would be hers.

And since Paige was bankrolling the whole thing, the ones who’d profit in the end were Marcia and the old matriarch herself.