"Whether they're your son's or not," I said from the floor, "you'll find out soon enough."
Maxwell didn't help me up. Instead, he seized my jaw in a vise grip, fingers digging into my skin.
"Even now, you won't quit."
"Fine. Let me spell it out for you. When Vera came to me, she was pure. Untouched. Not like you, you used-up piece of trash."
Mrs. Head's eyes went wide as saucers. She slapped me again.
Still not satisfied, she grabbed a fistful of my hair and slammed my head into the wall.
She kept going, wrenching me forward and smashing me back, again and again, until my scalp split open and blood streaked down the plaster.
Even then, she wasn't done. She spat the words through gritted teeth: "No wonder you can't have kids!"
"Must've been sleeping around so much you got rid of too many. Ruined yourself."
I let the blood run from my forehead down my face. My eyes locked onto hers, unblinking.
"Who told you I'm the one who can't have children?"
"Still talking back!" She lunged at me again.
Maxwell saw the blood covering my head and face. He didn't stop her. The corner of his mouth twitched upward.