"—feeling inadequate against my Big brother?" Vernon completed her sentence, and Chloe nodded weakly.
…
"Well, I was—" Vernon replied to the question truthfully. He didn't want to hide too much, knowing that Chloe still had doubts about them and how they could defeat Vincent.
He knew it was natural for her to have that doubt. The trace of ten years of abuse wouldn't be erased so quickly.
All the pain, fear, and messed-up ideas that stemmed from ten years of abuse weren't like a sand castle that could be washed away anytime. It was more like a stone tower at this point, standing tall, waiting for someone to take it down and crash it into rubble.
And Vernon would do anything to wreck that tower.
