Faye felt the hairs on her arms and neck stand on end as Sterling's face twisted into a menacing expression. His lips curled into a snarl, and his eyes seemed to burn with a deep, unearthly rage.
With a clenched fist, he struggled to steady his ragged breathing. The air was so thick with tension that it felt like a storm was brewing.
Sterling roared in fury at Faye, "So my first suspicion was right all along. It was you."
Faye was puzzled by his abrupt shift in mood and the strange statement.
"…M—me? Sterling, What—are you saying?"
He sneered at her question, picking up the delicate scale in his fingers, and bringing it close to her face. He tightly cupped her chin in his other hand. Sterling could smell the fear rolling off of Faye's skin.
"You see this? This—this tiny scale…it is what cost your father his life."
