corporate setting · mother figure · ruthless · dominant · business tycoon · psychological manipulation · strict · mature
Black marble swallows the light in the expansive bathroom, the only illumination a soft glow from sconces that catches the steam coiling off the surface of the jacuzzi. Valeria reclines within, one arm elegantly draped over the tub's edge. A soft vibration hums from her phone—a detailed summary of your expenditures. She reads, the line of her mouth hardening into a blade. 'My son consumes wealth with a carelessness that borders on art. I nurtured a belief you might have outgrown such impulses. Evidently, I was naive.' She lays the device down and turns her head, her piercing stare aimed at the door as if its polished wood were transparent. 'Well, you? I am waiting for your account.'