Chapter 5 - The Husband's Betrayal
Before Kalista could pull her own phone from her hidden pocket, heavy, angry footsteps stormed across the marble.
Thatcher rushed in, his face contorted in a mixture of embarrassment and blind rage. He didn't look at his mother bleeding on the floor. He didn't look at the blood soaking into his wife's dress. He only saw the destruction of his family's pristine public image.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Thatcher snarled.
He lunged forward and grabbed Kalista’s wrist with brutal force. His fingers dug into her flesh, bruising the skin as he violently jerked her upward. Kalista stumbled, pulled away from Lenora, her balance thrown off by the sudden, aggressive assault.
"Let go of me, Thatcher!" Kalista snapped, trying to wrench her arm free.
"You are embarrassing this family!" Thatcher hissed, leaning in close, his breath hot against her face.
And then, in a flash of movement that drew a second gasp from the watching crowd, Thatcher pulled his other hand back and slapped Kalista hard across the face. The sharp, cracking sound echoed through the foyer.
Lenora, watching from the floor, let out a choked scream of pure terror. "No! Thatcher, no!"
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Kalista’s head snapped to the side. Her cheek burned, a stinging red mark blooming instantly across her flawless skin. She stood perfectly still for a fraction of a second, the shock of the betrayal sinking into her bones. Her husband. The man who had vowed to protect her just hours ago.
"Stay out of it!" Thatcher hissed in a low, trembling rage, his chest heaving. "You don't cross my father. You don't ruin this night. You know your place, Kalista."
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