Chapter 4 - The Grip of Despair
""You are not walking away from me,"" Julian snarled, his grip bruising Sophia’s delicate skin. ""Do you have any idea how much money my family poured into your father’s bankrupt shipping company? You walk out that door, and your family is finished!""
""Let her go, Julian!"" Marcus barked, drawing his baton as he crossed the floor in two strides.
Before Marcus could reach them, Clara acted. With Lily securely perched on her left hip, Clara swung her right arm, driving the heavy brass heel of her clutch purse squarely across Julian’s forearm. The sharp impact cracked against his tendon, forcing his fingers to spring open with a hiss of pain.
Sophia stumbled backward into the arms of her maid of honor, weeping openly now.
""Restrain him,"" Marcus ordered the officers. Within seconds, Julian was forced against one of the ornamental Roman pillars, his silver jacket pinned as handcuffs clicked shut with cold, mechanical finality.
""Eleanor! Do something!"" Julian roared, thrashing against the officers' hold. ""Call Hayes! Call the governor! You can't let them take me out of my own wedding in cuffs!""
Eleanor Vance stood utterly rigid, her face devoid of color. She looked at her son pinned against the marble, then at Clara standing tall in her crimson velvet dress, unharmed and resolute. Eleanor’s eyes narrowed into venomous slits.
""You think you’ve won, Clara,"" Eleanor said softly, leaning in close enough that Clara could smell the lavender and bitter gin on her breath. ""You think this little spectacle grants you sanctuary? You just dragged the Vance name into the gutter. Every lawyer in this state belongs to my foundation. I will spend every dime I have to strip that child from your arms, and you will die penniless in a county cell.""
Clara didn't flinch. She met the matriarch's terrifying glare with unwavering steel. ""Your money couldn't buy your son an ounce of honor, Eleanor. And it won't buy you my daughter.""
Clara turned her back on the old woman and walked toward the grand exit, Marcus walking in lockstep beside her as the officers dragged Julian out through the side terrace. But as Clara stepped into the chill night air of the courtyard, her phone buzzed inside her purse.
May you like
She fished it out, glancing at the unknown number on the glowing screen. The text message read:
The cameras in the ballroom weren't Julian's idea. Look at the hard drive in Lily's coat pocket before Marcus takes it.
