Chapter 2 - The Severed Thread
The silence in the dining room became suffocating. Several guests lowered their wine glasses, staring at the polished hardwood floor to avoid witnessing the unraveling of Victoria Sterling’s carefully curated image.
"Mark, darling, don't be dramatic," Victoria said, forcing a high, musical laugh that fell completely flat. "We are in the middle of celebrating your promotion. Amy was simply helping out. It’s what family does."
"Helping out?" Mark turned, stepping squarely in front of Amy, shielding her and the feverish infant from the gaze of twenty pairs of eyes. "You have caterers standing in the kitchen whom I paid for, yet you have my wife carrying stacks of dirty plates while our son is sick. Look at him, Mother. Look at his face."
Victoria’s chin tilted upward, the instinct for social survival overriding any maternal instinct. "A slight sniffle. Children get warm. You're causing an unnecessary scene in front of our closest colleagues."
"Get out," Mark said quietly.
Victoria’s eyes widened, genuine shock cracking through her smooth porcelain composure. "Excuse me?"
"All of you, please leave," Mark announced, looking around the room. His voice remained steady, devoid of theatrics, which made it far more terrifying. "The celebration is over. Please take your coats and go."
May you like
Muttering broke out instantly as guests scrambled toward the hallway, embarrassed to have witnessed the facade crumble. Victoria stood rooted to the spot, trembling with rage. "You are embarrassing yourself, Mark. You are throwing away years of connections over domestic clumsiness."
"No," Mark replied, gently guiding Amy toward the staircase. "I'm finally learning what to protect. Get out of our house."
