Chapter 5 - The Claws of Desperation
The undeniable digital evidence hung in the air like a noose tightening around Evelyn’s neck.
Her carefully curated life of luxury, private jets, and limitless credit lines dissolved in an instant.
A feral, cornered look entered her eyes as she abandoned all remaining pretense of refinement.
She lunged forward across the broken porcelain, her crimson fingernails aimed straight at Julian’s smartphone.
"Give me that phone, you ungrateful little bastard!" she shrieked, completely unhinged.
Julian stepped back smoothly, shielding the screen with his muscular shoulder.
Marcus stepped into Evelyn’s path with the immovability of a concrete barricade.
His broad palm pressed firmly against Evelyn’s chest, halting her frantic charge with absolute physical dominance.
She clawed at his tailored sleeve, but Marcus did not budge an inch.
"Do not take another step toward my son," Marcus ordered, his voice ice-cold and laced with pure venom.
Evelyn recoiled, stumbling back onto the shards of the shattered vase beneath her stilettos.
A sharp crunch of broken porcelain resonated beneath her heel, snapping one of the slender shoe stems.
She fell sideways onto the floor, scraping her knee against the sharp debris.
From the wreckage beside the bookshelf, Margaret finally scrambled to her feet, clutching her pearl necklace.
"Marcus, listen to me, this is a family matter!" Margaret pleaded, her haughty superiority completely gone.
"The girl was disrespectful, she needed discipline, Evelyn was only trying to maintain order in your home!"
Marcus slowly turned his gaze toward his mother-in-law, his eyes void of any human warmth.
"You consider beating my daughter with a belt to be discipline, Margaret?" Marcus asked in a deadly whisper.
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Clara stood behind her brother, her fingers trembling as she pulled Julian's sleeve closer to her chest.
The billionaire reached inside his charcoal breast pocket and withdrew his personal gold-plated smartphone.
