Chapter 2 - Shattered Crystal and Velvet Rage
Victoria crashed violently backward into the long banquet table supporting the massive champagne pyramid.
The sound that followed was nothing short of an apocalyptic symphony of shattering lead crystal.
The foundation of the pyramid buckled instantly under Victoria’s staggering weight.
Dozens upon dozens of vintage champagne flutes toppled forward in a glittering cascade of golden liquid and flying glass.
Golden foam exploded into the air, raining down like a luxury monsoon over Victoria’s head and designer dress.
High-society guests shrieked in horror and scrambled backward as razor-sharp shards ricocheted across the floor.
Victoria hit the edge of the linen-draped table, knocking over two silver ice buckets that dumped freezing slush onto her lap.
She barely managed to keep her footing by clawing desperately at the soggy tablecloth, dragging down half the centerpiece with her.
Puddles of bubbling vintage champagne pooled rapidly around her ruined silver stilettos.
Her once-immaculate royal-blue gown was thoroughly soaked, dark stains spreading across the silk bodice and heavy skirt.
Her elaborate blonde updo had completely collapsed, wet strands of hair plastered messily across her face and neck.
For a few breathless seconds, Victoria Sterling was the very picture of absolute, unmitigated humiliation.
The entire ballroom watched with wide eyes and dropped jaws, completely paralyzed by the spectacle.
A billionaire’s wife had just been kicked into a champagne mountain by an hourly banquet worker.
Maya stood five paces away, her posture perfectly balanced, breathing evenly with her hands held in an active guard.
She did not celebrate, nor did she smile.
Her primary focus remained entirely on Eleanor, who sat pale and trembling behind her.
Maya turned her head slightly to check on the elderly woman.
"Ma'am, did any glass touch you?" Maya asked urgently, scanning Eleanor's lavender dress for blood or debris.
Eleanor looked up with wide, tearful eyes, her wrinkled hands still clutching the wheelchair armrests.
"No, no, darling... I'm safe," Eleanor whispered, her voice shaking violently.
"You saved me... but heavens, you shouldn't have done that... she will kill you, child."
"She won't touch you, and she won't touch me," Maya said firmly, radiating an unshakable calm.
Across the floor, Victoria pushed herself up from the wreckage of broken stems and soaked linen.
Her eyes, rimmed with smeared black mascara, locked onto Maya with a venom that seemed almost demonic.
She trembled not from fear, but from an overwhelming, psychotic rage that shattered whatever sanity she possessed.
"You die today," Victoria hissed beneath her breath, her chest heaving violently.
Her fingers gripped the heavy wooden back of an ornate banquet chair beside the wreckage.
The chair was constructed of solid mahogany with heavy brass embellishments, weighing easily over twenty pounds.
Ignoring the stinging cuts on her hands from the broken glass, Victoria hoisted the heavy chair into the air with adrenaline-fueled strength.
Gasps of horror erupted from the surrounding crowd.
"Victoria, stop!" someone shouted from the back, but nobody moved an inch to restrain her.
"I’m going to cave your peasant skull in!" Victoria screamed at the top of her lungs.
She charged toward Maya, raising the heavy mahogany chair high above her head like an executioner's axe.
She intended to bring the brass-tipped legs straight down onto Maya’s head and into Eleanor’s wheelchair.
Eleanor screamed, instinctively ducking her head into her hands.
Maya did not back down, knowing that retreating would expose Eleanor to the deadly impact.
Her eyes darted to the right, spotting a large, heavy silver serving tray abandoned on a service trolley.
Moving with supernatural speed, Maya snatched the thick silver platter with both hands just as Victoria swung the chair downward.
A deafening metallic crash echoed across the vaulted ballroom.
The heavy wooden legs of the chair slammed violently into the face of the silver tray.
The brutal force vibrated down Maya’s arms, but her stance remained rock solid, absorbing the shock through her bent knees.
The silver platter bent slightly under the tremendous impact, but it held the line completely.
Before Victoria could recover or swing again, Maya snapped her right leg upward in a vicious front push-kick.
Her combat-booted foot planted squarely against the center of the wooden chair, driving it backward with immense explosive force.
The chair ripped violently out of Victoria’s blistered hands, flying backward across the floor with a screeching scrape.
Victoria was thrown entirely off balance by the counter-force, staggering several steps back into the danger zone of the dessert presentation.
Maya lowered the dented silver tray, her breathing heavy now, her gaze cold and piercing.
"That is your final warning," Maya stated, her voice slicing through the horrified silence of the hall.
Victoria wiped a mixture of sweat, champagne, and smeared makeup from her eyes, panting like a rabid animal.
"Security! Security! Kill this bitch!" Victoria screamed hysterically, waving her arms at the distant hotel staff.
The banquet manager, a portly man named Mr. Henderson, finally broke through the crowd, his face as white as a bedsheet.
"Stop this immediately! What is going on here?" Henderson shouted, his hands trembling as he surveyed the catastrophic damage.
He took one look at Victoria Sterling, soaked and disheveled, and nearly fainted on the spot.
"Mrs. Sterling! Oh good heavens, Mrs. Sterling!" Henderson stammered, rushing toward the wealthy patron.
He completely ignored the bruised, trembling elderly woman in the wheelchair.
He completely ignored the shattered glass and the heavy chair that had nearly crushed an eighty-five-year-old grandmother.
Henderson turned viciously on Maya, his eyes bulging with panic and corporate terror.
"Maya! What in God's name have you done?" Henderson barked, pointing a shaking finger in her face.
"Have you lost your pathetic mind? You attacked a guest? You attacked Mrs. Sterling?"
"She slapped this grandmother across the face, Mr. Henderson," Maya responded coldly, pointing down at Eleanor.
"She was about to beat her with a mahogany chair."
"I don't give a damn what happened!" Henderson shrieked, terrified of the impending lawsuit from the Sterling dynasty.
"You are a disposable waitress! You do not touch guests! You do not speak back!"
Victoria stepped forward, sensing the manager's spineless subservience, and a grotesque grin stretched across her smeared face.
"Fire her, Henderson, or I will buy this hotel tomorrow morning and turn it into a parking lot," Victoria spat, venom dripping from every syllable.
"And call the police right now! I want her locked in a cage for attempted murder!"
"Right away, Mrs. Sterling! Absolutely!" Henderson bowed frantically, pulling out his cell phone with sweaty fingers.
Maya did not flinch, keeping her protective stance over Eleanor.
"You saw the bruises on this lady's face, Henderson," Maya said, her voice dripping with disgust.
"You're going to protect a monster just because she has money?"
"Shut your mouth, you worthless brat!" Victoria shouted, stepping toward Maya again.
"When I'm done with you, you won't even find a job cleaning sewers!"
Victoria raised her hand again, this time aiming to strike Maya while the manager distracted her.
May you like
She took one aggressive step forward, but the universe had other plans.
Just as her foot slammed down, the heavy double oak doors of the ballroom burst open with a resounding bang that silenced the room entirely.
