Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Uniform
The only difference was the massive shadow now falling over her attacker.
Just as Chloe raised her hand to aggressively snatch Clara’s white blanket away, a heavy, metallic thud echoed from the entrance of the ballroom. The cruel host didn't understand why the heavy doors suddenly burst open.
The brass-accented double doors didn't just slide open; they slammed against the walls with a force that sent a shockwave through the crowded room. The jazz music screeched to a halt. High-society guests froze, champagne glasses hovering mid-air, as a towering figure stepped over the threshold.
"Take your hand off her."
The decorated soldier commanded with a voice that froze the entire ballroom.
Standing there was Captain Leo Vance—a highly decorated US Marine Corps special operations officer who had just returned from a brutal, fourteen-month classified deployment overseas. He had been reported missing in action three weeks prior, a lie that Chloe had happily weaponized to convince Clara that she was completely alone. But tonight, Leo was very much alive. He stood in his pristine, medal-heavy Marine dress uniform, his white cover sitting perfectly above a face that had completely hardened into a mask of primal, protective fury.
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His untouchable supremacy shattered instantly when she saw the military uniform. Chloe spun around, her face draining of all color as the massive shadow of her nephew fell directly over her.
Leo didn't check the room. He didn't greet his family. His ice-blue eyes were locked entirely onto the sight of his pregnant wife weeping in the chair, clutching her stomach in pure terror. In three long, calculated combat strides, Leo closed the distance, his heavy military boots clicking rhythmically against the polished hardwood floor like a countdown to execution.
