Chapter 8 - The Wall of High Society
Arthur did not waste another glance on the wreckage of the banquet table.
He immediately dropped back down onto the wet stones beside Clara, his arms wrapping around his shivering daughter.
Clara’s teeth were chattering violently, her body shaking from the lethal combination of hypothermia and psychological shock.
"I've got you, Clara. You're safe now. Nobody will ever hurt you again," Arthur whispered, kissing the crown of her wet head.
Elena stayed right beside them, her steady hands supporting Clara’s lower back, keeping her grounded and safe.
Behind them, amid the shattered glass and spilled wine, Victoria began to stir with unhinged, demonic fury.
She pushed herself upright onto her hands and knees, heedless of the jagged crystal shards biting into her palms.
Her platinum hair was a wild, wet mane, dripping champagne and crushed orchid petals over her smeared red face.
Humiliation burned through her veins like pure liquid acid, incinerating the last shreds of her sanity.
She had been discarded like garbage in front of the most influential billionaires and socialites in the country.
"YOU BASTARDS!" Victoria shrieked, pushing herself to her feet with erratic, stumbling momentum.
Her crimson gown hung heavy and ruined, stained dark purple by vintage wine, dragging wetly against her legs.
She kicked off her broken high heels and hurled them into the fountain pool with blind, frantic rage.
"She planned this! That little bitch planned to humiliate me!" Victoria screamed, pointing a bloodied finger at Clara.
She lowered her head, bared her teeth, and charged straight toward Arthur, Clara, and Elena like a wounded animal.
She was completely out of her mind, driven by an uncontrollable urge to tear, claw, and destroy the young woman.
Arthur began to tense his shoulders to turn and face the threat, but he didn't need to.
Before Victoria could cross five feet of the marble terrace, the high-society guests finally broke their paralysis.
Two prominent venture capitalists in tailored tuxedos and a distinguished female philanthropist stepped decisively into Victoria’s path.
They moved with military precision, linking arms to form an impenetrable human wall between Victoria and the Bennett family.
"BACK OFF! STAY AWAY FROM HER!" the lead male guest roared, extending his open palms firmly against Victoria’s chest.
The female guest stood beside him, her face filled with absolute revulsion and disgust.
"You are insane, Victoria! Do not take another step!" the woman commanded, her voice cutting through the courtyard like steel.
Victoria slammed into the barrier of guests, clawing and shoving furiously to break through their defense.
"Get out of my way! This is my house! Arthur, tell them to get out of my way!" she screeched, foaming at the mouth.
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The men held their ground firmly, using their superior collective weight to push the raving woman backward onto the wet stone.
For the first time in her life, the elite social circle Victoria had spent decades manipulating stood united against her in total contempt.
