Chapter 5 - The Blue Lights
The warm, golden light of the crystal chandeliers suddenly seemed to flicker and dim.
Thick, strobing flashes of aggressive red and blue light began to violently paint the tall glass windows of the banquet hall.
The heavy oak double doors at the main entrance swung open with a loud, drawn-out groan.
Two uniformed police officers stepped inside, the thick leather of their duty belts squeaking in the sudden, dead silence of the room.
The mother turned her back entirely on the freezing, shivering woman on the floor.
She dropped to her knees once again, sweeping her daughter securely up into her arms.
She stood up slowly, holding the child’s weight effortlessly against her hip.
The little girl wrapped her arms tightly around her mother’s neck, hiding her swollen, red forehead in the crook of her mother's shoulder.
The officers marched methodically through the parted sea of silent, staring guests.
They stopped right at the edge of the puddle of melted ice and spilled champagne.
The man in the charcoal suit was still holding his red face, paralyzed by the sheer velocity of the destruction of his family's image.
The mother raised her free hand.
She extended a single, unwavering finger, pointing directly down at the soaking wet woman shivering in the gold sequins.
"She attacked my daughter!"
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The words were absolute.
There was no room for negotiation, no room for family politics.
