Chapter 5 - The Collateral Damage
Arthur completely ignored his wife's chillingly cheerful greeting, the sound of her voice now inducing a visceral wave of nausea. He shoved past the glamorous illusion in the beige dress, his eyes frantically scanning the wreckage of the confrontation. He dropped to his knees on the cold, hard marble, his hands reaching out to the two terrified women. The young maid slowly uncurled from her protective stance over the wheelchair, her breathing ragged and shallow. As she looked up, Arthur saw the undeniable physical toll of her daily bravery. On her pale forehead, a fresh, angry red swelling had bloomed, accompanied by a sharp scratch where she had either taken a previous grazing blow or struck her head in her desperate dive. She was shaking violently in her ruffled uniform, her eyes wide with a lingering, paralyzing fear, yet she refused to leave the side of the elderly woman. The maid’s absolute terror, juxtaposed against Chloe's terrifyingly calm, smiling face behind him, painted a horrific, sickening picture of the psychological warfare waged in his absence.
