Chapter 8 - The Bride's Secret
"Evelyn! Wait!"
Violet’s voice was breathless, stripped of the poise she had displayed at the altar just two hours ago. She stopped at the top of the grand marble staircase, her heavy lace veil thrown back, her face pale beneath her heavy bridal makeup.
Evelyn stopped three steps down, turning sideways so she could keep one arm securely around Sophie while keeping Violet in her direct line of sight.
"Stay back, Violet," Evelyn warned, her tone ice-cold. "You let him put his hands on my daughter. You stand there in your white dress while they call a six-year-old a thief. You have nothing left to say to me."
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Violet swallowed hard, her eyes darting nervously toward the ballroom doors behind her before fixing on the purple bruise on Sophie's cheek. Her hands, clad in white lace gloves, trembled against the pearl handle of her bridal clutch.
"It wasn't Andrew who hit her," Violet whispered, her voice barely audible above the rising wind outside. "It was his mother. She panicked when the box was empty..."
