Chapter 7 - The Rupture
It happened in less than two seconds.
Lucas moved with explosive, terrifying violence. He didn't speak. He didn't shout a warning. He surged forward from the doorway like a animal breaking out of a cage, his heavy work boots striking the floor with a terrifying, rhythmic thud.
He reached the crib in a single stride.
His left hand, broad and calloused, slammed onto the back of Evelyn’s dark blue zip-up jacket. His right arm swept around her waist. With a raw, guttural grunt of physical power, Lucas ripped his sixty-two-year-old mother off his wife with enough force to lift her feet completely off the ground.
"Get off her!" Lucas roared—a sound that was barely human, rattling the windowpanes in their frames.
Evelyn let out a sharp gasp of shock as she was violently torn away from the crib. Her grip on Elena snapped.
In the same fluid, unstoppable motion, Lucas spun his body, using his momentum to hurl Evelyn across the small bedroom.
Evelyn flew backward, her dark blue jacket rustling loudly. Her heels caught on the edge of the braided area rug, and she crashed heavily onto her back on the hardwood floor near the closet door. Her body slammed directly into the giant plush teddy bear sitting in the corner, knocking the stuffed animal over as she landed with a dull, sickening thud.
The silver-handled cane flew from her hand, clattering loudly across the floor and striking the oak wardrobe.
Evelyn lay flat on her back, stunned, her breath exploding from her lungs in a harsh, ragged gasp. Her tight grey bun had finally unraveled, long strands of silver hair whipping wildly across her pale, terrified face.
Lucas stood over her, his broad chest heaving violently beneath his brown plaid shirt. His shoulders were raised, his fists clenched at his sides, his head lowered as he glared down at the fallen matriarch with a look of pure, murderous hatred.
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The room fell into a stunned, breathless silence, broken only by the frantic panting of the three adults and the fading, weak whimpers of the baby in the crib.
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