Chapter 6 - The Sanctuary of Marble
"Don't move too quickly," Richard said softly, his voice a stark, compassionate contrast to the thunderous anger he had directed at Victoria moments before. He placed one hand under Clara’s shoulder and used the other to gently steady the baby wrapped in the white blanket. "Are you broken anywhere? Can you breathe?"
Clara pulled the crying child closer to her shoulder, using Richard’s arm as a lever to push herself up into a sitting position. Her back burned with a sharp, dull ache, but as she looked into Richard’s eyes, she saw something she hadn't seen in months: sanity, truth, and protection.
"The baby..." Clara gasped out, her chest shuddering as air finally returned to her lungs. "He's... he's okay. I held him... I didn't let him hit the floor."
"I know," Richard whispered, his expression softened by a profound, humbling respect. "I saw how you protected him."
In the background, Victoria watched the two of them on the floor, her shock rapidly twisting into a bitter, toxic fury. She smoothed down the front of her burgundy suit jacket with trembling hands, her red hair falling around her face like a veil of fire.
"You're making a catastrophic mistake, Richard," Victoria sneered, her voice trembling with restrained rage as she stepped away from the wall. "If you side with this girl, the board will strip your voting rights by tomorrow morning. My father controls the trust. You will have nothing! No house, no money, no title!"
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Richard didn't even turn his head to look at her. He remained on his knee beside Clara, carefully helping her slide her legs under herself so she could stand. "Take the money, Victoria. Take the trust, take the house, take every piece of marble in this hellhole. We're done."
Victoria gasped, taking a half-step forward as if to strike him, but the utter indifference in Richard’s posture stopped her cold. For a woman whose entire existence was built on manipulation and leverage, absolute indifference was a lethal blade. She stood alone under the glowing chandelier, stripped of her lies, her husband, and her prize, her face burning with the sting of the slap and the humiliation of her defeat.
