Chapter 2 - BLOOD AND VENOM
Before Gareth could take another step toward the trembling girl, a shadow cut across the warm light of the aisle.
Marissa moved with lethal speed. Clad in a striking navy-blue floor-length gown that clung to her silhouette like armor, she surged between Gareth and her daughter. She did not hesitate. Reaching out with both hands, she delivered a hard, two-handed shove directly into Gareth’s chest. The impact forced the groom back two full steps, his shiny leather shoes skidding against the slick marble.
"Don't you dare touch my daughter!" Marissa hissed, her voice low, vibrating with a deadly intensity that froze the room even more than Gareth’s shouting had.
Her eyes, dark and resolute, locked onto Gareth’s. Her chest heaved as she stepped backward to pull Lily against her hip, wrapping a protective arm around the small child's trembling frame. She could feel Lily’s rapid, panicked heartbeat through the silk of her gown.
From the side, an older woman rushed into the frame, her face pale with desperation. It was Eleanor, their mother, draped in a dark floral dress with heavy gold jewelry that clinked nervously as she ran. Her hands reached out, grasping frantically at Marissa’s forearm, trying to drag her backward away from the groom.
"Marissa, stop embarrassing your brother!" Eleanor pleaded, her tone sharp yet hysterical. "Look around you! Everyone is watching! You are destroying his wedding day!"
Marissa turned her gaze slowly toward her mother. The coldness in Marissa’s eyes made Eleanor’s grip slacken. "He laid his hands on my child, Mother. And you are worried about the guest list?"
"She took his watch! The heirloom!" Eleanor whispered fiercely, stepping closer to try and block the view of the nearby tables. "We can settle this quietly in the back room! Do not make a scene here!"
"A scene?" Marissa let out a bitter, lifeless laugh that echoed against the high ceiling. She gently stroked Lily’s hair, keeping the girl shielded behind her body. "He struck an eight-year-old girl and called her a thief in front of two hundred people. The scene was already made the moment he touched her."
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Gareth straightened his bow tie, adjusting his tuxedo jacket with trembling hands. His panic was rapidly morphing into arrogance as he saw his mother taking his side. "She's a liar, Marissa! Just like you! You raised her to steal because you couldn't stand seeing me succeed!"
The crowd murmured. The delicate balance of family secrets was cracking open, right on the grand stage of the city's most expensive venue.
