Chapter 5 - THE EMBRACE
"Sofia! Mateo!" Mateo called out, his voice cracking into a raw, desperate sob.
Sofia threw herself forward, her small arms wrapping around his neck with desperate strength.
Under the table, the little boy heard his father's voice and crawled out on his hands and knees, dragging his broken blue car behind him.
Mateo pulled both children into his chest, wrapping his wide suit jacket around them like a protective wall.
He buried his face into Sofia’s hair, kissing the unbruised side of her head over and over again.
His heavy chest rose and fell rapidly against their small shoulders.
On the floor three feet away, Victoria pushed herself up onto her elbows, her gold shirt damp with spilled flower water.
Her hair had fallen loose, and her eyes were wide with a mixture of rage and terror.
"You pushed me!" Victoria shrieked, her voice shaking. "In my own home!"
Mateo lifted his head from his children's hair.
May you like
His eyes locked onto hers with a dark, suffocating intensity.
"¡No toques a mis hijos!" he roared, his voice shaking the remaining glass in the doorframe.
