Chapter 3 - The Broken Glass
The punch connected with a sickening crack. Damon’s head snapped sideways, his smug expression instantly replaced by a look of dazed, vacant shock. His body staggered backward, slamming hard into the carved marble surround of the grand fireplace before his weight buckled, causing him to strike the edge of the mantelpiece and collapse face-first onto the thick hearth rug.
Without breaking his forward momentum, Ethan turned his dark, lethal gaze straight onto Claire.
Seeing Damon laid out unconscious on the hearth rug, Claire dropped the metal chain as if it had turned into a burning wire. Her arrogance evaporated into sheer panic. She stumbled backward against the furniture, raising both hands in front of her chest in a desperate, trembling gesture of defense.
“Ethan, I can explain—” Claire stammered, her voice cracking as her face turned pale.
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Ethan closed the distance in a single stride, his right arm sweeping forward to deliver a sharp, forceful slap across her cheek. The impact sounded like a gunshot in the vaulted room.
Claire reeled sideways from the blow, her black high heels catching on the rug as she crashed sideways onto the heavy crystal coffee table. LOUD CRASH! The thick tempered glass top shattered into a thousand glittering shards under her weight as she fell directly beside the jagged debris, gasping for breath and clutching her reddening face.
