Chapter 2 - The Shattered Plate
Victoria stood up from her chair in one smooth, terrifying motion. She didn't offer a word of warning. Her hand reached down and gripped a heavy crystal dessert plate from the table, her knuckles turning white against the cut glass. With a swift, emotional arc, she swung the plate directly toward Emma.
The crystal shattered with a loud crash against the side of the maid’s head. Glass fragments rained down onto the table and the marble floor. Emma gasped, recoiling from the blow, and collapsed to her knees beside the long table. Gasps rippled through the gathered crowd as high-society guests took a collective step back, horrified yet captivated by the violence.
On her knees, Emma clutched the side of her head, tears streaming down her pale cheeks, leaving tracks through the light dusting of serving powder on her face. Her white blouse was disheveled, her chest heaving as she looked up through blurred vision at the woman who had just struck her.
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“I was trying to save him!” Emma sobbed, her voice cracking under the weight of an accusation no one seemed willing to hear.
Victoria remained standing above her, her chest rising and falling beneath her elegant ivory gown, her protective instincts flared to their absolute limit. She reached down and pulled Leo closer to her side, shielding him from the fallen maid as if Emma herself were a physical threat to the boy.
