Chapter 1 - The Papers Emma Wasn’t Supposed to See
David roughly shoved Sarah down onto the dining-room rug.
She hit the floor sideways.
Her injured left leg folded painfully beneath her body, sending a sharp wave through her hip and knee. Sarah cried out and reached instinctively for the leg, unable to straighten it immediately.
A few paces away, Emma screamed.
“MOMMY!”
The four-year-old froze for half a heartbeat.
Margaret did not.
She looked down at Sarah with cold irritation rather than concern.
“Tell them you fell on your own.”
Sarah lifted her face.
For a second, she seemed too stunned to answer.
Then Emma turned.
The little girl ran through the open double doors separating the dining room from the private family meeting room.
Her pink flats struck the marble rapidly.
Inside, Vittorio was seated at the head of a smaller conference table with several relatives and advisors.
Emma ran straight to him.
Tears covered her face.
“Grandpa! Daddy hurt Mommy!”
Vittorio stood immediately.
No questions.
No hesitation.
He followed Emma through the double doors.
The moment he entered the dining room, he saw Sarah still on the rug, one hand gripping her injured left leg.
His expression changed.
David stepped between them.
“Don’t start.”
Vittorio kept walking.
David grabbed the lapel of Vittorio’s black jacket and pulled him close.
“Stay out of my marriage.”
Vittorio looked directly into his son-in-law’s face.
Calm.
Unflinching.
Then his right fist drove forward.
WHACK!
The punch snapped David backward.
He stumbled across the marble and crashed into the gold-plated serving trolley.
The trolley overturned.
Glasses and cups exploded across the floor in a bright scatter of crystal and porcelain.
Vittorio did not hit him again.
Margaret moved toward Emma.
Vittorio immediately stepped across her path.
His open palm struck once across Margaret’s face.
SMACK!
Margaret staggered sideways.
Her back collided with the tall coat rack.
The rack toppled as she fell against the wall beside it.
Vittorio turned immediately toward Sarah and Emma.
Emma grabbed the side of his jacket and held on tightly.
Sarah was still trying to shift her injured leg into a less painful position.
Vittorio’s fury softened when he looked at them.
Then Emma spoke.
“Grandpa... Mom hid the papers showing their plot to bring you down!”
Vittorio froze.
David’s arrogance disappeared.
Completely.
Margaret looked horrified from beside the fallen coat rack.
May you like
Vittorio slowly turned his head toward them.
And this time, neither of them had anything to say.
