Chapter 7 - Damian’s Bruised Face Made the Hales Think He Would Stay Away
The accident mattered for another reason.
Vanessa and Richard believed Damian was more seriously injured than he actually was.
He had bruising across his cheekbones and forehead.
A concussion.
Stitches near his hairline, covered partly by the red athletic headband he wore because the dressing irritated him.
But he was alert.
Mobile.
And discharged earlier than Vanessa expected.
She had told Richard:
“He won’t be here before Monday.”
The formal family dinner was Sunday.
They thought they had one more night.
That explained Vanessa’s escalation.
Emma had begun saying:
“When Daddy comes, I’m telling him everything.”
Vanessa panicked.
She wanted the child to understand that nobody would take her side.
So she humiliated her publicly.
Not because the wine itself mattered.
Because of the audience.
If the entire Hale family watched Vanessa do it and remained seated, Emma would receive the message:
No one believes you have the right to object.
Then Damian arrived.
May you like
And the lesson reversed instantly.
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