Chapter 2 - The Father's Cowardice
To understand the absolute, suffocating cruelty of Delaney’s insult, one had to understand exactly why River was standing in that ballroom.
River didn't come from old money. Her father, Dennis, owned a small, struggling boutique hotel chain that was currently on the absolute verge of bankruptcy. Delaney’s family owned the most massive real estate development firm in Charleston. Dennis had practically begged for an invitation to this elite gala, desperate to secure a multi-million-dollar buyout from Delaney's father to save his failing business.
River had spent her entire savings on the ice-blue silk gown, attending the gala solely to support her desperate father. But Delaney, who had always bullied River in high school for being poor, couldn't handle the fact that River looked infinitely more beautiful than she did tonight.
A medium shot captured the absolute, devastating tragedy unfolding on the marble floor.
River stood clutching the ruined silk against her chest, her eyes wide with shock. Delaney stood victoriously behind her, literally holding the torn back panel of the ice-blue fabric in her manicured hand.
Dennis, River’s fifty-something father in a classic black tuxedo, finally rushed out of the crowd.
River looked at him, tears welling in her eyes, waiting for her father to throw his tuxedo jacket over her shoulders and scream at the spoiled girl who had just assaulted his daughter.
But a close-up captured Dennis’s face. He didn't look at Delaney with anger. He didn't even take his jacket off. His eyes darted nervously, frantically around the room at the wealthy guests who were already pulling out their phones to film the humiliation.
Dennis leaned in closely to his weeping, exposed daughter.
May you like
"River, please don't make this worse," Dennis hissed in an urgent, desperate whisper. "Just smile. Her father is about to sign the buyout papers. Do not ruin this for me."
👉 River’s embarrassment violently shifted into something much darker as she realized she was completely alone in a room full of monsters.
