“Aaahhh!”
Matilda screamed, her voice sharp and desperate as terror overtook her.
In the chaos of the overturned dining table, Victor Thompson scooped Matilda into his arms, stumbling backward in panic.
Seeing this, Selene rushed to grab Daph and darted toward the nearest kitchen.
“S–Steve, I’m so scared!” Matilda whimpered, her arms wound tightly around Victor’s neck.
Victor tried to soothe her, patting her trembling shoulder. “Don’t worry, Matilda. Let me give those two a good smack and they’ll settle down.”
Matilda shrank further into his embrace, her whole body quivering.
A wide, delighted smile spread across Felicity’s face.
Since Selene returned to the Thompsons, she hadn’t suffered Victor’s wrath yet. It would certainly be entertaining to see Victor lay down the law with both his daughter and granddaughter.
“Selene! Get out here!” Victor thundered, striding toward the kitchen as he unbuckled his leather belt.
He drew it out with practiced ease, looking every bit the hardened warden.
Just then, Selene appeared in the kitchen doorway, a gleaming kitchen knife gripped in her hand.
She’d told Daph to stay back in the kitchen, then planted herself firmly in the doorway–immovable, like a lone defender at a castle gate.
Her eyes were bloodshot, but seeing the belt in Victor’s hand only stoked the fire inside her; her maternal instinct blazed with determination.
Once, she’d longed to feel warmth and belonging from her parents after their eighteen years apart.
But now, she understood–if she wanted to keep Daph safe and truly live, she had to sever the last fragile thread of familial ties without hesitation.
“Dad, want to see which is faster–your belt or my knife?”
Victor Thompson was a big man–years at the gym had kept him strong–while
09:22
Selene was just a worn–down housewife, her body fragile from exhaustion. How could he possibly fear her knife?
Yet, staring at Selene now, he felt an aura of resolve–like a hunter in the wild stumbling upon a mother lioness. For her cub, a lioness would risk everything, even death itself.
A chill ran down Victor’s spine, prickling his skin.
“You dare raise a knife to me?” he roared. But though his voice boomed with anger, he didn’t take a single step forward.
Selene could see it–Victor was afraid to make a move.
She reached one hand behind her, and Daph rushed up, clutching her mother’s arm.
Selene never turned her gaze from Victor as she began inching backward toward the front door, Daph clinging tightly to her.
Victor realized what she was doing. “If you walk out of the Thompson house today, don’t think you’ll ever be allowed back!”
Selene gripped Daph’s hand tighter and picked up her pace.
Victor’s breath came out in short, furious bursts; seeing them approach the door, he roared like a wounded lion, “From this day on, Selene is no daughter of mine! If she ever comes back, don’t you dare let her in!”
“Steve!” Matilda sobbed, flinging herself into Victor’s arms, her whole body
trembling. “Are you really turning your back on your own daughter?”
Victor patted her shoulder with uncharacteristic gentleness. “If I don’t kick her out, how will she ever go crawling back to the Vaughns? I want Selene to know–without the Thompsons or the Vaughns, she’s got nowhere left to go.”
Felicity watched the whole scene unfold, her expression icy and detached. A cold, mocking laugh escaped her lips.
Running home to the Vaughns with Daph in tow–Selene would only ear
contempt.
rrison’s
Daph sat pressed tightly against Selene in the back seat of the taxi.
She’d been so brave in front of Victor Thompson, but now, as they left the Thompson house behind and the world outside the window grew dark and endless,
a tide of fear washed over her.
