Chapter 4 - Cold Calculations
She crashed onto the marble floor.
Her hip struck first.
Then her shoulder.
Pain shot through her body so sharply that the room blurred.
"Mommy!"
Lucy screamed.
For a moment Nora couldn't move.
Then instinct took over.
Ignoring the pain, she crawled across the floor until she reached Lucy.
She gathered her daughter into her arms and cradled the back of her head.
Lucy buried her face against Nora's chest.
Blood quickly stained the ivory fabric of Nora's gown.
"It's okay," Nora whispered, fighting back tears.
"I'm here."
"I've got you."
Lucy continued trembling.
Across from them, Daniel never moved.
Celeste stood quietly behind him, resting one dramatic hand against the overturned wine table as though she were the victim.
Around them, nearly two hundred guests remained silent.
Nora slowly looked up at her husband.
For six years, she had made excuses for him.
He worked too much.
He had been raised without affection.
Pressure made him distant.
He simply didn't know how to show love.
One excuse after another had become the foundation of their marriage.
Now...
Their daughter was bleeding in her arms.
And Daniel looked at them with nothing but irritation.
"You and that child humiliated me."
Nora felt Lucy freeze against her.
Not...
May you like
"Our daughter."
That child.
