Chapter 2 - The Father's Wrath
The agonizing, desperate sound of Maisie’s cry instantly shattered the paralyzing shock in Ethan’s brain. The sophisticated, successful businessman completely vanished, instantly replaced by a fiercely protective, absolutely enraged father. The temperature in the luxurious living room plummeted to freezing as Ethan’s face darkened into a mask of pure, apocalyptic fury.
He moved with blinding, terrifying speed, closing the distance across the oak floor in two massive strides.
Before Corinne could even loosen her cruel grip or attempt to formulate a pathetic, manipulative lie, Ethan’s strong hand shot out. He violently grabbed Corinne’s wrist, his fingers digging into her skin with bone-crushing force, and violently tore her hand completely away from his daughter's hair.
With his other arm, Ethan immediately scooped little Maisie up from the floor. He pulled her trembling, sobbing body tightly against his chest, instantly positioning her safely behind his broad, muscular frame to completely shield her from the monster.
Corinne gasped, stumbling backward on her high heels, her eyes wide with sudden, genuine panic. "Ethan! Wait! She was throwing a tantrum, I was just—"
Ethan didn't let her finish the toxic lie. Without a single microsecond of hesitation, he swung his arm and delivered a devastatingly hard, open-handed slap directly across Corinne’s face.
The heavy, sickening CRACK echoed off the high ceilings. The sheer kinetic force of the blow lifted the thirty-five-year-old woman entirely off her feet. Corinne crashed violently backward into the heavy designer sofa, collapsing into the cushions as a thin stream of blood immediately appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Ethan stood towering over her, his chest heaving, his intense eyes locked onto her terrified face with absolute, unforgiving hatred.
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"Touch her again," Ethan whispered, his voice a low, gravelly, terrifyingly lethal threat that literally vibrated through the floorboards.
👉 What devastating psychological abuse will the traumatized toddler reveal to her furious father?
