Chapter 2 - THE UNQUESTIONED STRIKE
Ethan Whitmore rushed into the drawing room first, followed closely by his elder sister, Victoria, and two household staff members.
The scene before them was devastating in its simplicity: Sophia cowering against the glass cabinet, her hair disheveled, her silk blouse ripped open at the throat, her eyes filled with terrified tears as she clutched herself on the floor.
The mother-of-pearl buttons lay scattered across the marble between her and the old man.
And Richard Whitmore stood across from her, his hand still holding his glass of scotch, his face pale with utter shock.
Ethan didn't look at the floor. He didn't check the angle of the room. He didn't ask a single question.
Driven by a wave of protective rage, the thirty-two-year-old heir closed the distance between them in two long strides. He grabbed his seventy-five-year-old father by the lapels of his wool cardigan and delivered a heavy, open-handed strike across the old man’s cheek.
CHACK.
The impact echoed sharply off the high ceilings. The glass of scotch slipped from Richard's fingers, shattering against the hearth as the old man stumbled backward, his back hitting the edge of his oak desk.
"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH HER?!" Ethan roared, his chest heaving, his face contorted in disgust.
Richard pressed a hand to his burning, reddened cheek. He looked at his son—the boy he had raised, educated, and prepared to inherit an empire—and saw zero trust. Only blind, manipulated fury.
"Ethan..." Richard’s voice rasped, weak not from physical pain, but from profound heartbreak. "Look at the room, son. I never came near her."
"Shut up!" Ethan shouted, stepping between his father and Sophia, shielding her completely. "You've always looked down on her! You've tried to push her out of this family since the day we got married! But to lay your hands on her... in your own house?!"
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From behind Ethan’s shoulder, Sophia buried her face into his back, letting out a muffled, trembling sob. But beneath her sleeve, her hand was completely still. Her eyes, hidden from Ethan's sight, caught Richard’s gaze across the room.
There was no fear in her eyes. Only victory.
