Marcus finally decided to join the fray, standing up to his full, imposing height. He was significantly broader than his younger brother, wearing a bespoke suit that cost more than a reliable used vehicle. “Mrs. Mitchell, I strongly advise you to de-escalate. You are acting hysterically. Derek and Sarah have their internal friction. Just like any passionate marriage, sometimes the temperature rises.”
“The temperature rises?” I repeated, my tone lethal. “Is that the corporate euphemism you use for a grown man physically battering a defenseless woman?”
“I call it family business,” Marcus retorted, the faux politeness evaporating, leaving behind a cold, implicit threat. “I highly suggest you cancel whatever circus you just summoned, and let us handle our own affairs.”
I studied him intensely. My dormant investigator’s brain booted up, clicking into high gear. I analyzed the fifty-thousand-dollar imported timepiece fastened to his wrist. I evaluated his custom Italian leather shoes. I registered the absolute, unbothered arrogance of a man who firmly believed the law did not apply to his bloodline. This man was supposedly managing a mid-level automotive dealership. The math was aggressively incorrect.
I turned my attention back to my daughter, my heart fracturing. “How long, Sarah?” I whispered. “How long has this monster been hurting you?”
She squeezed her eyes shut, a fresh wave of tears spilling over her lashes. “Mom, please…”
“How long?” I demanded, gently but firmly.
“Fourteen months,” she sobbed into her hands.
Fourteen months. Over a year of my beautiful, brilliant daughter living inside a psychological and physical terror chamber, while I blindly accepted her pathetic excuses about tripping over area rugs and walking into open cabinet doors. The guilt threatened to drown me, but I forced it down, converting it into pure, unadulterated fuel.
Derek began frantically pacing the Persian rug, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair. “This is absurd! Sarah, look at them! Tell your paranoid mother we simply had a verbal disagreement that got slightly out of hand!”
