Chapter 5
"The bracelet is mine!" Vivienne shrieked, her voice cracking with hysterical desperation.
Ignoring Cassandro’s warning, Vivienne lunged forward. She grabbed Audrey’s small arm, her manicured nails digging into the three-year-old’s fair, rosy skin as she frantically tried to rip the faded blue waterproof bracelet off the child's wrist.
"Daddy! It hurts!" Audrey cried out in terror.
Cassandro crossed the distance in a single, terrifying blur of motion.
"I told you not to touch her," Cassandro said, his voice a low, lethal rumble.
He reached out and grabbed Vivienne’s wrist with his tattooed hand. He tore her hand away from his daughter with a violent, merciless jerk that nearly dislocated the woman's shoulder.
"You love a dead woman more than you love me!" Vivienne screamed, completely losing her mind.
Fueled by blinding jealousy and fear, Vivienne swung her free hand at him first, her diamond rings flashing in the cinematic sunlight as she aimed for his eyes.
Cassandro easily blocked her arm, his forearm striking hers with the density of solid iron. Before she could recover her balance, he pulled his hand back and delivered one thunderous, open-handed slap directly across her face.
The impact cracked like a whip. Vivienne’s head snapped sideways. Following the strike flawlessly, Cassandro drove a powerful, perfectly placed front kick into the center of her torso.
The kinetic energy launched Vivienne off the ground. She rocketed backward, flying through the air toward the edge of the terrace. She slammed brutally into the tall, folding cabana-screen rack.
The heavy metal frame collapsed instantly. Long fabric panels tore and fell, blanketing the area in bright summer colors. Wicker towel baskets overturned, their contents spilling out. Dozens of neatly folded pool towels exploded across the terrace in a chaotic white flurry. Vivienne crashed heavily beneath the lightweight frame, burying herself beneath a mountain of wicker, metal, and fabric.
The bodyguards and capos stood perfectly still, their hands resting near their waistbands, watching the absolute dismantling of the Hale family.
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No dialogue was spoken. The ambient sounds of the gentle breeze and the splashing pool water were the only noises cutting through the heavy, suffocating silence.
Cassandro lowered his leg. His chest rose and fell in slow, measured breaths. He smoothed the front of his unbuttoned shirt, the loose strands of his thick, wavy hair falling charmingly over his high-bridged nose. He had neutralized the threats to his daughter, but the chilling mystery of Audrey’s words still hung heavily in the bright afternoon air.
