Chapter 2
The bright colors of the garden party seemed to hum with an underlying, electric tension as Nolan wandered across the pristine grass. He moved directly toward the area where the event staff had left a rolling folding-chair dolly, a freestanding canopy-supply frame, and dozens of weighted sandbags. It was the exact spot where Leo and Mia were quietly sitting.
"Hey, kid," Nolan barked, his loud, grating American accent cutting through the soft ambient noise of the garden. "Put the phone away. We’re at a family gathering."
Leo looked up, his fair, rosy cheeks flushing with sudden anxiety. "I was just showing Mia a video, Uncle Nolan. We aren't in anyone's way."
"I didn't ask for an excuse," Nolan snapped, stepping uncomfortably close to the twelve-year-old boy. "I said put it away. You need to learn some respect for your elders."
"Leave him alone," eight-year-old Mia piped up, her bright summer dress swishing as she stood up defensively in front of her brother. "He didn't do anything wrong!"
Nolan’s face twisted into an ugly, cruel sneer. "Shut your mouth, little girl. I’m talking to the boy."
Before Leo could pocket his phone, Nolan’s hand shot out. He grabbed the device and tossed it carelessly over his shoulder onto the grass. Leo instinctively lunged forward to catch it, stumbling slightly. Nolan used the boy’s momentum against him, grabbing Leo by the collar of his casual shirt and twisting him down onto the manicured lawn.
"Hey! Let me go!" Leo shouted, his voice cracking with fear and pain.
Nolan forcefully drove his knee directly into the middle of the boy's back, pinning the twelve-year-old face-down against the bright green grass. He pressed his weight down, relishing the power trip.
"Get off my brother!" Mia screamed, tears immediately welling in her eyes.
She ran forward, her tiny sandals slipping slightly on the grass, and grabbed Nolan’s thick arm with both hands, trying desperately to pull the grown man away.
"Get off me, you little brat!" Nolan snarled. He ripped his arm free and violently shoved the eight-year-old girl. Mia flew backward, her cardigan tangling as she hit the ground hard, tumbling onto the soft grass.
From the patio, Serafina saw her daughter fall. The elegant, polite facade of the party hostess vanished in a fraction of a second. She began walking across the lawn, her leather shoes cutting a direct, unyielding path toward the commotion.
"Please! You're hurting him!" Mia cried out from the grass, scrambling to her knees.
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Nolan looked down at the struggling boy beneath his knee, letting out a loud, harsh laugh that echoed over the bright lawn.
"Cry louder," Nolan taunted, leaning his weight harder into Leo’s spine, a sadistic grin spreading across his flushed, fair face. "Your mother can’t protect you."
