Chapter 4
The heavy wooden rocking horse flew through the air with terrifying velocity. Silas didn't even have time to raise his hands defensively. The smug, arrogant sneer was still plastered perfectly across his fair, rosy skin when the toy struck him.
The wooden horse shattered violently on impact. The sickening, hollow sound of splitting wood and blunt force trauma echoed off the high ceilings of the living room like a gunshot.
"Ah!" Silas screamed in sheer agony.
The blunt force of the impact caught him squarely across the bridge of his nose and his cheekbone. The kinetic force was devastating. Silas staggered violently backward, completely losing his footing on the polished hardwood floor. His arms flailed wildly in the air as he desperately tried to regain his balance, blood immediately pouring from his shattered nose and dripping onto his expensive shirt.
He found no purchase. Silas stumbled backward and fell heavily, crashing directly into the massive, beautifully decorated Christmas tree.
The collision was catastrophic. The towering tree shuddered violently before tilting backward under his dead weight. Hundreds of expensive glass ornaments shattered instantly against the hardwood floor. Twinkling lights sparked and popped as the wires were violently yanked from the wall. The heavy branches collapsed completely over Silas’s shoulders, pinning the groaning, bleeding man to the floor beneath a mountain of pine needles and broken glass.
The entire living room descended into absolute, horrified pandemonium.
"Silas!" Clara shrieked, dropping her wineglass. It shattered, spilling red wine across the expensive rug. She rushed forward but stopped short, too terrified of Bennett to actually intervene.
"Are you insane?" Robert roared, finally pushing himself up from his armchair. His face was purple with rage. "You savage! In my house!"
Bennett completely ignored the screaming patriarch. He didn't spare a single glance at Silas, who was currently groaning and spitting blood from beneath the ruined Christmas tree. Bennett’s breathing was perfectly even, his tailored vest completely unwrinkled, his authority absolute.
He calmly reached down and took Josephine’s small, trembling hand in his own.
"We are leaving," Bennett said softly to his daughter.
He turned his back on the chaos and began walking deliberately toward the heavy double doors leading to the grand foyer.
"You walk out those doors, Bennett, and you are completely cut off!" Robert screamed after him, his voice trembling with furious indignation. "You hear me? You get nothing! You are dead to this family!"
Bennett stopped. He stood perfectly still near the entrance, his hand firmly holding Josephine’s. The silence in the room returned, heavy and suffocating, broken only by Silas’s pathetic moaning.
Slowly, Bennett turned back to look at everyone. His handsome face was a mask of cold, unforgiving stone. His eyes were icy, devoid of any familial warmth, piercing straight through the fragile, superficial power his grandfather thought he wielded.
May you like
"My Christmas gift to you all is quite simple," Bennett stated. His voice was low, carrying a devastating finality that chilled the blood of everyone in the room. "Just wait until tomorrow... you'll see."
Without another word, he led Josephine out the door.
