Chapter 2 - The Line Crossed
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The tension in the ballroom was thick enough to suffocate on. The string quartet had long since stopped playing. A hundred sets of eyes bored into Daniel’s back as he stood over his weeping daughter.
"Daniel, please," Vanessa sobbed, stepping forward and reaching for his arm. "Let me see her. Let me hold her."
She knew exactly what she was doing. She was painting the picture for the Bennett Grand Hotels board of directors standing just feet away. She was the loving, frantic mother; he was the cold, aggressive barrier.
"If you take one more step toward my child," Daniel whispered, leaning in so only she could hear, "I will break your neck."
Vanessa’s eyes widened, but not with fear. A dark, triumphant spark flashed in her irises.
"You're in shock, darling," she said loudly, projecting her voice to the guests. "You're not thinking clearly! She slipped on her cast!"
"I saw your hands," Daniel hissed.
"I tried to catch her!" Vanessa screamed back, stepping directly into his personal space, pointing a finger at his chest. "How dare you accuse me? I have loved that girl like my own!"
The sheer, breathtaking audacity of the lie snapped the final thread of Daniel’s restraint. The blinding rage he had been suppressing exploded.
He didn't think about the board. He didn't think about his reputation.
Daniel raised his hand and struck her.
It wasn't a closed fist, but the open-handed slap cracked through the cavernous ballroom like a rifle shot.
Vanessa stumbled backward, crying out in shock, collapsing dramatically against the bottom of the marble banister. She pressed a trembling hand to her reddened cheek, looking up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.
Several guests screamed.
"Daniel! What the hell is wrong with you?" shouted Marcus Thorne, the chief financial officer of the company, rushing out from the crowd to help Vanessa to her feet.
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Daniel stood completely still, staring at his stinging palm. He realized instantly that he had fallen perfectly into a trap. Vanessa wasn't looking at him with fear. Behind the tears, she was looking at him with absolute victory.
He had just assaulted his wife in front of the entire corporate board.
