Chapter 2 - Dead Weight
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The silence in the ballroom was suffocating.
A woman in a silk dress gasped, covering her mouth. My father froze with his champagne glass halfway to his lips.
Liam’s small body shook as he sobbed on the cold marble. "I'm sorry, Mommy... I didn't mean to..."
I was on my knees before my mind could even process the movement. I pulled my crying boy into my chest, shielding his trembling frame with my arms. My heart hammered against my ribs like a war drum. Years of military combat training screamed at me to neutralize the threat, but I forced my breathing to stay steady. Control was the only thing stopping me from tearing my sister apart in front of three hundred witnesses.
I looked up at Madison. Her face was flushed with ugly, unbridled rage.
"Apologize to him," I said, my voice dropping to a terrifying baritone.
"Apologize?" Madison scoffed, gesturing violently at her damp dress. "He ruined my dress! He ruined my night!"
"He is five years old!" I snapped, standing up with Liam cradled tightly in my arms. "It was an accident!"
My mother stepped forward, ignoring the crying child entirely as she glared at me with pure disgust.
"Take your kid and get out, Emily," my mother spat, her voice dripping with venom. "You’ve always been dead weight to this family. You bring nothing but embarrassment."
My father stepped up beside her, pointing a trembling finger in my face.
"Your sister saved this company!" my father shouted, loud enough for the entire ballroom to hear. "She worked night and day to bring us that five-hundred-million-dollar contract! You’ve never done a single thing for this family!"
Madison raised her chin, turning to two nearby security guards. "Throw them out. They don't belong here."
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The security guards hesitated, looking awkwardly at my Army dress blues.
Before they could take a step, a loud, high-pitched screech from the main stage microphone shattered the tension.
