Chapter 7 - The Crumbling Empire
Arthur took a step back, realizing he had lost control of the situation. The crowd in the piazza was beginning to notice the argument.
A few tourists were pointing their own phones at him.
“We are leaving,” Arthur muttered to his driver.
He turned and walked back to his sedan, his cane tapping faster now, a sign of his inner panic.
As the car sped away, Beatrice collapsed into Thomas’s arms.
The adrenaline was leaving her body, leaving only a deep, aching exhaustion.
Clara knelt down, pulling the three little girls close to her.
“Is he gone?” one of the toddlers asked, her big eyes filled with worry.
“He is gone, my darling,” Clara whispered, kissing the child's forehead.
“He can never hurt us again.”
Thomas looked at Beatrice, his heart breaking for his wife.
“What do we do now?” he asked.
Beatrice looked at Clara, then at her three daughters.
The connection between them was undeniable, a force of nature that Arthur could not destroy.
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“We take her home,” Beatrice said firmly.
“We are going to give her the life he stole from her.”
