Chapter 10 - The Fall
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“How dare you speak to my son that way!” Eleanor shrieked, outraged by Nora’s sudden defiance.
Eleanor lunged forward, grabbing Nora roughly by the shoulder.
“Don’t touch me!” Nora yelled, trying to twist away while fiercely protecting the baby in her arms.
In the brief, chaotic struggle, Eleanor shoved Nora with a startling amount of force. Nora, already exhausted, off-balance, and encumbered by the baby, could not catch her footing. She stumbled backward, her heel catching on the edge of the broken suitcase.
With a sickening thud, Nora crashed down hard onto the unforgiving marble floor. She instinctively twisted her body at the last possible second, taking the brunt of the heavy impact on her own shoulder and hip to shield Liam from the crushing blow.
A sharp, blinding pain shot up her spine, stealing the breath from her lungs. Liam, terrified by the sudden violent motion and the loud noise, began to scream hysterically, a high-pitched, breathless wail that echoed off the high ceilings.
“Nora!” Arthur shouted, taking a half-step forward, but he immediately froze when Eleanor shot him a warning glare.
Nora lay on the cold stone, gasping for air, her body trembling violently from the pain and the sheer terror of what had just happened. She curled herself protectively around her crying baby, feeling entirely broken. Her elbow was bleeding, staining her cheap blouse, and her hip throbbed with a sickening intensity.
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“Get up and stop being so dramatic,” Eleanor commanded, dusting off her hands as if she had just taken out the garbage. “You have thirty seconds to crawl out of that door before I call the security guards to physically drag you down the driveway.”
Nora closed her eyes, holding her baby tightly against her chest, feeling the absolute depths of despair wash over her. She had nowhere to go, no one to call, and no strength left to fight.
