CHAPTER 5 – THE FATHER’S EYES
Lila had seen her father furious only twice in her life.
The first time was when a contractor cheated his workers and Victor shut down an entire project until every unpaid man received double. The second was when a tabloid tried to publish photos of Lila outside her mother’s funeral. He bought the paper’s silence and nearly destroyed the editor anyway.
But this was different.
This was not business rage or protective anger at a distance. This was personal in the deepest way. Victor had walked into a house and found physical proof that his daughter had been suffering where she was supposed to be safe.
His eyes moved over her carefully.
The red cheek.
The trembling lips.
The hand over the belly.
The fear that had not yet left her body even after he entered.
He had imagined many bad possibilities on the drive over. None prepared him for how small she looked trying not to fall apart in front of him.
“Come here,” he said softly.
Lila took one uncertain step.
Ethan moved as if to block her, not aggressively this time, but instinctively, like a man trying to retain control by habit.
That was enough.
One of Victor’s security men stepped forward silently and took position between Ethan and Lila. No threats. No touching. Just space, firm and undeniable.
Lila reached her father.
The moment she did, all her restraint failed. She pressed into him, one hand still protecting her stomach, the other clutching the front of his jacket like the little girl who once ran to him after a scraped knee. Victor wrapped one arm around her shoulders carefully, the other resting at the back of her head.
His voice lowered. “Did he do this before?”
The hall went perfectly still.
Lila did not answer immediately.
That silence answered enough.
Victor closed his eyes once.
When he opened them, he looked at Ethan with a level of contempt that seemed almost calm.
“How many times?”
Ethan said nothing.
Victor turned slightly. “Lila.”
She was shaking too hard to speak. Finally she whispered, “More than once.”
Cecilia inhaled sharply as though the real indecency was saying it aloud.
Victor felt his jaw lock.
“You will not say another word,” he told Ethan, “unless it is to confirm where the medical records are.”
Ethan’s expression changed from arrogance to calculation. “You can’t take her.”
Victor almost smiled. “Watch me.”
Lila lifted her head. “Dad…”
He softened at once. “Do you want to leave?”
A tear spilled down her face.
“Yes.”
That single word made everything simple.
Victor nodded to the second security man. “Call Dr. Feldman to Ashford House. Then call my attorney.”
Cecilia stepped down another stair. “This is outrageous. You’re treating a domestic dispute like a criminal matter.”
Victor looked at her.
“I am treating a slap to my pregnant daughter,” he said, “like the beginning of the end of your son’s protection.”
May you like
The words landed everywhere at once.
Ethan’s bravado finally cracked.
