Chapter 8 - The Confrontation at the Nursery
Upstairs in the nursery, Claire froze. The thunder rattled the stained-glass windows, but beneath the storm, she heard the distinct, heavy sound of boots coming up the grand staircase.
She immediately locked the nursery door and pulled the three cribs into the safest corner of the room, her heart pounding frantically against her ribs.
"Alexander!" she whispered into her phone, but the storm had killed the cellular towers.
Clang!
The heavy oak door of the nursery shuddered as Ethan struck it with the iron wrench.
"Open the door, Claire!" Ethan’s voice screamed from the hallway, sounding completely insane. "You think you can replace me with Vance?! You think you can give my children to another man?! I made you! And I can destroy you!"
Claire backed away toward the fireplace, picking up a heavy iron poker. Her motherly instincts flared into a burning flame. She wasn't the weak, terrified girl who got thrown out into the rain two months ago. She was a mother fighting for her children.
"Get away from us, Ethan!" she shouted through the door. "You have nothing left! Leave us alone!"
"Never!" Ethan shrieked, swinging the wrench with wild force.
With a deafening crash, the lock shattered, and the heavy door burst open. Ethan stumbled into the room, wet, covered in mud, his eyes wide and bloodshot. He looked like a madman.
He raised the wrench, stepping toward Claire. "You ruined my life! Now give me the babies! We're leaving!"
"You won't touch them!" Claire yelled, brandishing the iron poker.
Ethan laughed maniacally, stepping closer. "What are you going to do, Claire? Hit me? You don't have the stomach for—"
Before Ethan could finish his sentence, a shadow descended upon him like a lightning bolt.
Alexander burst into the room, tearing through the darkness. He grabbed Ethan by the throat from behind, slamming him violently against the brick wall of the fireplace.
The iron wrench clattered harmlessly to the floor.
Alexander’s eyes were pitch black with unbridled rage. His hand closed around Ethan’s windpipe, lifting the smaller man an inch off the ground.
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"I gave you a chance to run away with what little dignity you had left, Mercer," Alexander hissed, his voice sounding like gravel grinding together. "You dared to come into my home? You dared to threaten my family?"
Ethan gasped for air, his feet kicking helplessly against the wall, terror finally washing away his delusion. "Vance... please..."
