Chapter 6 - The Lioness Awakens
"Get away from him!" Maya screamed, the maternal fury overriding her fear. As Elias raised the gun, flashes of memory exploded in her mind—the yacht, Elias pushing her, the burning water. The dam broke. She wasn't just Maya the nanny; she was Clara Hawthorne, and this monster was threatening her son. With a primal yell, she swung the brass poker, striking Elias brutally across the wrist. The gun clattered to the floor. Elias roared in pain and lunged at her, his hands wrapping around her throat. They crashed into the bookshelf, shattering glass and wood. Oliver woke up screaming. Down the hall, Daniel heard the crash and sprinted up the stairs, taking them three at a time in the pitch black. Clara clawed at Elias's face, fighting with the desperate strength of a mother protecting her child. Just as her vision began to swim, the nursery door flew open. Daniel tackled Elias to the floor, his fists raining down with years of pent-up grief and pure, unfiltered rage.
