Chapter 2: A Father's Promise
Chapter 2: A Father's Promise
David Hale did not shout.
He did not rush across the room.
He simply stepped inside.
The German Shepherd remained perfectly still beside him, its sharp eyes fixed on Margaret's hand tangled in Emma's hair.
"Take your hand off my daughter."
His voice was calm.
Quiet.
The kind of quiet that made everyone obey.
Margaret forced a laugh.
"This is a family matter."
"No," David replied.
"It became a criminal matter the second you laid a hand on her."
Only then did Margaret release Emma.
Emma collapsed onto the hardwood floor, wrapping both arms around her swollen belly.
David immediately knelt beside her.
His hands, trained by decades as a rescue captain, gently checked her breathing before examining the bruises spreading across her face and neck.
"Did they hit your stomach?"
Emma shook her head through tears.
"No... but they kept pushing me."
David's expression darkened.
He pressed the emergency radio clipped to his shoulder.
"Unit Seven requesting immediate police response and ambulance. Domestic assault involving a pregnant victim."
Mark's face lost all color.
"You... you called the police?"
David looked directly into his son-in-law's eyes.
"No."
"I called them before I walked through your front door."
Moments later...
Red and blue lights flooded the mansion windows.
The front door filled with police officers and paramedics.
Margaret's confidence disappeared.
May you like
For the first time all evening...
She looked afraid.
