Chapter 2 - The Shattered Podium
"Where is it?" Julian demanded, his voice a low, threatening growl. He loomed over the eight-year-old, his towering frame casting a dark shadow over her.
"Julian, step back," Sarah warned, her voice trembling but firm. "She hasn't moved from my side."
Julian ignored her. He turned, his chest heaving, and stormed back to the heavy wooden podium where the guestbook rested. With a guttural shout, he gripped the edges of the solid oak structure. The veins in his neck bulged as he hoisted the heavy piece of furniture into the air.
Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests scrambled backward. Sarah barely had a fraction of a second to react. Julian hurled the heavy wooden podium onto the marble floor directly in front of them.
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"That's what happens when you raise a thief!" he roared as the wood struck the marble.
The podium shattered with an explosive crack. Shards of heavy, splintered wood flew through the air like shrapnel. Lily let out a piercing, terrified scream, burying her face into her mother’s dress as the crowd erupted into chaos.
