She shrank closer to him.
Daniel saw it.
The realization struck him harder than anything Lauren had said.
His daughter was afraid of the woman he planned to marry.
Not confused.
Not shy.
Afraid.
He looked back at Lauren.
“What did you do to them?”
Lauren’s eyes widened.
“Excuse me?”
“My mother.”
He swallowed.
“My daughter.”
Lauren shook her head.
“Don’t drag Grace into this.”
Daniel felt his voice rising.
“She was already in it!”
His shout silenced several nearby conversations.
Lauren stepped backward.
Daniel moved toward her.
Marcus called his name.
“Dan.”
Daniel didn’t turn.
“Look at my mother.”
Lauren glanced toward Evelyn.
Melissa was speaking urgently to the dispatcher.
One guest had brought a folded towel.
Another was clearing broken glass from the area.
“Look at her,” Daniel repeated.
Lauren’s eyes filled with tears.
“I never wanted this.”
He stared at her.
“What did you want?”
She opened her mouth.
No answer came.
Daniel felt his anger change.
At first, it had been shock.
Then disbelief.
Now it became something heavier.
He looked at Evelyn’s still body.
He remembered every time she’d told him she was fine.
Every time he’d accepted the answer.
He had thought he was protecting his fiancée from unfair criticism.
Instead, he’d protected Lauren from questions his mother needed him to ask.
The shame was unbearable.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered toward Evelyn.
She couldn’t answer.
Melissa looked up.
“Daniel, she’s breathing.”
His heart lurched.
“Is she okay?”
“We don’t know.”
He started forward.
Melissa held out one hand.
“Stay back. The dispatcher is helping us.”
Daniel stopped.
The helplessness nearly broke him.
He looked around.
The engagement decorations suddenly seemed grotesque.
White flowers sat beside broken glass.
Champagne spilled across the tablecloth.
A banner celebrating his future marriage hung above his injured mother.
People who had congratulated him minutes earlier were now watching in horror.
He heard Lauren speaking again.
“This is exactly what I was afraid would happen.”
Daniel turned slowly.
She was looking toward the guests.
“His mother has been getting confused.”
Someone muttered angrily.
Lauren continued.
“She makes things up when she’s upset.”
Melissa lifted her head.
“Stop lying!”
Lauren glared at her.
“You’ve been filling her head with nonsense!”
Melissa stared.
“Don’t you dare blame this on me.”
Lauren took another step backward.
“Everybody’s twisting what happened.”
Daniel felt his pulse hammer.
He looked at Marcus.
His friend was holding Grace close.
“Dan,” Marcus said, “come over here.”
Daniel didn’t move.
“Please.”
He heard the warning.
He understood it.
But his thoughts had narrowed to one unbearable image.
Lauren standing over Evelyn.
The mallet raised.
The sound of wood striking bone.
He couldn’t stop hearing it.
“Daniel,” Lauren said, “please don’t look at me like that.”
He stared at her.
“You’ve been in our house.”
Her face tightened.
“Of course I have.”
“You’ve helped Grace with homework.”
“Daniel.”
“You’ve sat at Mom’s table.”
She stepped backward.
“You’re scaring me.”
He laughed once.
It was a broken, bitter sound.
“I’m scaring you?”
Lauren looked toward Marcus.
“Somebody needs to calm him down.”
The sentence made Daniel’s anger surge.
He remembered his mother asking for a promise.
Don’t act while you’re angry.
He remembered nodding.
He had meant it.
Now his hands were shaking so badly that the note rattled.
“Dan!”
Marcus spoke more firmly.
“Come here.”
Daniel glanced toward him.
Grace was crying quietly.
Marcus had one arm around her shoulders.
The sight should have stopped him.
For one brief moment, it almost did.
Daniel took a breath.
Then Lauren spoke again.
“Your mother brought this on herself.”
The words struck him like another blow.
He turned.
“What?”
Lauren’s eyes widened.
She seemed to realize she’d said too much.
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
Daniel stared at her.
His mother’s bloodless face flashed through his mind.
He remembered the bruises.
The excuses.
The quiet fear.
His daughter’s note.
He felt his control slipping.
“Say that again.”
Lauren shook her head.
“Daniel, please.”
“Say it.”
“Everyone needs to stop blaming me.”
He looked toward Evelyn.
The paramedics hadn’t arrived yet.
Every second felt endless.
He couldn’t help her.
He couldn’t undo the injuries.
He couldn’t recover the months when she’d been frightened.
And Lauren was still standing there.
Still defending herself.
Still trying to control what everyone believed.
Daniel looked down.
A dark wine bottle stood beside an overturned glass.
He saw it clearly.
The bottle was half full.
Its label had been soaked by spilled wine.
A few drops slid down the glass.
He stared at it.
His mother’s voice returned.
Being angry doesn’t mean you have to act.
He remembered promising.
He remembered Grace asking whether he would listen.
He remembered his mother looking afraid for him.
Then he heard Lauren speak.
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