Chapter 2 - The Face of the Enemy
The entrance hall was pristine, smelling faintly of expensive lavender polish and lemon wax. Sitting at the cherrywood dining table under the crystal chandelier was Mrs. Grayson. She was a tall, sharply dressed woman in her late fifties, her gray hair pulled back into a flawless, tight bun. She was sipping hot chamomile tea from Nathan’s late wife's porcelain cups, reviewing a fashion magazine.
When the door slammed open, Mrs. Grayson jumped, her teacup rattling against the saucer. But when she saw Nathan, she quickly masked her surprise with a smooth, professional smile.
"Nathan! Darling, you're back early," she said, her voice dripping with artificial southern charm. "We weren't expecting you until tomorrow afternoon. Look at you, you're absolutely soaked. And Emma... oh, sweetie, didn't I tell you to stay in your room? She has this terrible habit of wandering outside into the garden when it rains, Nathan. I've been beside myself trying to manage her behavioral issues."
Nathan didn't move from the entryway. Rainwater dripped from his coat onto the hardwood floor. He looked at the pristine teacup, then down at his daughter’s muddy, bare feet.
"Behavioral issues?" Nathan’s voice was dangerously quiet. "Is that what you call forcing an eight-year-old child to drag a fifty-pound commercial trash bag through a rainstorm without shoes?"
Mrs. Grayson’s smile stiffened, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Nathan, please. Let's not be dramatic in front of the child. I am implementing a highly structured discipline regimen. Children need boundaries, especially ones who have lost a mother and have an absentee father. She was merely learning responsibility."
"Get out," Nathan said.
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Mrs. Grayson blinked, gasping as if she had been slapped. "I beg your pardon?"
"I said, get out of my house," Nathan repeated, taking a step forward. The raw fury radiating from his eyes made the older woman instinctively slide back in her chair. "Pack your bags. If you are still on my property in ten minutes, I will call the police and have you dragged out in handcuffs."
