My Husband Tried to Destroy Me, Until My Estranged Billionaire Father Stepped In

The Breaking Point in the Manor

The grand drawing room of the Alden manor had always felt more like a gilded cage than a home. For Sarah, a thirty-four-year-old pregnant woman, the heavy velvet drapes and towering gilded mirrors were suffocating. She sat trembling on a white silk chaise lounge, her dark brown curly hair falling in disarray over her shoulders. She was wearing a delicate white silk gown, a stark contrast to the dark, menacing figure standing over her. Her husband, Thomas, a thirty-one-year-old heir with slicked-back blonde hair and a dark blue dress shirt, glared down at her with eyes full of unbridled fury.

In his hand, he gripped a heavy leather riding crop, a relic from his family’s equestrian estate. Thomas had always been controlling, but tonight, his rage had reached a terrifying peak. He had discovered that Sarah had been secretly contacting her estranged family.

"You are nothing without me!" Thomas screamed, his voice booming off the high ceilings. "I made you, and I can destroy you!"

Before Sarah could plead for mercy, Thomas raised his hand and struck. The sharp crack of the leather echoed through the room. Sarah let out a sharp cry of agony as a brilliant line of crimson began to seep through the front of her white silk gown. Nearby, Thomas’s sister, Victoria, sat in a scarlet satin dress. She held a crystal wine glass, watching the violence with a cold, detached amusement. She didn't offer a single word of protest.

Collapsing onto the floor, Sarah cradled her swollen stomach. Tears streamed down her face as she whispered to her unborn child, "Hold on, my love. Just hold on."

Thomas raised the crop once more, ready to strike again, when the massive double doors of the drawing room suddenly burst open. Charles, an older, distinguished man of sixty-five in a tailored pinstripe suit, marched into the room, flanked by several burly bodyguards.

"Lower your hand, Thomas," Charles commanded, his voice cold as ice.

Thomas froze, his face losing all color as he stared at the powerful billionaire who had just entered his home.