ES BY vouchers
The beast of a man who had once been Simon’s father was at that very moment kicking and punching his defenseless mother.
Reba’s face was covered in blood, her body curled into a ball on the floor. She had no strength to fight back, only the broken cries of someone in unbearabl
pain.
Simon’s fury exploded. He <b>charged </b><b>forward</b>, driving his foot hard into Landon and knocking him away from his mother.
“You bastard!”
Rage consumed him. Every strike he threw at his father was fueled by the sight of his mother’s suffering.
Father and son wrestled violently, crashing into furniture, leaving the room in ruins.
“Mom<b>…</b>”
Wendy ran to Reba, sobbing as she lifted her up. Blood streamed from a gash on her forehead.
Caitlin was shaken and furious. She had never imagined Landon could be so depraved, storming into his ex- wife’s home in broad daylight and beating her bloody.
Molly, on the other hand, froze <b>in </b>shock at the doorway. She had only known that Simon’s parents were divorced. She never imagined this–never imagined his father was so vicious. The sight left her terrified.
Caitlin rushed to help Wendy support Reba.
The reek of alcohol on Landon made it clear he hade drunk, looking for trouble. Humiliated after Benjamin had made a fool of him, <b>his </b>family left to rot overnight in a septic pit and their disgrace sshed all <b>over </b>the news, the Smithpany’s already failing stock had crashedpletely. Desperate, he had begged his children for help, but they refused. Left with no one, he came to threaten his ex–wife. When words failed, he turned to violence.
Simon could tolerate no more. His fists hammered his father’s gut and chest again and again.
<b>One </b>final punch sent Landon crashing back over the coffee table, where he slumped unconscious.
Simon immediately scrambled to his mother’s side. “Mom! Mom, are you okay?”
“Simon.” Wendy wept as Caitlin dialed emergency services.
Simon rushed for the medical kit, hands trembling as he cleaned and dressed his mother’s wounds.
Molly finally broke free of her shock and hurried <b>to </b>help. Rebay pale and weak on the couch, her injuries worse than they had feared–clearly she had already suffered repeated blows before they arrived.
Molly had only ever read about domestic violence in the news. Seeing it unfold in front of her left her <b>sick</b><b>. </b>with <b>fear </b>and disbelief. That Landon could still storm into the home of a woman he divorced years ago,
brutalize her without shame–it was monstrous.
“What do we do?” Molly whispered, horrified.
“I’m calling for backup,” Caitlin said, stepping out into the hall to ring Sebastian?.
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Inside, Simon worked desperately to staunch his mother’s bleeding while Wendy pressed cloths against the <b>wounds</b>.
None of them saw Landon stirring until it was toote. Groggy, bloodied, he groped blindly across the table and his fingers found a fruit knife. With a drunken snarl, he lurched to his feet and drove the de toward Simon’s back.
Caitlin came back through the doorway at that moment. She screamed. “Watch out!”
Molly turned, Instinct seized her. She didn’t think–she just threw herself forward.
The knife never reached Simon.
Thwack-
The sound of steel tearing flesh rang out sharp and clear. Blood spurted as the de sank deep into Molly’s stomach.
“Molly!” Caitlin’s cry shook the walls.
“Molly!” Simon’s roar was raw, guttural.
“Molly!” Wendy screamed in terror.
The knife pulled free, and Molly crumpled, blood pouring from her wound, bubbling at her lips.
Still crazed, Landon raised the knife again.
But Caitlin was already there, seizing his wrist with both hands. She wrested the de free with a force born of fury and smashed her fist across his jaw.
Staggering and reeking of blood, Landon wed blindly for something else to strike with.
Simon’s eyes burned red. A howl of grief tore from his throat as heunched himself at his father. His kick mmed into Landon’s chest, sending the man sprawling backward.
His heel caught on a broken stool leg lying on the floor. He pitched back andnded directly on its jagged splintered edge.
The shard pierced his chest clean through.
Landon’s scream cut short. He went still.
Caitlin and Wendy had witnessed the whole grisly moment. Neither wasted a second on the corpse. They rushed to Molly.
“Molly! Hold on, Molly!”
Blood seeped hot and thick between Simon’s fingers as he pressed down on the wound. His voice cracked with desperation. “Call the ambnce! Now!”
“They’re almost here! Molly, stay with us, you have to stay with us!” Caitlin’s hands shook as she supported Molly’s head.
She checked Landon’s body quickly. No pulse. No <b>breath</b>. “He’s dead.”
Wendy’s <b>face </b><b>was </b><b>ashen</b>, her body frozen against the wall.
Simon, though shattered inside, forced himself to act. He wrapped gauze around Molly’s abdomen as tightly as he could, desperate to slow the bleeding. He was a doctor, and right now <b>every </b>ounce of his training was focused on saving <b>the </b>woman he loved.
Caitlin called Felix directly to report the situation.
The ambnce hadn’t yet arrived, but Felix–nearby on another case–reached them first, Sebastian with
him.
The <b>men </b>rushed upstairs to find the carnage. Felix began ordering his team to secure evidence and photograph the scene.
Sebastian, stunned at first, could barely process what he saw. His sister, lying in blood. Landon dead on the floor.
“How is she?” he demanded, dropping to Simon’s side.
oxygen
Simon had managed to fit an mask to Molly, his hands slick with her blood. “She needs surgery now. She can’t wait.”
“Then we don’t wait. I’ll drive.”
Sebastian and Simon lifted Molly together, James and Tyler carrying Reba. They charged downstairs just as the ambnce screeched into theplex.
Molly was rushed straight into emergency surgery. Reba, with lesser injuries, received stitches and was moved into <b>a </b>ward to recover<b>. </b>
Simon staggered out into the hall, his face drained of color, his fists trembling. He mmed one into the wall hard enough to smear it with blood.
The pain barely registered.
All he could feel was the crushing weight inside his chest, the terror of losing her again, the unbearable guilt that she had <b>been </b>hurt because of <b>him </b>
His heart felt like it was shattering.