Chapter 4 - The Ultimatum
The air in the kitchen grew so thick it felt difficult to breathe. Amanda crossed her arms, her gaze shifting from Sophie back to Victor, who had stepped into the doorway, positioning himself squarely between his ex-wife and the terrified child.
"She has no one, Amanda," Victor said, his voice dangerously low. "She was sleeping in the freezing snow on Christmas Eve."
"And that makes her your responsibility?" Amanda shot back, her tone sharp as broken glass. "Victor, wake up! This isn't a stray puppy you can just bring home from a shelter. This is a legal liability. Where are her parents? Where are social services?"
"I'm taking care of it," Victor replied firmly. "I've already contacted Marcus Vance. We are filing for emergency guardianship."
Amanda stared at him as if he had grown a second head. A harsh, humorless laugh escaped her lips. "Marcus Vance? You're going to drag a custody battle over a random street child into court while you're trying to win more time with Clare? Let me make something crystal clear to you, Victor."
She pointed a manicured finger directly at his chest.
"If that little girl is still in this apartment when I drop Clare off for your scheduled visitation next Friday, I will file an immediate emergency motion to terminate your visitation rights entirely. You will never see your daughter again."
Sophie let out a small, broken sob, pulling her knees up to her chest on the chair, burying her face in her arms.
Victor’s vision redlined. The cold, calculating businessman who had spent twenty years building an empire vanished in a single heartbeat, replaced by a primal, protective fury.
He stepped close to Amanda, towering over her, his voice dropping into a register that made even his ex-wife step back in shock.
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"Get out of my home, Amanda," Victor whispered, every word a falling blade. "If you ever speak to a child in my house like that again, I won't just fight you in family court. I will dismantle every asset your new husband owns before the week is out. Get out."
Amanda blinked, shaken to her core by the raw, unbridled menace in his voice. She grabbed her handbag, shot one last venomous glare at Sophie, and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door so hard the walls vibrated.
