Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 324

Penelope stood with disheveled hair, clutching a broom handle, her chest heaving like an enraged beast. "Arnold Vance, you sick animal! How could you do that with Nora's underwear?! You're her father! Are you out of your mind?!"

Ten-year-old Nora didn't understand what they were screaming about. She only knew her parents were fighting.

She walked further into the room, desperately wanting them to stop.

But the moment Penelope laid eyes on her, her expression twisted into pure malice.

Penelope threw the broom aside, closed the distance, and slapped Nora hard across the face.

The strike left her stunned, her cheek burning and her ears ringing. Before she could process the shock, a second slap landed, accompanied by a vicious scream.

"You shameless little slut! So young, and already acting like a whore! Can't you survive without a man's attention? Why don't you just go die?"

Nora clutched her cheek, fat tears rolling down her face. She had absolutely no idea what she had done wrong.

At ten years old, those vile words made no sense to her; she only knew the physical agony of her mother's blows.

Arnold rushed out of the hallway. "Why are you hitting the kid? Take it out on me!"

"Take it out on you? You have the nerve to speak to me?! Have you no shame? You animal! You're a monster!"

More shattering sounds echoed through the house.

Then, the memory twisted, spinning violently out of control.

Her father's face warped into something demonic.

He was no longer her dad; he was the devil himself.

"Nora's all grown up. You're so beautiful... why don't you be daddy's wife..."

"No! Get away!"

Nora thrashed in her nightmare, but her limbs were paralyzed.

She tried to scream, but her throat was locked tight.

She felt like a fish tossed onto dry land, gasping wildly for air that wouldn't come.

And a third...

Biting her lip to stifle a sob, she wept silently. Her shoulders shook like a wounded animal.

"Hudson..."

"I'm here," he answered immediately, his thumb continuously sweeping across her cheek, wiping away the steady stream of tears. "I've got you."

Nora couldn't hold it back anymore.

She threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms in a death grip around his neck and burying her face against his collarbone, wailing in sheer agony.

It was as if she were pouring out over a decade's worth of built-up terror, grief, and injustice all at once.

Hudson didn't say a word.

He simply held her tight, his hand gently stroking her back to ground her.

But where she couldn't see, his eyes were cold and merciless. A murderous, predatory darkness churned in his gaze, absolute and unforgiving.