Chapter 8 - The Rescue
Everything seemed to happen in agonizing slow motion.
Marisol spun around, using her own body as a physical shield to protect her precious daughter from the incoming blow.
She closed her eyes tightly, bracing for the brutal impact of the heavy silver candlestick.
But the crushing blow never landed on her back.
A loud, sickening thud echoed through the quiet garden, followed instantly by a sharp scream from Paulina.
Marisol opened her eyes and turned around, her breath catching violently in her throat.
Diego was standing there, breathing heavily, having just tackled Paulina to the grassy ground.
He had rushed home early from the office, his instincts warning him that the protest at the gates was a deliberate setup.
He pinned Paulina down effortlessly, twisting the silver candlestick out of her manicured grip and tossing it far across the lawn.
"Are you insane?!" Diego roared, his eyes blazing with a terrifying, primal fury.
Paulina thrashed wildly underneath him, screaming obscenities and clawing helplessly at the grass.
The security guard quickly rushed forward, pulling a pair of heavy zip-ties from his tactical belt.
Together, they dragged a kicking and screaming Paulina to her feet and securely bound her hands behind her back.
"Call the police immediately," Diego ordered the guard, his voice completely devoid of any mercy.
"Tell them we have an attempted murder on tape."
Diego didn't wait to watch them drag his former fiancée away in complete disgrace.
He turned instantly to Marisol, dropping to his knees on the grass right beside her.
Marisol was shaking violently, her entire body trembling as she held a crying Valentina.
"Are you hurt?" Diego asked frantically, his hands gently checking Marisol’s arms and face for any injuries.
"Did she touch you?"
"We are okay," Marisol sobbed, collapsing forward against his broad, solid chest.
"You came back just in time, Diego."
Diego wrapped his strong arms securely around both of them, burying his face in Marisol’s neck.
He was a billionaire who controlled thousands of lives, but in that terrifying moment, he realized how easily he could have lost his entire world.
"I will never let anyone hurt you again," Diego promised, his voice cracking with raw emotion.
Valentina, sensing her father's distress, reached out a tiny hand and patted Diego’s cheek.
"Don't cry, Papa," the little girl mumbled softly.
It was the very first time she had called him that out loud.
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Diego froze, tears spilling freely down his face as he looked at his beautiful daughter.
He pulled them both impossibly closer, realizing that the worst of the storm was finally over.
