Came Back as an Heiress After My Ex-Fiancé Made Me Blind novel Chapter 5

"Dempsey!" The name escaped my lips as my legs gave way, collapsing into my brother's embrace.

His fingers brushed my cheek, trembling as they traced the pallor of my skin.

"Victoria," his voice cracked with seven years of worry. "Dear God, what have they done to you? All these years... I've finally found you."

A tear fell on my face, and I reached up instinctively to wipe it away. But my hand wavered in the darkness, unable to find his face.

Dempsey went rigid, his breath catching. "Victoria, your eyes... what happened to your eyes?"

Before I could respond, Eugene's voice sliced through the air like a frozen blade. "Victoria. Come here. Now."

My involuntary flinch spoke volumes. Dempsey's hand settled on my back, steady as a mountain.

"You're safe now, Vic. No one can hurt you again. No one."

I nodded, emotion choking any possible response as years of tension began melting away.

As I sagged against his shoulder, eyes drifting closed in exhaustion, I could practically feel Eugene's fury radiating across the space between us.

"Remove your hands from my fiancée." Eugene's voice carried deadly promise.

Understanding dawned in Dempsey's eyes as pieces of a sinister puzzle clicked into place. The temperature in the cathedral seemed to plummet.

Claire materialized between them, her voice honey-sweet with practiced innocence.

"Sir, please understand - this is Victoria, Mr. Thorne's fiancée. She's had a tragic accident, lost her sight, suffered a breakdown."

Her voice wavered perfectly. "Let us take her somewhere safe before she hurts herself... or you."

Dempsey's voice cut through her performance like a steel blade. "Get. Out."

Color flooded Claire's porcelain features as tears filled her eyes - an Oscar-worthy performance. Eugene gathered her into his arms, then turned his gaze on my brother.

"I don't care who you are," he snarled, mask finally slipping. "No one leaves this cathedral today."

Black-suited security guards materialized around us like. Dempsey's lips curved into a dangerous smile.

The sounds of palm meeting flesh echoed through the vaulted ceiling, each strike punctuated by Claire's increasingly hysterical screams.

"Anyone who hurts Victoria," Dempsey's voice carried all the warmth of a midwinter midnight.

"Faces one consequence: Death."

Eugene yanked Claire behind him, fury warring with calculation in those steel-blue eyes as he reassessed the battlefield.

"This is Eastbrook territory, Montgomery. You should mind your steps on our hunting grounds."

"Besides," he continued smoothly.

"Thorne Industries has maintained a respectful distance from Montgomery interests. Yet here you are, assaulting my people and attempting to steal my fiancée. I believe you owe me an explanation."

Dempsey's eyebrow arched elegantly as darkness gathered in his eyes.

"How interesting. I wasn't aware my baby sister was engaged to you."