Chapter 4 - The Shattered Sky
Before Margaret or any of the surrounding dignitaries could process the waitress’s warning, a sound like a artillery shell exploding shattered the elegance of the Grand Ballroom.
CRACK-THWACK!
A violent, metallic groan echoed overhead as the central iron compression ring snapped completely in two.
Elena didn't wait for the glass to hit. Using every ounce of leverage in her lean body, she violently yanked Margaret Romano out of her plush velvet chair, grabbing her by the waist of her sage-green gown and shoving her sideways onto the marble floor beneath the overhang of a structural stone archway.
A split second later, catastrophe struck.
A massive thirty-foot section of heavy antique leaded glass, iron ribbing, and plaster moldings detatached from the ceiling and crashed directly onto Table 12.
The impact was deafening. The massive oak table shattered instantly under the weight of falling debris. Crystal wine glasses, china plates, floral arrangements, and heavy brass candelabras exploded across a fifty-foot radius like shrapnel.
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The air blew thick with white plaster dust and pulverized glass. Hundreds of guests screamed in unison, pushing chairs over as a wave of panic swept through the ballroom. People trampled over dropped purses and ruined gowns, scrambling frantically toward the double-oak exit doors.
The Security Guard, who had been standing thirty feet away near the entrance, spun around in sheer, unadulterated terror. His face turned ash-white as he witnessed the mountain of shattered iron and glass covering the exact spot where the matriarch of the Romano family had been sitting moments prior.
