Chapter 3 - THE BETRAYAL OF JAVIER
Back in the living room, Sofia gripped the torn fabric of her wedding dress so tightly her knuckles turned ghostly white. The gold diamond wedding band on her left finger caught the soft glow of the table lamp—a mocking reminder of the vows she had spoken only hours ago.
"Carmen had her women grab me," Sofia sobbed, her voice breaking. "They held my arms down against the table... they tried to force my hand onto the paper... I fought them, Mom. I fought as hard as I could and ran through the service hallway..."
Eleanor reached up, gently wiping a tear from Sofia’s cheek. "Where was Javier, Sofia? Where was your husband while his mother was attacking you?"
Sofia closed her eyes, a fresh sob wracking her body.
"He was standing outside the door," Sofia revealed, her voice barely audible.
Eleanor completely froze, her breath catching in her throat. "What?"
"I saw him through the crack in the double doors," Sofia whispered, her swollen eye overflowing with fresh tears. "He was standing in the hallway... holding his coat. He listened to me screaming... he listened to his mother commanding them to hold me down... and he just stood there. He knew, Mom. He knew the whole time. The entire wedding was a trap."
A wave of fierce, unadulterated rage washed over Eleanor’s face. The polite, soft-spoken suburban mother vanished, replaced by an animalistic instinct to protect her child.
Without saying another word, Eleanor stood up from the floor and marched toward the kitchen counter where her cell phone sat plugged into the wall.
"What are you doing?" Sofia panicked, attempting to stand, but her weakened legs buckled, forcing her back onto the cushion. "Mom, don't call the police! Carmen said if I went to the police, they would destroy us!"
"I'm not calling the police," Eleanor said firmly, her fingers tapping rapidly on the touchscreen. She pulled up a contact name she hadn't dialed in over a decade.
Sofia watched her mother in terror. "Who are you calling?"
"The only man who can handle this," Eleanor replied, her voice steady and resolute as she held the phone to her ear.
Sofia gasped. "Mom, no... Dad hasn't spoken to us in ten years. He doesn't want anything to do with us!"
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Eleanor waited as the phone rang, her eyes locked on her daughter’s bruised face.
"He stopped being my husband ten years ago, Sofia," Eleanor said softly as the line connected. "But he never stopped being your father."
