Chapter 5 - The Descent and the Snap
I turned my head slightly, expecting Marcus or Alden. Instead, I saw Sutton.
Her face was twisted into an ugly, mask-like grimace of suppressed fury. She had gathered the voluminous skirts of her rehearsal dress in one hand, her eyes locked onto mine with a chilling, predatory intensity.
“Sutton? What are you doing?” I started to ask, my heart stuttering.
“You are ruining everything, Fallon,” she hissed, her voice venomous and low. “You just had to make this all about your stupid leg, didn't you? Stealing the spotlight, flirting with Alden, acting like a martyr.”
“I’m not doing any of—”
“Get out of my way!” she screamed.
Before I could react, Sutton lunged forward. Her heel caught deliberately behind my left ankle, anchoring my supporting foot in place. Simultaneously, her shoulder slammed with vicious, calculated force directly into my upper back.
The laws of physics were merciless.
My supporting foot went out from under me. My grip on the wrought-iron banister was violently wrenched loose as my body was propelled forward into empty space. Because my right leg was locked inside the rigid metal brace, I couldn’t bend the knee to absorb the impact or catch my balance.
I plunged headfirst down the marble staircase.
The world shattered into a chaotic kaleidoscope of white light, screeching metal, and agonizing pain. My body struck the hard stone steps with bone-rattling force, bouncing violently as I tumbled downward.
Crack.
The sound was unmistakable—a sickening, hollow fracture that echoed loudly above the gasps of the horror-struck guests. The titanium pins inside my tibia ground violently against the freshly healing bone structure, shearing through tissue that had barely begun to knit back together. My knee completely unhinged as the internal hardware tore loose.
I hit the landing at the bottom of the stairs with a heavy, lifeless thud. My crutch clattered away across the polished floor, spinning wildly. The blush-pink silk dress tangled around my mangled right leg, soaking up a warm, spreading stain of crimson as my skin split open from the internal pressure of the displaced metal.
Silence fell over the foyer, absolute and terrifying.
For a few agonizing seconds, I couldn't draw a breath. My lungs seized, air refusing to enter my chest. The pain was so blinding, so absolute, that it wiped out every thought, every emotion, leaving only a white-hot void of agony.
Through a blur of tears and dizziness, I heard footsteps rushing toward me. Alden’s voice cut through the ringing in my ears, shouting frantically, “Call an ambulance! Someone call 911 right now! Her leg is severely broken!”
I forced my eyes open, gasping for air.
Standing at the top of the staircase, bathed in the chandelier light, was Sutton. She wasn't crying. She wasn't rushing down to help her bleeding, broken sister.
Instead, she stood there with her hands on her hips, letting out a shrill, mocking laugh.
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“Oh, relax, everyone,” Sutton called down to the horrified guests, her voice dripping with venomous amusement. “It was just for content, Fallon. Get up off the floor and stop being so dramatic!”
Beside her, our cousin Briany lowered her smartphone, the red recording light blinking as she smiled, having captured every single second of my destruction for her social media feed.
