Elena: This is what happens when you cross a Vance!
Elena delivered a second, even harder slap across Chloe's face, sending a metallic taste of blood rushing to the young woman's mouth. Before Chloe could recover her balance, Elena reached behind her and pulled a heavy metal rod from the floral display beside the sofa. With a vicious swing, she brought the metal rod down squarely against Chloe's swollen belly, a heavy impact sound echoing through the stunned room. Chloe let out a piercing, agonized scream that rattled the crystal champagne flutes on the nearby table.
Chloe: Ahhh! My baby! Stop, please stop!
Elena: Hand over the offshore account passwords right now!
Chloe: I don't know what you're talking about!
Elena: Don't play dumb with me! Where is the fifty thousand dollars?!
Through the blinding waves of pain and terror, a fierce surge of adrenaline overtook Chloe's instincts for survival. As Elena raised the metal rod for a third strike, Chloe whipped her hand upward and struck her mother-in-law back across the face with a loud, ringing return slap. Elena stumbled backward, letting out a sharp gasp of shock as a dramatic orchestral swell surged through the room. Chloe's knees buckled beneath her under the crushing weight of the trauma, and she collapsed hard onto the polished wooden floor.
Bright red blood began to stain the front of her pink dress, pooling against the light wood as the surrounding party guests shrieked in horror. Several terrified friends dropped their gifts and rushed forward, their hands flying to their mouths in sheer disbelief at the brutal carnage.
Guest 1: CALL AN AMBULANCE! SOMEONE CALL 911 RIGHT NOW!
Guest 2: Oh my god, there's so much blood! Chloe, stay with us!
Elena: Get away from her! She's faking it! She's trying to steal our fortune!
Guest 1: Are you insane, Elena?! She's bleeding out on the floor!
Mark, Chloe's brother-in-law who had just walked through the front doors with a stack of luggage, dropped his bags instantly. He sprinted across the living room and threw his arms around Elena, wrestling her backward as she kicked and screamed wildly, trying to lunge past him to strike the injured woman again.
Mark: Aunt Elena, have you lost your absolute mind?! Stop fighting me!
Elena: Let me go, Mark! $50,000! THINK YOU CAN KEEP THAT FROM ME?!
Mark: She's pregnant, you maniac! You could have killed her!
Elena: She's a thief! She embezzled from the family estate!
Mark: I don't care about the estate right now! Someone hold her down while I check Chloe's pulse!
Chloe lay curled on the wooden floor, her fingers clutching her bleeding belly in unbearable distress as hot tears mixed with dust on her cheeks. Her friends knelt beside her, their hands trembling as they tried to comfort her through her sobs while a tense, suffocating ambient hum filled the room. The party that was supposed to celebrate new life had turned into a violent crime scene in a matter of seconds.