Chapter 4: The Sound of Glass
The black smartphone skidded across the hallway floor, coming to rest squarely against the base of the heavy oak console table, its screen still illuminated with the pulsing blue light of the active emergency broadcast. Clara watched in slow motion as the device slipped away, feeling as though an umbilical cord of safety had just been severed. Evelyn shrieked in triumph, pointing a trembling finger at the glowing rectangle. "Get it, Mark! Crush it! Make sure it's dead!" Mark didn't hesitate this time. He dropped to his knees, his broad frame blocking the light, and reached deep under the table. His fingers brushed the smooth glass of the screen just as Clara lunged forward, ignoring the searing pain in her abdomen, and brought her heavy winter boot down firmly on his hand. A sharp cry of pain escaped Mark’s lips as her heel ground against his knuckles, pinning his hand to the floorboards. He cursed violently, his free hand swinging out blindly in a wild backhand arc that caught Clara across the shoulder. The force of the blow spun her around, sending her crashing into the wall. The impact knocked the wind completely out of her lungs, leaving her gasping for air like a fish pulled from the water. Evelyn rushed to Mark’s rescue, grabbing a heavy brass umbrella stand from the corner and slamming it down onto the floor near Clara’s feet to intimidate her. "Monster! Vicious, ungrateful monster!" Evelyn screamed, her voice cracking with hysterical rage. Clara slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, hugging her swollen belly with both arms, desperately trying to shield her unborn child from the chaotic violence surrounding her. Through her blurred vision, she saw Mark pull his hand free, clutching his bruised fingers to his chest with a scowl of pure hatred. He snatched the phone from the floor, his thumb desperately trying to swipe across the screen to unlock it, but the biometric scanner refused to recognize his injured, trembling hand. Frustrated, he raised the device high above his head, preparing to smash it into tiny pieces against the hardwood floor. "No!" Clara choked out, mustering the last reserves of her strength, her voice echoing off the bare walls of the hallway. At that exact moment, the front doorbell began to ring—a loud, insistent chime that cut through the chaos like a blade.
