Ruby's POV
My body shook beneath his iron grip. His rage burned hotter than I had ever witnessed before.
"I wasn't defying you," I managed, my voice barely steady. "I only wanted to share the truth with you—"
"I explicitly told you to stay upstairs," he cut me off, his tone razor-sharp. "You ignored my direct order. You inserted yourself into private family business. Do you think defending Kate makes you some kind of hero? You don't have that authority, Ruby."
Each word struck me like a physical blow, tearing through my chest with vicious precision.
"That wasn't my intention at all. I simply believed that since she's your sister, and her actions weren't truly catastrophic, perhaps such severe consequences weren't warranted—"
"Don't impose your naive understanding of normal family dynamics on this situation," he snarled. "You have absolutely no comprehension of how twisted things are within this household."
