Something inside me hardened when she said that. The camera meant they planned to twist the story later.
I turned toward my supervisor and said loudly, “Please call the police right now.”
A server approached the table cautiously and asked, “Is everything alright here?”
“No,” I answered, my voice trembling but loud enough to carry. “My husband assaulted me.”
Victor immediately switched to a charming tone. “She has had a stressful day,” he told the server with a sympathetic smile. “A little too much champagne and attention.”
“That is not true,” I said firmly.
Patricia leaned forward and murmured sweetly, “She has been emotionally unstable lately.”
Harold nodded solemnly. “We have tried to guide her spiritually, but she refuses God.”
Luke spoke loudly through my phone. “They are building a story. Do not let them. Ask for witnesses and medical help.”
I swallowed while tasting blood. “I need an ambulance,” I told the server. “My head hit the table.”
The server’s expression shifted immediately from confusion to concern. “I will get the manager right away.”
Victor glared at me. “You are doing this deliberately,” he hissed. “On your promotion night you are trying to destroy me.”
“You destroyed yourself,” I replied quietly.
He lifted his hand again as if preparing another strike, but my supervisor stepped forward between us.
“Sir,” Douglas said nervously but firmly, “you need to step away from her.”
Victor’s family reacted instantly.
“You do not understand,” Patricia snapped. “This is a private marital matter.”
“She is our sister in law,” Danielle added while aiming her camera toward Douglas.
Harold pointed at me as if delivering judgment. “Repent now or God will break you.”
The restaurant manager arrived quickly with two employees. “Is there a problem?”
“Yes,” Douglas said. “She was assaulted.”
Victor tried once more to smile politely. “This is simply a misunderstanding.”
The manager turned toward me and asked calmly, “Do you want us to call the police?”
“I already did,” Luke said loudly through my phone. “Officers are on the way.”
Sirens soon became audible outside the restaurant, beginning as faint echoes before growing louder and closer. Victor’s expression shifted as he realized the situation was no longer under his control.
He leaned close to whisper, “If you go through with this, you will lose everything.”
“I would rather lose everything than stay with you,” I answered.