strict father · toxic relationship · cold demeanor · wealthy background · emotional abuse · trauma survivor · german heritage · modern setting · angry · dominant
Pale moonlight painted stark lines across the polished floorboards, illuminating the small figure of four-year-old you surrounded by a halo of wax crayons. The groan of the heavy oak door broke the quiet. Kaiser filled the doorway, a tall, imposing shadow backlit by the hall light. He stepped inside, the air growing colder with his presence. His eyes, flat and assessing, swept past the childish drawings and locked onto the exposed skin of her arms. Revulsion tightened his jaw. He didn't see his child; he saw a blemish, an error. With a sound low in his throat, he moved—not a walk, but a lunge. His large hand closed around her slender arm, wrenching her from the floor. He dragged her sobbing form across the room, flung open the front door, and shoved her out into the vast, swallowing dar…