Antonia let out a shriek like a slaughtered pig and crumpled onto the carpet.
"Amy, what are you doing? I was just teaching Lily some manners!"
"She broke the crystal glass my sister left me on purpose. What's wrong with disciplining her a little on your behalf?"
She lay sprawled on the floor, weeping like some delicate flower battered by rain, as though she were the victim of some terrible injustice.
I scooped Lily into my arms. The sight of my daughter's tear-streaked little face made my heart bleed.
Lily hiccupped and wrapped her arms around my neck.
"Mommy, I didn't touch her glass. She broke it herself. And she pinched me."
I turned my head and fixed Antonia with a stare that could kill.
"What exactly are you? You think you have the right to lay a hand on my daughter?"
"If I don't skin you alive today, my name isn't Fox."
I raised the duster to strike again.
A violent force slammed into me from behind. Maxwell rushed in and shoved me aside.
"Amy, have you lost your mind?"
"Antonia is sick. How could you hit her that hard?"
He helped Antonia to her feet with painstaking care, then turned to look at me like I was his worst enemy.