Beatrice's hand flew to her stinging cheek, her earlier calculated cruelty dissolving instantly into raw, unfiltered rage. "You insolent girl!" she screamed, her voice echoing sharply off the lobby's marble columns and gilded ceiling, drawing the attention of everyone remaining within earshot.
"I will have you thrown out of this hotel," she continued, her voice rising with escalating fury, "so fast you won't even have time to collect your belongings. Do you have any idea who you just struck?"
Sophia remained standing calmly, her expression carrying none of the fear Beatrice clearly expected. "I know exactly who I struck," she replied evenly, her voice steady despite the older woman's mounting hysteria.
Nearby guests exchanged increasingly uncomfortable glances, several rising fully from their seats now, torn between curiosity and growing concern about the escalating confrontation unfolding in the middle of the hotel's elegant lobby. A young bellhop near the entrance hesitated, uncertain whether to intervene against a guest whose reputation for demanding, aggressive behavior was well known among the staff.
Beatrice's fury showed no signs of cooling, her voice carrying increasing volume and venom as she continued berating Sophia, seemingly oblivious to the growing crowd of witnesses documenting every moment of her outburst.