Chapter 2: The Woman With the Envelope
The footsteps stopped right outside the nursery door.
Ethan held Leo tighter, his jaw locked, his body rigid.
I pressed against the wall behind him, barely breathing.
The door swung open.
A tall woman in a sharp charcoal suit stepped inside.
She was older, maybe sixty, with silver hair pulled back so severely it looked painful.
Her eyes swept the room once — the scorch mark, the crying baby, me — and then settled on Ethan with zero emotion.
"Where is Victoria?" she said.
Not a question.
A demand.
"Mrs.
Harlow." Ethan's voice went flat.
"You need to leave."
"I'm not leaving without my daughter." She took another step forward.
"Whatever she did, whatever you think you saw — this wedding is happening today.
Do you understand me?
The guests are seated.
The cameras are downstairs.
Do you have any idea what canceling now would cost my family?"
"Your daughter held a hot iron over my son's chest," Ethan said quietly.
Mrs.
Harlow didn't even flinch.
That was the moment my stomach dropped.
She already knew.
"Victoria has always been...
high-strung," she said smoothly.
"She didn't mean anything by it.
You know how she gets before big events."
"She threatened my staff.
She threatened my child." Ethan's voice cracked on the last word.
Mrs.
Harlow looked past him — directly at me.
"You." Her voice turned to ice.
"You're the maid who caused this scene.
I know exactly who you are, Clara.
And I know something about you that Ethan doesn't."
She reached into her jacket and pulled out a folded envelope.
"Read it," she said, holding it out toward Ethan.
"Then decide who you really trust."
---
What's inside that envelope — and how does Mrs.
Harlow know Clara's name?
May you like
The full truth is darker than anyone expected.
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