Chapter 1 – I SAW HER GET IN VICTORIA’S CAR
The silence in the grand hallway was deafening. The kind of silence that happens right before a bomb goes off.
Dominic’s breathing stopped. He didn’t look at the faded photograph anymore. His dark eyes slowly shifted from the yellowed paper in his hands to the woman he was supposed to marry in three weeks.
Victoria let out a breathless, forced laugh. “Dominic, darling. She’s an eight-year-old child. She’s traumatized. You can’t possibly believe—”
“Shut up,” Dominic said. The words weren’t loud, but they cut through the air like a blade.
Sophie hid her face in the fabric of my apron. I could feel her small, fragile body trembling against my legs. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, holding her close. A housekeeper wasn’t supposed to touch the family, but right now, I wasn’t an employee. I was the only shield this little girl had.
“Dominic,” Victoria tried again, her voice softening into that manipulative purr she used when she wanted a new diamond. “Isabella died on impact. The police report confirmed it. The car caught fire. Are you really going to let a fired maid and a confused child ruin us?”
Dominic stepped closer to her. He was a man who commanded hundreds of dangerous people, yet in this moment, he looked completely shattered. “How did Isabella’s handwriting get on this photograph, Victoria? A photograph of you.”
Victoria swallowed hard. Her polished facade was cracking. “She was paranoid at the end. You know she was struggling.”
I looked down at Sophie. The little girl was crying silently, but she peeked out from my apron. “Mommy wasn’t sick,” Sophie whispered. “She was scared. Because of the silver box.”
Dominic froze. “What silver box, piccolina?”
Victoria’s eyes widened in sheer panic. She lunged forward, her manicured hands reaching for Sophie. “That is enough of these lies!”
Before Victoria could touch the child, I stepped directly into her path.
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on her,” I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline hammering in my chest.
Victoria glared at me, her eyes filled with pure venom. “You are a nobody. A scrub woman. I will have you destroyed.”
“You won’t have the chance,” Dominic said. He signaled to the two armed guards standing at the end of the hall. “Escort Miss Sterling to the front gate. She leaves with the clothes on her back. Nothing else.”
“Dominic, no! You need me!” Victoria screamed as the guards grabbed her arms. “You don’t know the whole truth! Isabella wasn’t who you thought she was!”
As they dragged her out the heavy oak doors, Victoria thrashed violently. In the struggle, something metallic snagged on the doorframe and snapped. It hit the marble floor with a sharp clatter.
Victoria shrieked as the doors slammed shut, locking her out.
The mansion fell dead silent again. Dominic stood completely still, his chest heaving. Then, he walked over to the object Victoria had dropped.
It was a heavy, antique silver locket on a broken chain.
Dominic picked it up. His hands were shaking. I watched him press the small latch on the side. The locket popped open.
He didn’t speak. He just stared at the tiny picture inside, his face turning an ashen gray.
“Mr. Moretti?” I asked softly, keeping Sophie tucked against my side.
Dominic slowly turned the locket so I could see it. It wasn’t a picture of Victoria. It was a picture of Isabella. But she wasn’t smiling. She had a dark bruise across her cheek, and she was holding a newspaper.
I squinted at the date on the newspaper clipping in the tiny photo.
It was dated two weeks after her supposed fatal car crash.
Dominic’s voice was nothing but a broken whisper. “My wife is still alive.”
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