Chapter 4 - The Threat in the Hallway
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I was carrying a basket of fresh linens down the second-floor corridor when she cornered me.
Selene stepped out of a guest bedroom, her heels clicking sharply against the hardwood floor. She wore a silk robe, her arms crossed, her eyes blazing with an unadulterated, aristocratic hatred.
“You think you’re very clever, don't you?” Selene hissed, blocking my path.
I stopped, gripping the laundry basket tightly. “I don't know what you mean, Miss Vale.”
“Don't play stupid with me,” she snapped, stepping directly into my personal space. The scent of her expensive perfume was overpowering. “You used your brat to make me look foolish in front of my father. You used her to play on Damian’s pathetic savior complex.”
“My daughter was hungry,” I stated, keeping my voice perfectly level. “There was no manipulation involved.”
Selene let out a harsh, bitter laugh. “You’re a maid. A nobody. You scrub the floors my shoes walk on. If you ever let that little rat near my fiancé again, I won't just have you fired. I will make sure you are blacklisted from every job in this city. You’ll be begging on the streets by Christmas.”
I looked at the woman who was secretly betraying the man she claimed to love. The folded access log in my apron pocket felt like a loaded gun.
“Is that a threat, Miss Vale?” I asked calmly.
“It is a promise,” she spat. “Keep your head down, and keep your child out of my sight. Or I will ruin you.”
She spun on her heel and marched away.
I didn't tremble. I didn't cry. The fear I usually felt around powerful people had been entirely burned away the moment she insulted Lily.
I walked straight to the service elevator. I wasn't going to wait. I wasn't going to let this woman dictate my survival.
I went back to Damian’s study. I knew he was due back in twenty minutes.
May you like
I took the folded access log from my pocket. I didn't write a note. I didn't need to. I simply smoothed the paper out and placed it perfectly in the dead center of his mahogany desk, right on top of his leather blotter.
It was a silent declaration of war, and I had just handed the king the executioner's axe.
