Chapter 23 - The Housekeeper's Courage
"Julian, you traitor!"
Eleanor hissed, her face flushing a dark, ugly shade of red.
"You dare turn on me in my own home?"
"It is not your home anymore,"
William declared, his voice dropping to a low, lethal register that reverberated through the floorboards.
He pulled a folded piece of heavy estate stationery from his pocket and held it up.
"This is a sworn, signed confession from Maria, the head housekeeper,"
William announced, looking directly at his mother.
Maria, standing in the back of the room with the rest of the staff, lowered her head, but she did not step back. She stood her ground, tears streaming down her face, finally free from decades of the matriarch’s tyranny.
"It details how you intercepted Chloe’s medical equipment, ordered the removal of safety grips from the stairs, and deliberately instructed the staff to ignore her calls for help,"
William continued, reading the room with absolute authority.
"This was not a moment of anger. It was premeditated, systematic abuse designed to cause a miscarriage."
Aunt Beatrice gasped again, pressing a hand to her chest.
"Eleanor... how could you?"
Beatrice whispered, taking a definitive step away from her sister-in-law.
"Shut up, Beatrice! You empty-headed fool!"
Eleanor roared, losing every last shred of her aristocratic dignity.
"She doesn't belong here! I was protecting the Sterling bloodline from being polluted by a weak, common girl who only wanted our money!"
"The only pollution in this family,"
May you like
William said quietly, closing the distance between them until he towered over her,
"Is you."
