Chapter 4 - The Unannounced Return
Victoria stood near the piano, her chest heaving, her hands trembling slightly.
For a second, panic crossed her face. But it vanished just as quickly, replaced by an arrogant sneer.
She smoothed the front of her burgundy silk dress.
"Stay out of this, you pathetic maid!" Victoria sneered, taking a step toward Elena. "You're fired! Get out of my house!"
Elena remained on the floor, holding the crying child tightly in her arms. She looked up at Victoria with eyes filled with fierce, protective disgust.
"You monster," Elena whispered softly. "She's just a baby."
"She's a nuisance!" Victoria shouted, her voice echoing through the high ceilings. "And you are just a servant who doesn't know her place!"
From the base of the private elevator hall, heavy, rapid footsteps approached.
The double oak entrance doors swung open.
Ethan stood on the threshold.
He wore a dark gray tailored three-piece suit, his coat slightly damp from the light rain outside. He carried a leather briefcase in his left hand.
He was thirty-four, powerful, and adored in the corporate world as the chief executive of Blackwood Enterprises.
He had returned home early from a board meeting to take Lily to the park.
His eyes swept over the foyer.
He saw the shattered glass tray on the floor.
He saw Elena kneeling on the marble, bruised and breathless.
He saw his daughter weeping hysterically against the maid's shoulder.
And he saw Victoria standing over them, her hands still raised.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Lily sobbed, her small voice cutting through the silence.
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Ethan dropped his briefcase onto the floor.
"What in the world is going on here?!" Ethan demanded, his voice dropping into a low, terrifying register.
