Chapter 2

I hit the floor hard, my cheek burning like fire.

I was stunned by how quickly Elena had found out. But when I looked up, I caught the smug sneer on Martha's face among the gathered staff.

Of course. In the seven months I'd been here, I had purged half the household staff.

I had cut off so many of that old woman's kickbacks. She hated my guts.

Still, this wasn't the time to dwell on that. My plan wasn't finished. I couldn't afford to be thrown out now.

Scrambling on hands and knees, I grabbed the hem of Elena's dress and pleaded desperately:

"Ma'am, please! I'm innocent! I swear I never tried to seduce Mr. Sterling!"

Elena wasn't buying it.

She kicked me hard in the chest and slapped me across the face again.

"Get lost!"

"Martha, have security drag this bitch outside and teach her a lesson she'll never forget!"

Martha grinned wickedly. She signaled two burly bodyguards, who grabbed me by the arms.

Just as they were about to drag me past the threshold, the baby burst into shrill, frantic sobs.

My heart skipped a beat.

In a flash of panic, a vicious idea ignited in my mind.

"Ma'am! Listen to her! I can understand what the little miss is crying about!"

"I don't give a damn if she cries! Even if she screams her lungs out, you're not staying in this house another second! Martha, shove a rag in her mouth and throw her out!"

Martha's wrinkled face beamed with delight. She picked up a filthy cleaning rag and moved to shove it between my lips.

No!

I couldn't be expelled now!

My plan wasn't complete, and my real daughter was still waiting for me!

In a burst of sheer adrenaline, I wrenched myself free from the guards' grip and screamed at the top of my lungs:

"Ma'am! The little miss is saying... she saw it!"

"She saw Martha's daughter, Chloe, in bed with Mr. Sterling!"

The entire grand foyer fell dead silent.

Martha was the first to snap out of it.

She lunged at me like a feral beast, trying to strike me while shouting frantic excuses to Elena:

"Ma'am! She's lying through her teeth just so she doesn't get fired! How could my Chloe ever—"

"In the master bedroom! Yesterday afternoon, while you were out having tea with the other socialites! The little miss was napping right there in the room! She saw everything with her own eyes, and she's crying because she's terrified!"

With every word I spoke, Elena's face darkened another shade.

Martha panicked completely. She tried to force the rag into my mouth, shouting at the guards:

"What are you waiting for?! Throw this lunatic out—"

"Stop!"

Elena's icy voice cut through the chaos. She turned a murderous glare onto Martha.

"Why are you in such a hurry to drag her away, Martha? Let her finish."

Martha froze, trembling from head to toe.

Elena walked over to me and ordered a guard to pull the cloth from my mouth.

I caught my breath and continued:

"Yesterday between two and four in the afternoon. In your master bedroom. The little miss woke up crying, and I rushed to check on her, but Mr. Sterling blocked the door and said he was busy. He told me to come back later. He gave me that box this morning because he thought I figured it out..."

Martha went ballistic, lunging forward again. "You liar! How dare you slander my family?!"

Elena's guards held Martha back. Elena stepped forward and delivered a resounding slap across Martha's face.

The blow was far harder than the one she gave me, knocking Martha clean off her feet.

"Nobody makes decisions in this house except me!"

"Pull the security tapes. Now!"