Chapter 1 - THE SLAP THAT ENDED THE MARRIAGE
Arthur Blackwood’s hand fell to his side.
The sound of the slap still seemed to hang beneath the crystal chandelier.
Victoria pressed one palm against her cheek.
Her expression shifted from shock to fury.
“You hit me for these nobodies?”
Arthur stepped between her and the two trembling children.
“Do not call them nobodies.”
Maya stood beside her younger brother, Noah.
Both wore the gray uniforms assigned to junior household staff.
Maya was fifteen.
Noah was twelve.
Their mother, Elena Torres, had worked at Blackwood Manor for almost twenty years before dying unexpectedly six months earlier.
Arthur had allowed the children to remain in the staff cottage while their guardianship situation was resolved.
Victoria had called it charity.
Arthur had called it the least the family could do.
Now Maya’s cheek was swollen.
A thin red mark crossed Noah’s face.
His glasses had fallen onto the marble floor.
One lens was cracked.
Arthur crouched and picked them up.
“Did she strike you too?”
Noah nodded.
Victoria laughed bitterly.
“He called me a liar.”
“What did you lie about?” Arthur asked.
The room became still.
Victoria folded her arms.
“This is ridiculous.”
“Maya broke into my dressing room.”
“She stole my diamond bracelet.”
Maya shook her head.
“I didn’t.”
Victoria pointed toward the staircase.
“The bracelet was found in her apron.”
Arthur looked at Maya.
“Who found it?”
“Mrs. Victoria.”
“Where were you when she searched you?”
“In the laundry room.”
“Was anyone else there?”
“No.”
Victoria stepped forward.
“I will not be interrogated by my own husband in front of servants.”
Arthur’s expression hardened.
“They are children.”
“They are employees.”
“They live under my roof.”
“And they lied to you.”
Maya reached inside her pocket.
Her hands trembled.
“I recorded what happened.”
Victoria’s face changed.
“What did you say?”
Maya pulled out an old phone.
The screen was cracked.
The device had belonged to her mother.
“She told me to start recording if Mrs. Victoria ever asked me to enter the west wing.”
Arthur stared at her.
“Your mother told you that?”
Maya nodded.
“The week before she died.”
Victoria moved toward the phone.
Arthur blocked her.
“Do not touch it.”
The recording began.
Victoria’s voice filled the foyer.
“Put the bracelet in your apron.”
Maya answered:
“No.”
Then came the sound of a drawer opening.
Victoria said:
“If Arthur believes you stole from me, he will send you and your brother away.”
Maya’s breathing became audible.
“You killed my mother.”
The recording went silent for two seconds.
Then Victoria whispered:
“Your mother should have learned when to stop asking questions.”
Arthur slowly turned toward his wife.
Every trace of anger disappeared from his face.
Something colder took its place.
“What questions was Elena asking?”
Victoria looked toward the front doors.
“You are listening to manipulated nonsense.”
Arthur took out his phone.
Victoria stepped backward.
“Who are you calling?”
“The police.”
Her face turned pale.
“My family will destroy you.”
Arthur looked at Maya and Noah.
May you like
“No.”
“Your family is going to explain why a dead housekeeper warned her children about my wife.”
