Chapter 2 - ECHOES OF THE PAST
The silence in the east parlor was thick enough to choke on.
Victoria let out an exasperated sigh, stomping her foot like a petulant child denied a toy.
"Get up, Ethan, you are making a scene over a maid's mistake," she demanded, her voice shrill and grating.
Ethan slowly rose to his feet, his imposing frame towering over the women in the room.
When he finally turned to look at Victoria, his eyes were devoid of any warmth or affection.
They were entirely dead, cold, and calculated, like a predator analyzing a threat.
"You pushed her," Ethan stated, his voice dangerously low and quiet.
Victoria scoffed, waving her manicured hand in the air dismissively.
"I nudged her off the bench, Ethan, she was going to ruin the ivory keys."
"You pushed a three-year-old child onto a marble floor," he repeated, every syllable laced with absolute venom.
"She is a servant's child, Ethan, she needs to learn her place in this house!" Victoria shrieked, finally losing her composed society facade.
"Her place?" Ethan asked, taking a slow, deliberate step toward the woman he was supposed to marry in three weeks.
He looked at the flawless diamond engagement ring glittering on her left hand, suddenly feeling entirely sick to his stomach.
"Yes, her place, which is out of sight and out of mind," Victoria sneered, glaring down at Rosa and Lily.
Rosa flinched, pulling Lily tighter against her chest, preparing to be fired and thrown out into the streets.
She knew how these situations ended for people like her.
The rich and powerful always protected their own, and the help was always discarded.
She kept her eyes firmly planted on the shiny black shoes of the billionaire, silently praying for a miracle.
"Victoria," Ethan said softly, though the quietness of his tone made it far more terrifying than a shout.
"Take off the ring."
The entire room seemed to freeze in time.
Victoria blinked, her perfectly sculpted eyebrows knitting together in sheer bewilderment.
"What did you just say to me?" she whispered, her arrogant mask finally slipping to reveal pure shock.
"I said, take off the ring, and get out of my house," Ethan commanded, pointing a single, steady finger toward the grand oak double doors.
"You cannot be serious!" Victoria screamed, her face flushing an ugly shade of crimson.
"We are getting married in twenty-one days, my parents have invited the governor, you cannot do this!"
"The wedding is canceled," Ethan replied, his voice as immovable as a mountain.
"If you ever lay a hand on a child in my home again, I will personally ensure your family's company is liquidated by Monday morning."
Victoria opened her mouth to argue, but the sheer, murderous intent in Ethan's eyes silenced her completely.
She ripped the heavy diamond ring off her finger and threw it violently across the room, where it clattered meaninglessly against the priceless piano legs.
"You will regret this, Ethan Caldwell," she spat, turning on her heel.
She marched out of the room, her footsteps echoing loudly until the heavy front doors slammed shut in the distance.
May you like
Ethan stood perfectly still, letting the silence rush back into the empty spaces of the room.
Then, he slowly turned back around to face Rosa, who was still kneeling on the floor, trembling violently.
