CHAPTER 1 — STOP!
"Get on your knees and scrub every inch of this floor!" Veronica screamed.
With a brutal shove, she slammed the frail seventy-year-old woman into the soapy marble floor. Eleanor cried out as her fragile body hit the cold stone. Before she could crawl away, Veronica forced a heavy metal mop into her trembling hands and stepped on the hem of her gray linen dress, pinning her in place.
"You don't deserve to stand in this house," Veronica hissed. "You belong on the floor."
"I'm sorry..." Eleanor whispered through tears. "Please... my back..."
"Louder!" Veronica snapped. "Maybe then you'll learn some respect."
The old woman struggled to lift the mop. Her soaked sleeves clung to her paper-thin skin as tears mixed with the white foam spreading across the polished marble.
Two young maids stood frozen near the staircase.
Neither dared move.
Neither dared speak.
They had witnessed scenes like this before.
But today felt... different.
One maid nervously glanced toward the mansion's entrance every few seconds, as though she were waiting for someone.
Then—
The massive black double doors exploded open.
"STOP!"
The voice thundered through the foyer.
Every person froze.
Standing in the doorway was Daniel Ashford.
Fresh off an international business trip, still wearing his tailored navy suit, he gripped the handle of a black rolling suitcase.
For a heartbeat, he couldn't breathe.
His eyes locked onto the woman kneeling in the soapy water.
His mother.
Her white hair was soaked.
Her hands were bleeding.
Her entire body trembled with exhaustion.
Daniel's fingers tightened around the suitcase handle until his knuckles turned white.
Across the room, Veronica slowly turned toward him.
She didn't panic.
She didn't apologize.
Instead...
She smiled.
A slow.
Mocking.
Almost amused smile.
"Oh, darling," she said lightly. "You're home early."
She gestured lazily toward Eleanor as if pointing at a broken piece of furniture.
"I was only teaching her a little discipline."
Silence.
Daniel said nothing.
His face showed no anger.
No shouting.
No movement.
Only a terrifying calm.
One maid suddenly lowered her head.
The other quietly began crying.
Neither of them was looking at Veronica anymore.
They were staring at Daniel...
As if they knew exactly what would happen next.
Then—
Daniel released his suitcase.
It crashed onto the wet marble with an explosive bang.
Water splashed across the foyer.
The echo rolled through the mansion like thunder.
For the first time...
Veronica's smile disappeared.
She had seen her husband angry before.
But she had never seen him look at her...
Like a complete stranger.
And she had no idea...
That this wasn't the first secret Daniel had uncovered that day.
As the suitcase slowly tipped onto its side, the impact forced the lock open just enough for a single yellowed envelope to slide halfway out.
Across its front, written in bold black ink, were six chilling words—
"Open only after you see everything."
Daniel hadn't opened it yet.
But someone else in the room had.
The older maid's face turned ghost white.
She recognized the envelope immediately.
May you like
Because three nights earlier...
She had hidden it inside that suitcase herself.
