Chapter 1

The room still smelled of blood.

I reached out with all the strength I had, trying to grab the hem of Elias's coat.

"Elias, please. I just want to see her. One look is all I'm asking."

He looked at me as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he simply carried our daughter out.

The door that had kept me confined for ten months opened, and I saw Vivian standing outside. She reached out and took my daughter into her arms.

The door quickly shut again, leaving me alone in silence and cut off from every sound outside.

A week later, I was ordered to the great hall. Vivian wanted to see me.

She was the Donna of the Voss family, while I was only an ordinary maid on the Voss estate. Her summons was an order I couldn't refuse.

Every step pulled at the wound in my abdomen until my face was slick with sweat. Still, I had no choice but to make my way to the great hall one step at a time.

Vivian sat in a plush armchair, a beautiful little crib beside her.

My daughter was asleep inside, tucked under the finest velvet blanket, a far cry from the rough cloth I wore.

When I came in, Vivian smiled and settled more comfortably into her chair.

"Flora, you're here. I heard you really wanted to see my child, so I called you in to see her."

She emphasized the words "my child," as if she wanted to remind me of something.

I couldn't stop staring at my daughter. Then I dug my nails into my palms and forced myself to look away.

"Thank you for your kindness, Donna."

Vivian nodded, satisfied, and stroked the baby's head.

"I also called you here because there's something I need to make clear.

"You grew up on the Voss estate, so we know exactly who you are. And Felix is so bright and sweet.

"That's the only reason I allowed you to get pregnant again. Otherwise, someone of your station would never have been allowed to share the Don's bed.

"But you also need to know what you can say and what must stay buried forever. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to throw you and both your children off this estate."

I nodded numbly as she spoke of what they had done to me as though it were a gift.

"All right, go do your job. The gardens need tending. It's time you got back to work."

I stole one last look at my daughter and slowly walked out.

I weeded, watered, fertilized, and hauled flowerpots.

I kept bending over until my hands shook and the wound in my abdomen split open again.

As blood ran down my legs and dripped onto the ground, I heard Vivian laughing upstairs.

"Look, our little Caterina smiled."

So she'd named my daughter Caterina.

That was my last thought before I passed out.

When I woke up, Vivian was holding Elias's hand with a hurt look on her face.

"I didn't mean for this to happen. I only told her to go back to her old job. How was I supposed to know she'd pass out?"

Elias patted her hand gently.

"I believe you. Don't worry about it. Go be with Caterina. This isn't your fault."

After Vivian left, he came over to my wooden bed. When our eyes met, he paused.

"Good, you're awake. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet. I've already told Vivian to let you off work for a while.

"She just doesn't know what a woman goes through after giving birth. Running the estate is her duty as Donna. She wasn't singling you out."

Once, Elias had held my hand and told me that being the nanny's daughter made me no less worthy than anyone else. To him, I was the most precious thing in the world.

But now, after I'd given him two children, he hadn't once asked how I felt. All he did was self-righteously defend the woman who had hurt me.

"I understand. It's the Donna's duty. I won't say anything more."

Elias looked at me, a little surprised.

I knew why.

When my first child was born, I fought with everything I had to keep him. I clung to a servant's hand for dear life. Even though I was still bleeding and leaving a trail of blood across the floor, I refused to let go.

For a whole year after that, I seized every chance I got to see my son.

Every time I saw Elias, I wept and begged him to give me a place in my son's life, anything that would let me see him openly.

But today, my tears had finally run dry.

At last, Elias looked at me, and his voice softened a little.

"I'm glad you understand. Felix is now heir to the Voss family, and Caterina will be cherished by Vivian and me. They'll be happy for the rest of their lives."

I nodded and said nothing, as docile as he could have wanted.

The clock struck nine. It was time for him to go read to the children with Vivian.

Their family was always so happy together.

Before he left, he tucked the blanket around me.

"I know you're unhappy. But Vivian will never be a real mother because of me. I owe her.

"As long as you keep being good, someday I'll make it up to you. We'll have a child we can call our own."

He owed Vivian, and he was paying her back with my children.

How unfair.

After Elias left, I turned to the maid beside me and quietly asked.

"The estate's been so much quieter lately. Did another group of servants leave?"

The maid, not suspecting anything, nodded.

"A few days ago, the Donna gave severance pay to all the servants aged 60 and over, so a lot of the older ones left."

I smiled and didn't say anything else.

My mother, Margaret Bennett, was one of those longtime servants.

Now that the only person I still worried about was safely away, there was no reason for me to stay on this cold estate anymore.