Chapter 3

I crashed into a champagne tower, the glasses shattering with a deafening crash.

Shards sliced my leg, blood trickling down my ankle onto the marble floor, but Tessa didn't spare a glance.

"Today, I'm teaching you manners." She grabbed a stick from a table and swung it at my back, each blow whistling through the air. "This is for lying! For slandering Bianca!"

I bit my lip, refusing to utter a sound.

Guests shifted uneasily, some stepping forward to intervene but shrinking back under Tessa's ferocious glare.

"Mrs. Pittman," the butler interrupted, "beating her in front of everyone like this..."

"I'm teaching her to behave!" Tessa screamed, her voice cracking. "She's a compulsive liar, and now she's pretending to be an heiress. If I don't set her straight, she'll be unstoppable."

She raised the stick again, but I caught it mid-swing, locking eyes with her. "Go on and hit me! Kill me, and your secrets die with me!"

Her hand froze in the air, her eyes flashing with raw fear.

"You're full of it!" she screeched, swinging the stick with bone-breaking force.

Unable to dodge, I closed my eyes and braced myself for the strike. In the nick of time, a frail figure threw herself in front of me.

The stick cracked against flesh with a sickening thud, but I felt no pain. My eyes flew open to see Candace, our old nanny, crumpled before me.

Her back was torn open by the blow, but she clenched her teeth, refusing to make a sound.

"Candace!" I gasped.

Tessa's face contorted with rage. "You meddling hag! Who let you in here?"

Candace ignored her and clutched my hand, her eyes brimming with tears. "Miss, you're finally back."

My heart skipped a beat. Candace had raised me. She was the only person I trusted in the house.

Five years ago, when I was forced to leave, she'd chased my car, sobbing, until it vanished from sight. Now, she'd taken a blow for me without hesitation.

I touched her back gently, my voice shaking. "Does it hurt?"

She shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Not a bit. I'm just glad to see you again."

Tessa was livid, raising the stick again. "Drag these troublemakers out!"

The servants hesitated, then stepped forward. Candace spun around, spreading her arms to shield me, her voice trembling but fierce. "Don't you dare touch Miss Wendy Pittman!"

Her glare, sharp as a blade, froze the servants in place.

Tessa trembled with fury. "This is mutiny! A servant defying the master?"

She screamed at the housekeeper, "What are you standing there for? Get rid of her!"

The housekeeper swung, the stick cracking against Candace's spine. She groaned, her body buckling.

"Candace!" I roared, pulling her behind me.

"Protecting a servant? You're as low as they come!" Tessa sneered, then turned to the housekeeper. "Keep going!"

"I dare you!" I shot back, my voice like ice.

Tessa froze, stunned by the fire in my eyes. Bianca seized the moment, fake-crying. "Mom, look at her! A nanny means more to her than I do!"

Tessa's rage reignited. She grabbed the stick and swung again. "I'll teach you respect, you ungrateful wretch!"

I shielded Candace, bracing for impact, when a deep, commanding voice thundered from the entrance. "Who dares lay a hand on my granddaughter?"