Chapter 4

The mansion was too quiet.

When Elena was a maid, the mansion was never quiet there was always Chloe shouting, Vivian's bracelets and heels clinking.

Now it was silent.

The guards had brought her back from the Laurent Tower. They opened the front door for her and said, "Welcome home, Miss Laurent."

Home.

She sat down on the edge of the staircase,so much had happened in 48 hours. Yesterday she was scrubbing Chloe's bathroom tiles. This morning she was called Chairwoman and now... now the house was hers, but she didn't know where to put her feet.

The front door opened.

Adrian came in.

He saw her sitting on the stairs small, lost, her knees pulled together and he stopped.

"Elena."

She looked up quickly and stood.

"Sir .. I mean... Adrian."

"You shouldn't sit there," he said quietly.

"Sorry, I ..."

"You own the stairs now," he said.

She didn't know what to say to that.

He walked up to her

"Come with me."

"Where?"

"To a place you have never been."

He led her up the staircase to a long corridor she had only ever mopped. At the end of the corridor, there were double doors made of dark walnut. Always locked.

Adrian took a key from his pocket. A heavy old brass key.

He opened it.

A rush of cold, old air came out. Like the room had been holding its breath for years.

He switched on the lights.

Elena gasped.

It was a huge living room,This one was dark wood, leather, bookshelves from floor to ceiling. A fireplace that had not been used in years. Framed contracts on the walls. Awards. A massive oak desk with piles of files, all tied neatly with string. A rich man's private world. A man's soul.

Adrian looked at her "This is Mr. Richard's private side. After he died it's been closed He never let my mother in either."

Elena walked slowly.

"Sit," Adrian said.

He pointed to an elegant cushion by the fireplace a deep green velvet armchair.

She sat. Perched on the edge, her back straight, her hands folded tight in her lap like she was about to be scolded.

Adrian walked to the desk. He opened the bottom drawer. It was locked, but he knew where the small key was taped under the drawer. He opened it.

He took out many albums.

He came and dropped them gently on the small table beside her

"Open it."

Elena's hands trembled as she picked one and opened the first page.

Her breath stopped.

It was her mother. Young, beautiful, with a wide smile and eyes just like Elena's. She was wearing a simple yellow dress,Behind her, a younger Richard Laurent laughed, his arm around her, looking at her like she was the whole world.

Adrian sat down opposite her, in the other armchair,he said nothing. He just watched her look at the pictures.

Turn the page. Another picture.Pictures of her parents in different countries and different romantic places,they look so much in love.

Elena's tears fell onto the plastic cover.

"I grew up seeing him look at these," Adrian said quietly.

Elena looked up, tears in her eyes.

Adrian leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his eyes on the fireplace.

"I was maybe 15 or 16. I would see my father...Richard sitting here, alone in this room, with this album open. He would be looking at this woman's picture for a long time. He didn't know I was watching."

He smiled a little, but it was a sad smile.

"I thought he was looking at an old lover. I went and told my mother. I said, 'Mom, why does Dad always look at a woman's picture at night?'"

"What did she say?" Elena whispered.

Adrian's voice became flat, mimicking Vivian.

"She said, 'Oh, that is someone your father misses, darling. Don't worry your little head about it. Your father has a big heart. He misses many people.'"

He looked at Elena.

"And I always wondered why didn't she get angry? If your husband keeps another woman's picture, you get angry. You shout. You cry. But my mother never did. She just smiled and said 'Let's not disturb your father.'"

Elena stared at the picture of her mother.

"I believed Mr. Richard was my father," Adrian continued, his voice low now. Almost broken. "I believed it with my whole life. He gave me everything. But..."

He paused.

"He was always distant.... he would put his hand on my shoulder and say 'Good job, son' like I was an employee. I thought it was because I was not smart enough.I tried harder. I got all A's. I came first. I became CEO at twenty. I thought if I became perfect, he would finally look at me"

"Now I know why," Adrian said, looking at her really looking at her"He was not distant because I was not good enough. He was distant because he knew. He knew I was not his. And he was looking at the woman he actually loved,and he could not have because my mother had already taken his house."

The room was so quiet you could hear the old clock ticking.

"Everything about your father and your mother is here, Elena," Adrian said softly. "He kept everything. In this room. Where my mother could not find it and throw it away."

He finally stood up

"For twenty-two years," he said quietly, "you were alone in a storeroom thinking you had no family. And for twenty-two years, I was alone in a mansion thinking I had a father. Tonight, I think we both stopped being alone."

He walked to the door, his hand was already on the brass handle. The heavy walnut door was half open,

Elena's voice stopped him.

"Adrian."

He didn't turn right away. His shoulders tensed slightly, like he knew what she was going to ask.

"Why?" she said.

Her voice was small in that big room.

"Why are you helping me?"

Adrian's hand stayed on the handle.

Elena stood up from her father's chair, the album still clutched in her hands.

When they said I was the true heir, why did you believe it so quickly?"

Finally, Adrian turned.

He looked at her.

"I loved my father," he said simply. I only ever knew one father in my life, Richard Laurent. I didn't know I wasn't his blood until yesterday.He raised me. He gave me his name when he didn't have to.He could have thrown my mother but he didn't. He kept us.He made me a Laurent."

He took a step back into the room, away from the door.

"When a man loves you like that even when you are not his blood you owe him something. You owe him the truth. And I saw... in this room, for years, how devastated he was. Every birthday of yours he would lock this door and drink alone. October 3rd. I thought it was a business anniversary. Now I know It was your birthday. A memory of losing you and your mother."

His jaw tightened.

"I will not let his daughter go astray," he said quietly. "Not while I am still breathing. Not while I still carry his name. I watched you suffer in this house for three years and did nothing because I thought you were just a maid. If I let you get lost now, after knowing you are his blood... then I am not his son. Not even his adopted son."

Elena's lips trembled. Tears filled her eyes again.

"Adrian, I ..."

He cut her off,

"That's enough crying for today, Elena."

His tone changed

"You need to rest," he said. "And you need to get ready."

"Ready for what?"

"For the company."

Elena suddenly terrified. "I... I don't know anything about

"You don't have to worry about that."he cut her

Adrian's voice became firmer.

"And Elena you shouldn't worry about Mom and Chloe. They won't harm you again."

Elena looked up quickly, fear flashing in her eyes.

"Mom and Chloe are not allowed into the main house without your permission. If they try to touch you the guards will stop them. Do you understand?"

Elena's lips trembled.

" You are not their maid anymore, Elena. You are the Chairwoman. You are Richard Laurent's daughter.

You need to rest tonight. And you need to be ready for the company. It's a lot to handle, but I will help you out."

Elena looked at him,she felt safe with his words.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Adrian nodded and finally left, closing the heavy door behind him

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Elena alone in a room full of her mother and father, she looked down at the album ,She could see her resemblance with both her parents,

Tears streamed down her face now, freely, without stopping. She didn't wipe them. She let them fall onto the album, onto her mother's face, onto her father's face.

####

The next morning, Elena woke up in her father's bedroom.For a second, she panicked and sat up fast.

Then she saw the album still open on her chest. The picture of her mother smiling.

And she remembered.

She was not a maid anymore.She came out of the room and head down of the Mansion in which she saw Sophia sitted waiting for her in the living room

Sophia flashed out a bright smile as soon as she saw her and walked up to her, holding a small black velvet box in both hands like it was something holy. She was dressed simply but elegantly.

"Good morning, Miss Laurent," Sophia said, and she actually bowed her head slightly.

Elena embarrassed. "Good morning, ma... Sophia. You don't have to..."

"I do," Sophia said warmly. She opened the box.

Inside was a black card. Matte black. With Laurent Group written in thin gold letters.

Elena stared at it.

"What is this?" she whispered.

"Adrian's instruction," Sophia said. "He said before your own cards and accounts are concluded by the lawyers

which will take a few days you should have this. It's his personal black card. No limit."

Elena's eyes widened. "No limit? No, I can't this is too much"

"He said you should get everything you need today. Everything. Clothes, shoes, Whatever you want,And he also said to tell you now that you are the Chairwoman, if you want to change anything about the house, you can do so. If you want to bring staff, remove staff, repaint walls, break walls you can do so. This is your mansion now, Miss Elena."

Elena looked around the Mansion

"Change anything?" she repeated, like she didn't understand the words.

"Anything," Sophia said. "Would you like to start today?"

---

####

Two hours later, a long black Limousine waited in front of the mansion.

Elena had never been inside this such of car in her life.

The driver opened the door for her and said, "Good morning, Chairwoman."

Sophia guided her in gently.

The first stop was the biggest luxury mall in the city.

As soon as Elena stepped in, the store managers came out themselves.

"Miss Laurent! Welcome!"

"We have prepared the private room!"

Elena froze. In the past, when she followed Chloe to this same mall carrying her bags, the guards would stop her at the entrance and say "Staff entrance at the back."

Now they were bowing to her.

In the private room, dresses were brought on rolling racks. Silk, satin, chiffon. Shoes she had only seen on Chloe's feet. Bags she had only dusted.

"Try this, Miss," Sophia said, holding up a soft beige dress.

Elena touched it. "I... I don't know how to wear this."

"You will learn," Sophia smiled. "You are beautiful. You just never had a mirror that told you."

For three hours, Elena tried things. For the first time, someone asked her "Do you like this?" instead of "Wear this."

Then lunch.

Sophia took her to a Luxury Restaurant on the top floor where VIP can only afford where Elena could never imagine

Elena looked at the menu and didn't understand half the words. She whispered to Sophia, "I have never eaten anything like this..."

Sophia leaned and whispered back, "Then you can try all and find your taste."

Elena almost laughed and cried at the same time. She ate slowly, tasting truffle pasta for the first time, tasting steak that cut like butter.

After that, Body treatment. A private spa. Warm oils, soft hands massaging her cracked feet, her rough hands, her back that ached from years of sleeping on the floor. The spa lady said, "Your skin is so sensitive, Miss. We will take care of it."

Elena closed her eyes and for the first time in her life someone was taking care of her body without hurting it.

By 4 p.m

The Limousine drove back into the mansion compound just before sunset.

Elena's lap was full of shopping bags soft paper bags with gold ribbons. She kept looking down at them like they might disappear. Dresses she had chosen herself. Shoes that were her size and a lot of other stuffs

Elena was smiling a small, shy, real smile. She felt like a different person.

In the evening,while Elena was sitted resting

Sophia walked in with three people two women and a man, all with books and laptops in their hands.

Elena was confused. "Sophia?"Who... who are they?"

"Your tutors," Sophia said softly.

Elena's smile faded a little. "Tutors?"

"Yes," Sophia said. She lowered her voice, gentle. "Adrian told me to bring them. He said you only have basic education, so we need to start from there. No pressure, Miss. Just a little every day."

One of the women stepped forward kindly. She looked like a school teacher.

"Good evening, Miss Laurent. I'm Mrs. Adele, English and general Education. This is Mr. Ryan business basics. And Miss Tania etiquette and public speaking for the boardroom."

Elena face became small again. "I only finished public high school. I didn't go to college. I couldn't... I had to work..."

Sophia sat down gently beside her she touched her arm. "I know, Miss. That's why they are here. Not to shame you. To help you."

The tutors smiled warmly

"We will go slow," Mrs. Adele said. "Starting tomorrow"

Elena looked at the books in their hands big books with titles like Corporate Structure.

She thought of the boardroom. How she stood there shaking while everyone stared.

She took a deep breath and nodded, her voice small but determined.

"Okay. Tomorrow. I will learn and try my best."

Sophia smiled feeling relieved.