Chapter 4

The atmosphere inside the mansion instantly turned tense. The woman in the pastel dress looked at Gideon in disbelief. “Gideon, you can’t be serious.”

Her eyes snapped toward Valerius, filled with open hostility. “After everything she did, you still want her near Alethea?”

Valerius still had no idea who Evanthe was, yet everyone in this house already seemed to hate her.

“I already told you,” Valerius said coldly. “My name is Valerius. I don’t know who this Evanthe woman is.”

Clarissa looked even more unsettled. Then she turned toward Gideon, her voice growing sharper.

“You can’t seriously let her near Alethea after what happened five years ago.”

The room went quiet.

Valerius glanced between them in confusion. Nobody would explain anything clearly, yet everyone in this house kept looking at her like she had done something horrible.

Meanwhile, Gideon looked completely unreadable.

“Take her upstairs,” he said calmly to the head maid. “Alethea is still awake.”

​Clarissa immediately stepped forward. “Gideon—”

​“I already made my decision.” His cold tone shut her up instantly. Valerius noticed it right away. Everyone in this house seemed afraid of Gideon Vance.

​Without another word, the head maid gestured for Valerius to follow her upstairs. As they walked through the enormous hallway, Valerius’s confusion only grew worse. Who exactly was Evanthe? And why did everyone in this mansion hate her so much?

For a brief moment, a strange thought crossed her mind.

What if they were telling the truth? What if she really had known Gideon before losing her memories five years ago?

But the idea quickly felt ridiculous. If she had truly belonged to a family this rich, then why had she spent the last five years struggling alone in New Jersey? Why had nobody come looking for her?

Someone as powerful as Gideon Vance could probably find anyone he wanted.

But no one had ever come looking for her.

Valerius pressed her lips together. Whatever this misunderstanding was, she wanted no part in it.

​A few moments later, the maid stopped in front of a large bedroom door. Loud crashing noises echoed from inside. The maid hesitated nervously before opening the door.

Valerius stopped short the moment she stepped into the room. The room looked like a war zone. Expensive toys were scattered across the floor. Pillows had been thrown everywhere, and broken pieces of a table lamp glittered near the wall.

In the middle of the massive bed sat a little girl with messy hair and red, tear-filled eyes.

This had to be Alethea.

The moment the child saw Valerius standing near the door, her expression twisted with anger. She immediately grabbed a porcelain doll from the bed and hurled it across the room.

CRASH.

The doll shattered against the wall just inches from Valerius’s shoulder.

“I DON’T WANT A NEW NANNY!” Alethea screamed. “GET OUT!”

​Valerius closed her eyes briefly and took a slow breath. Back in New Jersey, anyone throwing objects at her would’ve been yelled at immediately. But no matter how difficult she was, Alethea was still just a child. Valerius slowly opened her eyes again and forced herself to stay calm.

“I’m already regretting this job,” she muttered under her breath.

​“What did you say?!” Alethea shouted. 

Before Valerius could answer, another pillow came flying toward her face. The maid beside her looked horrified. “Miss Alethea, please calm down—”

​“I hate all of you!” Alethea cried while kicking another toy off the bed. “I want Mommy!”

For a brief moment, the room went quiet. Valerius stiffened slightly when she heard the word Mommy.

Outside the half-open bedroom door, Gideon stood silently in the dim hallway, watching everything without saying a word.

Gideon’s eyes stayed on Valerius.

But when she looked at Alethea, there was no warmth on her face. No emotion that looked even remotely maternal. She looked at the child the same way any stranger would look at an exhausted five-year-old throwing a tantrum.

For some reason, that left a bitter feeling in Gideon’s chest.

Five years ago, Evanthe had abandoned their newborn daughter without hesitation. She had left the baby at the front gate and disappeared before sunrise, leaving behind nothing except a letter saying she wanted her freedom back.

Looking at Valerius now, Gideon found himself thinking the same thing he had believed for years.

Maybe Evanthe had never wanted Alethea at all.

Without another word, Gideon turned and walked away from the bedroom.

The chaos inside the room continued for hours.

Alethea refused to sleep. She cried, screamed, threw pillows across the room, and at one point even tried to force Valerius out again.

Even Valerius was starting to lose her patience.

She had spent years dealing with debt collectors, drunken men, and poverty, yet somehow one screaming five-year-old girl was exhausting her more than all of them combined.

“You’re difficult,” Valerius muttered tiredly while fixing one of the fallen blankets.

“I hate you,” Alethea snapped back, her voice thick from crying.

Valerius let out a dry laugh. “Yeah? Well, I’m not exactly enjoying this either.”

Alethea blinked at her in confusion.

Most adults either yelled at her or tried too hard to comfort her whenever she cried. But this woman only looked tired and irritated, like she didn’t care enough to pretend otherwise.

Strangely, that made Alethea calm down a little. Her crying slowly grew quieter until eventually, she fell asleep.

The bedroom finally fell quiet.

Valerius let out a tired breath and rubbed her forehead. Every part of her body ached after dealing with Alethea for hours.

Wanting nothing more than sleep, she left the room and went looking for Gideon.

A servant eventually directed her to a private study downstairs. 

Valerius pushed the door open without bothering to knock.

Gideon sat behind a large desk with a laptop open in front of him. Even late at night, he still looked cold and completely composed.

​“Your daughter’s asleep,” Valerius said flatly. “Now where’s my room? I need a shower.”

​Gideon slowly lifted his eyes toward her. For a brief second, his gaze lingered on her exhausted face. “Your room is beside Alethea’s.”

Valerius let out a quiet sigh. Of course it was. Before she could complain, Gideon spoke again. “And it’s directly across from mine.”