chapter 1

Lena – POV

When I was seventeen, I lost everything in one night. My parents died in a car crash on a rainy Sunday, and from that moment on, it was just me, alone, broke, and barely surviving.

I fought my way through school, juggled jobs, cried into old sweaters, and counted coins just to eat. But I never stopped hoping.

Then, one night, an email from The Carter Group changed everything. I almost deleted it, thinking it was a scam.

Now here I am, inside the gates of a mansion I never dreamed I’d step foot in, clinging to a fragile chance to turn my life around.

The iron gates shut behind the sleek black car with a soft clank that felt a lot more like a lock than a welcome.

Everything about this place screamed money. From the stone lions flanking the driveway to the fountains glittering like something out of a fairy tale. My fingers clenched tighter around the handle of my suitcase as the car crawled forward, each second making my heart beat harder.

Was this happening?

I hadn’t slept. My body ached from packing, from nerves, from everything I didn’t know. Just twenty-four hours ago, I was whispering desperate prayers into the dark of my tiny apartment. Now I was being delivered to the Carter estate. Not a hotel. Not an office. An estate, the kind that showed up in tabloids and scandals.

The kind of place where people like me didn’t belong.

My stomach twisted as the car stopped in front of a mansion so breathtaking, it looked unreal. White stone walls, endless windows, twin staircases rising like wings toward doors taller than I was. This wasn’t a house. It was a kingdom.

And I was stepping into it as a servant.

The driver stepped out and opened my door without a word. He looked like a secret agent, stone-faced, silent, and polished to perfection.

I stepped out slowly. My old boots tapped the polished stone of the drive. I clutched my suitcase like it could shield me.

Before I could even breathe in, the front doors swung open.

A tall woman stood in the entry, her expression sharp enough to slice glass. Her fitted black dress clung to her like it had been sewn directly onto her body, and her silver hair was pulled into a bun so tight I wondered if she could blink. A small gold pin on her collar read Mrs. Hill.

“Miss Daniels?” she asked, voice clipped.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She nodded once. “Follow me.”

The doors closed behind me with a heavy thud that echoed in my bones.

Inside, everything was hushed and gleaming. The air smelled of roses, lemon polish, and secrets. My footsteps were silenced by rugs thicker than my mattress. Above me, chandeliers glittered like frozen lightning. Oil paintings of stern-faced men and elegant women lined the walls, Carters, I assumed. People who had never known hunger or fear or grief.

“This is the main hall,” Mrs. Hill said without looking back. “Family areas to the left. Guest spaces to the right. Staff quarters are beyond the east garden. Do not enter any space you are not invited into. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, voice small.

“You’ll sleep in the east wing with the personal staff. Your uniform and schedule will be in your room. Breakfast at Eight. Lunch at noon. Dinner at seven. Staff eat together. Phones are permitted in private, but no photos, no recordings, and no social media.”

“I understand.”

We passed a hallway, where sunlight poured through floor-to-ceiling windows.

And that’s when I saw him.

A man sprawled across a poolside lounger, shirtless, tattoos curling up one arm like dark vines. His hair was tousled, still damp, sunglasses perched lazily on his head. His eyes, sharp, amused, met mine.

He smirked. Lifted a glass in mock salute. Then let his gaze slide down my body like he was unwrapping something.

Heat rushed up my neck.

“Ignore Mr. Zane,” Mrs. Hill said tightly. “The middle son. He’s... a problem.”

I didn’t need convincing.

We continued down a quieter hall. The decor here was simpler, but no less elegant. A few staff passed silently, clean uniforms, downcast eyes.

“This is your room,” Mrs. Hill said, opening a small door. Inside was a modest, tidy space, bed, desk, wardrobe. Humble, but clean. Safer than where I came from. Warmer, too.

“Dinner at seven. Be on time. And one last thing” she paused, hand on the doorknob. “Keep your head down. This place is not as kind as it looks.”

Then she was gone.

I stood there, alone.

I crossed the room, brushing my fingers along the soft blanket. My legs folded beneath me before I could stop them. I sat, breathing deeply, letting the silence settle around me.

I peeked out the window. The garden looked like something from a dream, hedges trimmed like lace, roses climbing marble columns.

And somewhere out there, Zane Carter lounged by the pool with that crooked smile.

The Carter name had always meant something in headlines, money, mergers, and scandal. There were rumors too: mysterious firings, secretive lawsuits, whispers of cover-ups swept neatly under silk rugs.

When I got the job offer, Mr. Carter himself had warned me that his three sons could be difficult.

Now I was starting to wonder just how difficult he meant.

A soft knock on the door snapped me back.

I opened it to find the same girl from earlier, round face, nervous smile, and arms full of folded clothes.

“Hi,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. “I’m Ruby. Laundry team.”

“Hi, Ruby. I’m Lena.”

She glanced over her shoulder before stepping inside. “You’re new. So I’ll just say this now.”

She handed me the uniform, then leaned in. “Don’t trust anyone too fast. Not even the ones who smile at you. Especially the ones who smile at you.”

I blinked. “Why?”

Ruby hesitated. Her voice dropped lower. “The Carters are powerful. Too powerful. Things happen here, things that get buried. People vanish, and no one asks why. You hear something, you forget it. See something weird? Look the other way.”

My mouth went dry. “You’re serious?”

She didn’t answer. Her eyes darted to the hallway.

“Just… don’t ask questions,” she said. Then, almost apologetically, “I like you. I hope you survive.”

And with that, she slipped out like a shadow.

I stood there, stunned.

Then I heard it.

“…we can’t keep it hidden forever, Liam. Someone will talk.”

“That’s not your problem, Zane. Stay in line for once.”

And then a third voice, calm, precise, and so cold it felt like ice on my spine.

“Both of you, shut up. Not here.”

My breath caught.

I closed the door quietly, pulse hammering.

Who were they?

And what were they hiding?

I looked at the uniform Ruby left behind. I’d come here to survive. To start over. To make a living.

But now?

Now I wasn’t sure if I’d stepped into a job…

…or into a trap.