บททั้งหมดของ BETWEEN SISTERS AND SINS: บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

~MAYA~ The afternoon silence of the ancestral manor’s medical wing was thick, the air smelling faintly of old cedar and clinical antiseptic. Julian had been gone for hours, trapped in a secure online proxy war with the corporate board to protect his CEO title. He thought he had left me in an untouchable sanctuary, guarded by his elite personal detail. He didn't know how easily his family could bypass his parameters. "The isolation wing is undergoing a routine calibration, shadow girl," Julian’s older brother had whispered just ten minutes ago, his leather shoes clicking sharply against the corridor floor as he and his sister stepped out of the dark. They didn't raise their hands against me. They didn't need to. They simply used their biometric maternal clearance codes to lock the heavy, reinforced steel security doors to Williams’ intensive care pod right in front of my face. "A servant has no right to alter high-society medical schedules," his sister had sneered, her cruel laugh

~MAYA~ The force of the slap was so violent it sent my head snapping to the side, my cheek exploding in agony as I collapsed onto the floor. Evelyn didn't stop. She grabbed me by my hair, dragging my fourteen-year-old body across the floor until I was pinned beneath her heavy leather heels. "Don't lie to me, you worthless good for nothing shadow!" Evelyn shrieked, her nails digging into my shoulder blades until the blood seeped through my tunic. "The Vance family’s elite black-ops division just knocked on our front gates! The old patriarch’s grandson was ambushed last night, and he told them a girl with an identical Lin profile saved his life! He’s hunting for the girl with the blue umbrella and the silver signet ring!" My father stepped into the room, his eyes glittering with a sudden, multi-billion-dollar corporate greed as he looked down at my bleeding face. "The grandson is Julian Vance, Evelyn. The sole heir to the entire Vance Empire. If he thinks the girl who saved him is

~MAYA~ The silence that returned to the parlor was total, relieving, and dripping with an invisible threat. Victoria wasn't bluffing and I know it. Within ten minutes of their departure, the subtle shifts began. The soft classical music piped through the mansion's built-in sound system abruptly cut out, leaving the vast corridors quiet and echoing. The heating grids beneath the polished hardwood floors slowly died, a creeping, Alpine chill rising from the stones to seep through the thin fabric of my knit dress. I walked out of the parlor, heading back toward the medical wing to check on Williams. But the moment I reached the service intersection, Mrs. Gable, the sharp-featured head housekeeper, stepped out from the linen pantry. She didn't bow her head or offer any word of greeting. She stood directly in the center of the narrow hallway, her arms crossed over her black apron, disdain plastered across her face. "The private laundry service for the lower suites has been suspen

~MAYA~ The morning lock on the mahogany doors disengaged with its usual mechanical precision. I didn't flinch. I sat perfectly upright on the edge of the luxury medical bed, my posture matching the rigid spine of a woman who had spent a lifetime learning how to survive in the shadows of a monster’s house. Mrs. Gable stepped into the room. Her black housekeeper's apron was immaculate, her face a cold, carved mask of arrogance as she carried a silver tray toward me. Resting in the center of the tray was a delicate porcelain teacup, its pale green steam carrying a faint, herbaceous scent. "Your prenatal nutrient blend, Mrs. Vance," Gable said, her voice dripping with a faked, flat compliance that made my stomach tighten. "Madam Victoria personally requested that the private kitchen brew this specifically for your morning cycle. She wants to ensure the heir is receiving... everything it deserves." I looked at the swirling green liquid. Yesterday, I would have swallowed it down, tr

~MAYA~ The metallic echo of the reinforced double iron doors slamming shut vibrated straight through the floor beneath my feet. The security seals engaged with an airtight hiss, completely isolating the grand formal dining room from the rest of the ancestral manor. Above us, the massive crystal chandeliers subtly rattled, casting a flickering light over the long mahogany table. Beside me, Julian’s older brother, Thomas, bolted upright in his chair, his face losing its lazy, arrogant composure in a single second. "Julian! What the hell is the meaning of this lockdown? Turn the system override off!" Julian didn't move. He stood at the head of the table beside the central podium, his towering, broad-shouldered frame an unassailable wall of stone. His custom jacket molded perfectly to his muscular build, completely hiding the bandages on his spine. "Keep your seat, Thomas," Julian commanded. His voice wasn't loud, but the gravelly vibration carried an authority that made his brother