"Apologize!" Catherine shrieked, her face red with anger. She was clutching Olivia, who was trembling violently, though whether from rage or genuine distress was anyone's guess. "Apologize to your sister right now!"
Olivia sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, careful not to touch the grease stain. "I just came down to ask if you liked the food... I don't understand why you hate me so much."
Reginald stepped forward, his chin raised. "Sir, Madam, I saw everything. Miss Olivia did nothing. Miss Eleanora attacked her without provocation."
The three of them stood together-a united front of lies. They painted a picture of a jealous, violent sister attacking an innocent, loving sibling.
Edward's jaw clenched. He looked at Nora with a mixture of anger and disappointment. "Explain yourself. Now. If you cannot give me a satisfactory explanation, I will have your bags packed and you will be on a plane back to Montana tonight."
It was the ultimate threat. Exile. Disinheritance.
Nora didn't panic. She stood perfectly still, the empty plate still in her hand. She looked at Olivia, then at Reginald.
"Are you sure, Olivia?" Nora asked, her voice unnervingly calm. "You just came down to ask about the food?"
Olivia nodded, her lower lip trembling. "Yes."
Nora turned to the butler. "Reginald. You are certain I attacked without provocation?"
"I am, Miss Eleanora," Reginald said stiffly.
Nora nodded slowly. "Good."
She set the plate down on the hallway table. Then, she reached into the pocket of her cardigan and pulled out her phone.
Edward frowned. "What are you doing?"
Nora didn't answer. She tapped the screen and hit play.
The sound that filled the hallway was crystal clear.
"Make sure her meals are served late," Olivia's voice said, crisp and commanding from the phone's speaker. "And only the leftovers. She needs to understand she's not one of us."
Then came Reginald's sycophantic reply, "Of course, Miss Olivia."
The recording ended. The silence that followed was deafening.
Olivia's tears stopped instantly. Her face went white as a sheet.
Reginald's confident posture collapsed. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
Catherine stared at the phone, her mouth open in horror.
Nora turned off the screen and looked at Edward. "That is my explanation, Father. Perhaps it is not a perfect reason. But where I come from, when someone insults you to your face, you don't cry about it. You respond."
She looked pointedly at Olivia. "And you don't lie about it."
Edward's gaze shifted from Nora to Olivia, then to Reginald. The truth was undeniable. The recording didn't capture the whole plot, but it captured enough. It captured the mockery. It captured the lie.
He was a man who despised being made a fool of.
He pointed a finger at Reginald. "Get your things. Go to the accounts office, collect your final paycheck, and get off my property."
Reginald paled. "Sir, I-"
"Now," Edward roared.
Reginald fled.
Edward turned to Olivia. His eyes were cold. "Go to your room, Olivia. You are grounded for a week. You will not leave the house, and you will not see Connor."
Olivia gasped. "Dad! You can't! The party this weekend-"
"I said, go to your room!" Edward bellowed.
Olivia burst into fresh tears and ran up the stairs, pushing past Nora.
Catherine watched her daughter go, then turned back to Nora, her eyes filled with a venomous hatred.
