Juliet Dunn's hands froze as she spun around to face the child who could have been her mini-me. Charleigh Mason pulled him closer with a smile. "Jace, come say hi. This is the new nanny."
Before Juliet could even blink, a toy came sailing through the air and smacked her right in the head. "Go away! Jace hates you! Mommy cries every time she sees your picture with Daddy!" the little boy screamed.
Juliet's outstretched hand fell helplessly to her side. Damien Freeman walked over, wrapping an arm around Charleigh and Jace. "Come on, let's eat. Jace must be starving."
At dinner, Jace kept dropping his fork on purpose, and each time, Juliet bent down to pick it up. Her knees throbbed against the hard floor, but she kept at it, desperate for just one more glimpse of the boy.
It was only when Charleigh stepped in that Jace finally settled down, though reluctantly. "Jace, eat your dinner properly. It's not nice to act up."
Through it all, Damien just watched in silence, like none of it was his problem.
"You! Get me a bowl of soup!" Charleigh snapped.
On autopilot, Juliet obeyed. But as she set the bowl down, Charleigh deliberately tipped it—the scalding liquid splashed onto Juliet's arm, instantly raising angry red welts.
A few drops landed on Charleigh's hand, and she gasped.
Damien was at her side in a heartbeat, gently lifting her hands. "Are you okay?"
He shot Juliet an annoyed glare. "God, can you be any more clumsy? You can't even handle one simple thing."
Biting back the pain, Juliet silently dabbed at her arm with a napkin. Her mind flashed back to when she was pregnant, and a few drops of hot soup had landed on her hand. Back then, Damien had iced it all evening, so worried he'd been.
She'd once believed that, over those four years, at least some of his care had been real. Now, it was painfully obvious it had all meant nothing.
Without Juliet noticing, little three-year-old Jace had crept closer. He gently blew on Charleigh's hand, comforting her. "Mommy, don't hurt. Jace make it all better."
When his innocent face turned towards Juliet, it was twisted with pure disgust. Somehow, he got his hands on another bowl of hot soup and flung it right at Juliet's face.
"Aah...!" she cried out, the pain searing across her forehead—right where the old wounds hadn't even healed yet.
In that household, even the smallest member held all the power. "Get the guard! Throw her in the pool! She's gotta learn her lesson for hurting my mommy!" Jace ordered.
Damien moved to step in, but Charleigh cut him off. "Damien, you promised you wouldn't upset me again."
Damien's fists unclenched. He looked away, ignoring the sight of Juliet, broken and trembling.
Juliet's nails bit deep into her palms as she shook violently, then she was roughly hauled away.
The temperature was below freezing, and a thin layer of ice had already formed on the pool. They tossed her in without a second thought. The ice-cold water swallowed her whole.
After struggling, she finally got to her feet and tried to climb out. But again, the little boy's voice cut through the air. "Make her stay in there for an hour before she's allowed out!"
Juliet stared at that innocent face—so much of him looked like her, but even more like Damien. She forced her shivering to stop and answered, "Yes, young master."
