“I’m not trying to hurt him!” I yelled, my throat raw, hands lifted in surrender while Delilah shrieked like I was some kind of threat.
“She’s lying!” Delilah sobbed, throwing herself over the crib as though I were about to attack. “She reached for him—she’s completely unstable!”
“I only wanted to—”
“Enough!” my mother-in-law snapped, slicing through my words. “I’m done with your performances, Eleanor. You’ve been acting deranged ever since my son passed away.”
Deranged. That was what she called the panic of a mother who saw a child that looked exactly like the baby stolen from her arms.
“I told you I wouldn’t hurt him—”
“Take her downstairs,” Lucinda ordered, her voice glacial as she turned to the staff. “Lock her in the basement.”
The words didn’t register at first. “What did you just say?”
Nathaniel—still hiding behind Harold’s name—hesitated only briefly. I searched his face for the man who once protected me, the one who promised never to let anyone hurt me.
Instead, he murmured, “It’s better this way. She needs to cool off.”
Something inside my chest collapsed.
Two employees seized my arms. I fought, twisting wildly, my screams echoing down the hall. “Please! I didn’t do anything! You can’t do this!” But I was nothing to them. Just another problem to be removed.
The door slammed shut behind me, plunging me into darkness.
The basement reeked of rot and damp stone. My feet slid over gritty concrete, then over something soft that scurried away. The sound of insects skittering made my skin crawl. Somewhere close, a rat shrieked.
I pressed my back against the wall, hugging myself, shaking so hard my teeth rattled.
Then pain exploded in my ankle.
I looked down just in time to glimpse a thick coil sliding away into the shadows.
I don’t remember falling. Only screaming.
When I opened my eyes again, the world smelled of disinfectant. A nurse hovered over me, her voice calm.
“You’re fortunate,” she said. “It was a venomous bite. If you’d arrived any later, it could’ve been fatal.”
My lips were dry as sand. “How did I get here?”
“The butler called emergency services,” she replied. “But you need to rest.”
Rest. After being tossed into a basement like garbage.
I scanned the room for any familiar face, but she answered my question before I could ask.
“No one has visited you.”
By the time I was released, my body was weak but my resolve was solid. I would never go back to that house and bow my head again.
At the gate, the butler was waiting.
“They’re all attending an auction tonight, ma’am,” he said stiffly.
“Auction?”
“Yes. Miss Delilah is hosting a charity event.”
Charity. I nearly laughed out loud.
The hall buzzed with perfume, gossip, and money. Crystal chandeliers shimmered above crowds wrapped in silk and diamonds. Onstage, Delilah stood radiant in red, smiling into a microphone as one of her paintings was wheeled out.
“This is my most meaningful work,” she said sweetly. “I hope someone here will treasure it.”
Bids flew. Numbers soared. She basked in admiration.
But I was done letting her have the spotlight.
I walked forward, heels striking the marble, and took the microphone from the startled auctioneer.
“I’d like to contribute an additional item,” I announced. “A Carrington family heirloom.”
The room rippled with whispers.
I slid my wedding ring free. “This was given to me by Nathaniel Carrington. Its value is beyond measure—but tonight, its price will be higher than money.” I met their eyes steadily. “Whoever purchases this ring… will become my future husband.”
The silence was deafening.
Across the room, Nathaniel’s face drained of color.
The ring vanished to the highest bidder, and with it went the last thread tying me to that man.
Nathaniel cornered me moments later. “Are you insane? That ring represented everything my brother gave you! Do you have any idea what you just threw away?”
“Why does it matter to you?” I asked coolly. “You’re not him.”
His jaw tightened. “I’m his family—”
“Your brother is gone,” I said. “And I’ve buried the woman who loved him.”
I walked away.
Delilah followed me outside, ripping my hair back in fury. “You selfish witch! You stole my night!”
I tore her hand free and laughed, hollow and bitter.
“Enjoy the spotlight, Delilah. I won’t be here to compete with you anymore.”
