Chapter 5 - Sabotage at the Estate
The revelation hung in the air like poison.
Derek stared down at the small silver key in his palm, his blood turning to liquid ice. “Eleanor... covered up the accident?”
“I don't know the whole story,” Clara whispered urgently, hearing Eleanor’s footsteps returning down the hall. “I only saw the financial wire receipts before I heard her coming back. I hid the key. I was terrified. I didn't know who to trust—you were never home, and everyone said you were losing your mind with grief.”
Before Derek could reply, Eleanor swept back into the kitchen, her eyes darting suspiciously between Derek and Clara.
“Where is my tea, Clara?” Eleanor demanded coldly.
“It’s ready, Mrs. Vance,” Clara replied instantly, stepping back and resuming her humble stance, sliding the teacup onto a silver tray.
Eleanor grabbed the tray herself, giving Derek a lingering, icy glare. “I’m taking the west wing guest room tonight, Derek. We have a meeting with my corporate lawyers at nine tomorrow morning. Don't be late.”
She turned and left the kitchen.
The moment she was gone, Derek looked at Clara. The dynamic between them had shifted irrevocably. She was no longer just the woman who had brought laughter back to his sons; she was his only ally in a house filled with snakes.
“Why are you telling me this now?” Derek asked, his eyes searching hers. “You could have taken that information to the police. You could have run.”
Clara looked down at her hands, her fingers tracing the faded scar on her wrist.
“Because I know what it’s like to have your life stolen by powerful people,” Clara said, her voice dropping into a quiet, painful rhythm. “Three years ago, I was a certified pediatric nurse in New York. My ex-fiancé was a high-level executive at a medical firm connected to the Vance family. When I discovered they were falsifying clinical trials on pediatric drugs, he framed me for theft. They stripped my license, destroyed my reputation, and threatened to kill me if I ever spoke out.”
She looked up, meeting Derek’s eyes with raw honesty.
“Eleanor hired me because she thought I was broken. She thought a disgraced former nurse with a scrubbed record would be easy to control, easy to threaten. She wanted a puppet in your house. But then I met Finn, Eli, and Jasper.”
Tears brimmed in Clara’s eyes, shining like diamonds in the dim kitchen light.
“I saw three little boys who were drowning in silence. And I realized... I couldn't run anymore.”
Derek felt a sudden, overpowering surge of emotion. Without thinking, he reached across the marble counter and took her small, warm hand in his, his fingers closing firmly over hers.
“You’re not running anymore, Clara,” Derek said, his voice thick with unshakeable resolve. “Neither of us is.”
The next morning arrived with heavy grey clouds hanging over Greenwich.
By 8:00 a.m., Derek was dressed in his sharpest charcoal suit. He met Eleanor in the formal dining room, where she sat calmly sipping black coffee while reading The Wall Street Journal.
Suddenly, Victoria Ashford—a stunning, icy socialite whom Eleanor had been trying to push onto Derek for months—walked unannounced into the grand foyer, flanked by two private security guards in dark suits.
“Derek, darling!” Victoria purred, stepping into the dining room. “Eleanor called me. She said there was an emergency with household security.”
Derek stood up, his gaze narrowing. “What is she talking about, Eleanor?”
Eleanor set her coffee cup down with a sharp click. “I had my private security team run a deep background check on your precious maid last night, Derek. And it turns out we have a felon living under our roof.”
Victoria stepped forward, tossing a thick folder onto the mahogany table. “Clara Winslow isn't a maid, Derek. Her real name is Clara Vance-Ross. She’s an ex-con who served time for grand larceny and prescription fraud. And just ten minutes ago, my security detail searched her quarters in the carriage house.”
Victoria reached into her designer purse and pulled out a heavy velvet box, popping it open to reveal a dazzling diamond-and-sapphire necklace.
May you like
Lydia’s wedding necklace. The one that had been locked in Derek’s master safe.
“We found this tucked under her mattress,” Victoria sneered, a triumphant smile lighting up her face. “She’s a thief, Derek. She’s been robbing you blind while manipulating your children.”
