Chapter 2: The Housekeeper’s Vengeance
Eleanor’s facade faltered for only a millisecond before the master manipulator returned. She straightened her blazer, her chin lifting with practiced arrogance. "Liam, darling, you’re overreacting. She was hysterical, and I merely—"
"I saw the mark, Mother," Liam said, his voice dangerously calm. He walked into the room, stepping over the shards of glass.
"She’s sensitive, Liam. She’s ungrateful. She’s trying to poison your mind against the woman who raised you!" Eleanor’s voice climbed an octave, desperate.
"Is that so?"
A quiet, trembling voice came from the hallway. It was Maria, the housekeeper who had been with the family for twenty years. She stepped into the room, wringing her apron in her hands.
"She’s not poisoning his mind, Ma’am," Maria said, her voice gaining strength with every word. "I’ve seen it all."
Eleanor whirled around. "Maria! Get out of here, you senile old woman!"
May you like
"No," Maria said, looking at Liam. "She’s been abusing her for months, Mr. Liam. She locks the pantry so she can’t eat. She threatens to take the baby away if she tells you. She tells her every day that she’s a gold-digger who doesn't deserve this house. She’s not the saint she pretends to be in public."
The silence that followed was suffocating. I looked up at Liam, whose knuckles were white as he gripped the doorframe. The realization hit him, not just that his mother was cruel, but that his entire home had been a theater of deceit. Every dinner, every smile, every 'loving' advice Eleanor had given me—it was all a weapon.
