He Kicked Down the Door to Destroy the Maid — Until Her 3-Year-Old Son Stood in Front of His Sick Daughter With a Hidden Pink Backpack

The tension in the grand foyer was suffocating. The four guards remained still as statues, their hands resting on their holstered weapons, waiting for Gabriel’s command.

"Speak carefully, Claire," Gabriel warned, stepping closer, towering over the kneeling woman. "Every word out of your mouth determines whether you walk out of this house alive."

"Look at her, Gabriel!" Claire shouted, using his first name for the very first time in the two years she had scrubbed his floors. "Look at your own daughter!"

Gabriel’s eyes shifted from Claire down to Abigail. The little girl was shivering, clutching Lucy’s small hand so tightly her knuckles were translucent.

"Abby..." Gabriel’s voice softened involuntarily, the brutal edge softening as he bent down toward her. "Baby, come to Daddy. Did she hurt you? Did Claire try to take you?"

Abigail shook her head violently, tears spilling over her pale cheeks. She didn't run into Gabriel's open arms. Instead, she took a tiny step backward, hiding behind little Lucy’s small shoulder.

The rejection hit Gabriel like a physical blow to the chest.

"Daddy, no..." Abigail sobbed, her fragile voice barely louder than a whisper. "Claire didn't hurt me. Lucy saved me. Lucy took the bad candy away."

"Bad candy?" Gabriel repeated, his brows pulling together in a harsh knot.

Claire didn't wait. With trembling hands, she pulled the zipper of the pink backpack. The metal teeth tore open the nylon fabric, and Claire reached inside, pulling out three amber prescription bottles and tossing them onto the cold marble floor at Gabriel’s feet.

"Pick them up," Claire said, tears spilling freely down her face. "Pick them up and smell them, Mr. Mercer. Or better yet, ask your brother Julian why he personally delivered this new batch from the pharmacy this morning!"

Gabriel knelt down. He picked up the bottle labeled with Abigail’s heart regulator, twisted the cap off, and brought it to his nose.

A faint, unmistakable odor hit his senses. The sharp, bitter scent of crushed almonds.