Chapter 5 - The Price of Silence
"I didn't see anything, ma'am! I swear!" Emma had cried, backing into the corner of the pantry.
Vivian lunged forward, grabbing Emma violently by the hair and slamming her against the marble countertop.
"You saw everything, you little rat," Vivian snarled, her elegant facade completely melting away to reveal the monster underneath.
Vivian reached out with her free hand and grabbed the heavy, industrial steam wand attached to the massive espresso machine. Without a second of hesitation, she yanked the lever down.
A jet of boiling, pressurized steam blasted directly onto Emma’s exposed wrist.
Emma had screamed in blinding, absolute agony, dropping to her knees on the floor.
"Shut up!" Vivian hissed, kicking the maid in the ribs. "Listen to me very carefully. You are going to wrap that up. You are going to serve dinner tonight. And you are going to smile."
Emma sobbed, clutching her blistering, burning skin. "Please... why..."
"Because if you breathe a single word of this to Julian," Vivian crouched down, grabbing Emma by the jaw, "I will make sure your little sister’s medical treatments are immediately canceled. My family owns the hospital she’s staying in, Emma. I can pull her funding with one phone call. Do you understand me?"
Emma had nodded frantically, paralyzed by the sheer terror of losing her sick sister.
Now, standing in the glowing dining room, Emma looked at Julian. The protective warmth in his eyes gave her a surge of impossible courage. She couldn't let him drink the wine.
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"She did it," Emma whispered, pointing a shaking finger directly at the woman in the red dress. "She poured boiling water on me because I caught her."
👉 How will Vivian try to destroy the maid’s accusation?
