Chapter 6 - A New Reality
Transitioning from the mansion's staff quarters to the grand master suites on the second floor felt surreal to Rosa. For four years, she had viewed the west wing of the house as forbidden territory, a place she only entered with a vacuum cleaner and a dust cloth. Now, she was sleeping in a room with silk sheets and a balcony overlooking the ocean.
But wealth didn't cure trauma overnight.
Every time a floorboard creaked, Rosa jumped. Every time the doorbell rang, she expected Natalie to be standing there.
Ethan noticed. He canceled all his international business trips for the month, choosing to work from his home office to stay close. He proved to be a surprisingly attentive uncle. He hired top-tier child psychologists to ensure Lily wasn't traumatized by the event, and he personally oversaw the dismantling of Natalie’s presence in the house. Every piece of furniture she had ordered, every painting she had hung, was stripped away and donated.
One afternoon, Ethan knocked gently on Rosa’s open door. He found her sitting on the edge of the massive bed, staring at a silver rattle that Julian had owned as a baby, which Ethan had found in the family archives.
“Am I interrupting?” Ethan asked.
“No, please come in,” Rosa said, offering a small smile.
Ethan walked over, handing her a folder. “The DNA results came back from the lab. It’s official. Lily is Julian’s daughter. The probability is 99.9%.”
Rosa let out a breath she felt like she’d been holding for four years. “Thank you, Ethan. For everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I should have looked closer. I should have seen her sooner,” Ethan said, his voice laced with guilt. “But there’s something else. The police searched Natalie’s apartment in the city. They found Julian’s missing phone and wallet in a hidden safe. She kept them like trophies.”
May you like
Rosa’s stomach turned. “Is there enough to convict her?”
“More than enough,” Ethan’s eyes flashed with dangerous satisfaction. “They found text messages on Julian’s phone from the night he died. Natalie had lured him to that intersection under the pretense of signing paperwork to dissolve their old engagement contract. She was driving the car that hit him, Rosa. It wasn't an accident. It was premeditated murder.”
