Chapter 3
Before Adrien could even process the absurdity of the situation, a frantic scramble of footsteps echoed from the adjacent corridor.
A beautiful brunette maid, no older than twenty-nine, practically threw herself into the grand hallway. She had fair skin, her dark hair tied back in a neat, practical bun, and she wore a classic black-and-white maid uniform. Her face was entirely drained of color, her eyes wide with a visceral, paralyzing terror.
She saw Adrien standing there, tall and imposing in his black suit, and she saw her tiny daughter standing just a few feet away from him.
"Lily, no!" the mother gasped, her voice cracking with sheer panic.
She didn't hesitate. She rushed across the marble floor and literally dropped to her knees right between Adrien and her daughter. The heavy thud of her knees hitting the hard stone echoed sharply in the silent hall. She threw her arms out, instinctively shielding the little girl behind her own body, though the child merely peeked out from behind her mother’s black-and-white skirt.
The maid looked up at Adrien, her chest heaving, tears instantly brimming in her eyes. She knew exactly who he was. She knew the brutal reputation of the man whose floor she was kneeling on.
"Please," the maid begged, her voice a desperate, trembling whisper. "Please—don't hurt my daughter."
Adrien looked down at the woman kneeling at his feet. The sheer magnitude of her terror was palpable. Her hands were shaking violently as she gripped the fabric of her uniform.
"You brought a child into this house?" Adrien asked, his voice low, cold, and rigidly controlled.
"I had no choice, Mr. Moretti, I swear to God," the mother sobbed, her American accent thick with desperation. "My babysitter canceled. I couldn't lose this job. I hid her in the laundry quarters. She was supposed to be asleep. I only turned my back for one minute."
"You know the rules of my employment," Adrien stated, his gray eyes scanning her terrified face. "No unauthorized personnel on the grounds. Ever."
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"I know, I know," she pleaded, tears spilling over her fair cheeks. "Punish me. Fire me. Do whatever you want to me, sir. Just please, let her go. She doesn't understand."
The tension in the hallway was suffocating. The other servants held their breath, expecting Adrien to summon his guards, expecting a ruthless display of his authority. Adrien’s face remained a mask of intimidating stone. He was a man who ruled by fear, and the woman begging at his feet was giving him exactly what his world demanded.
