Chapter 1
The sound of thunder shook the mansion.
Rain hammered against the towering glass windows, while flashes of lightning illuminated the luxurious marble hallway.
A little girl, no older than eight, clung desperately to her father's waist, crying so hard that her tiny body trembled.
"Daddy... please!" Emily sobbed, wrapping both arms around him. "She's throwing Elena away! Elena is the only one who takes care of me! Please don't let her leave!"
Richard Harrison, one of the country's most successful businessmen, looked down at his daughter in shock. He had never seen her cry this hard.
Just a few feet away stood his wife, Victoria.
Dressed in an elegant royal blue designer gown with a sparkling diamond necklace resting proudly around her neck, she crossed her arms with complete confidence.
Beside the front door sat two expensive suitcases.
Next to them lay a worn cloth sack containing nothing but a few old clothes.
The contrast between wealth and poverty could not have been clearer.
Elena, the family's maid, stood silently beside the sack. Her hands trembled as she gripped the fabric tightly, trying to stop herself from crying.
She had already accepted that tonight would be her last night in the only home she had ever truly loved.
Victoria pointed an accusing finger toward Elena.
"There she is!" she shouted.
"The woman who's been manipulating your daughter!"
Richard slowly turned toward his wife.
"What are you talking about?"
Victoria laughed sarcastically.
"Don't pretend you don't see it."
"Ever since she came here, Emily refuses to listen to me."
"She hugs the maid."
"She runs to the maid whenever she's scared."
"She even calls Elena before calling me."
She glared at Elena.
"That woman has been stealing my place in this family."
Emily immediately shook her head through her tears.
"No!"
"That's not true!"
Victoria ignored her.
"I've had enough."
"I already packed her things."
"She leaves tonight."
Silence filled the hallway.
Only the rain could be heard.
Richard looked toward Elena.
She lowered her eyes.
"I'm sorry, sir," she whispered.
"If my presence causes trouble... I'll leave."
Emily screamed.
"No!"
She ran across the room and hugged Elena tightly.
"Please don't go!"
"I don't want you to leave me!"
Tears rolled down Elena's cheeks as she gently stroked the little girl's hair.
"It's okay, sweetheart..."
Victoria exploded.
"Look at that!"
"She's putting on another performance!"
Turning to Richard, she shouted,
"Can't you see what she's doing?"
"She's turning your daughter against me!"
Richard said nothing.
He simply watched.
Emily refused to let go of Elena.
Elena continued comforting the child despite knowing she was about to lose everything.
Victoria, meanwhile, looked more irritated by Emily's tears than concerned.
For nearly a minute...
No one spoke.
Then Richard quietly asked his daughter,
"Emily..."
She looked up with tear-filled eyes.
"Tell Daddy the truth."
"Why don't you want Elena to leave?"
The little girl's lips trembled.
She wiped away her tears with her tiny hands.
Then, in a voice so broken that every servant listening outside the hallway lowered their heads...
She answered.
"Because..."
"She's the only one who loves me when you're not home."
The entire mansion fell silent.
Victoria's expression froze.
Emily continued speaking through uncontrollable sobs.
"When I have nightmares..."
"Elena stays with me until I fall asleep."
"When I get sick..."
"She carries me to bed."
"When I cry because I miss Mommy..."
"She hugs me."
"When there's a school show..."
"She's the one who comes."
"When it's my birthday..."
"She's the one who bakes me a cake."
The little girl looked directly at Victoria.
"You've never done any of those things..."
Victoria's face instantly darkened.
"You ungrateful little brat!"
She raised her hand in anger.
Before anyone could react—
Richard caught her wrist in midair.
His grip was so tight that Victoria gasped in pain.
"You were going to hit my daughter?"
His voice was terrifyingly calm.
Victoria quickly tried to explain.
"Richard, she's disrespecting me!"
"No."
Richard slowly released her wrist.
"You've already done enough."
Victoria frowned.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Richard took one step forward.
Then another.
Every servant instinctively backed away.
No one had ever seen him look this furious.
"You said Elena manipulated Emily?"
Victoria nodded confidently.
"Exactly."
Richard let out a cold laugh.
"No."
"Elena never stole your place."
"You abandoned it."
Victoria blinked.
"What?"
Richard's voice echoed throughout the mansion.
"For three years..."
"Elena woke my daughter every morning."
"Elena made sure she ate breakfast."
"Elena walked her to the school bus."
"Elena helped with homework."
"Elena stayed awake all night whenever Emily had a fever."
His eyes never left Victoria.
"And where were you?"
Victoria remained silent.
Richard answered for her.
"Sleeping until noon."
"Booking spa appointments."
"Buying designer handbags."
"Having champagne lunches with your friends."
"Flying to luxury resorts."
"Posting photos online pretending to be the perfect wife."
His voice grew louder with every sentence.
"While my daughter cried herself to sleep..."
"YOU WERE NEVER THERE!"
Victoria's confidence finally cracked.
"Richard... listen to me..."
"No."
He interrupted her without raising his voice.
"For three years..."
"My daughter begged for a mother."
"And all she found..."
He slowly turned toward Elena.
"...was a maid with a heart bigger than anyone else in this house."
Elena immediately shook her head.
"I only did my job, sir..."
Richard looked at her with genuine gratitude.
"No."
"You did far more than your job."
"You gave my daughter something money could never buy."
"Love."
Emily burst into tears again.
She hugged Elena even tighter.
Victoria suddenly pointed toward Elena once more.
"So what?"
"She's still just a servant!"
Richard's expression became ice cold.
"No..."
He glanced toward the two expensive suitcases standing beside the front door.
"The servant..."
"...isn't the one leaving tonight."
Victoria frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Richard slowly pointed at the luggage.
"Those suitcases..."
"They aren't Elena's."
"They're yours."
Victoria stared at him in disbelief.
"...What?"
Richard's voice became colder than the storm raging outside.
"I ordered the staff to pack every luxury dress..."
"Every designer handbag..."
"Every piece of jewelry..."
"Everything you own."
Victoria's face turned white.
"You... you can't be serious..."
Richard walked to the front door.
He pulled it open.
A freezing gust of wind swept into the mansion as rain poured down outside.
He looked straight into his wife's terrified eyes.
"You wanted someone thrown out of this house tonight."
"So be it."
"But it won't be the woman who raised my daughter..."
"It will be the woman who abandoned her."
Victoria's knees nearly gave way.
"Richard... please..."
He pointed toward the open doorway.
"Pack your luxury bags."
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"Leave this house."
"And don't ever call yourself Emily's mother again."
