Chapter 4: The Maid's Secret
Chapter 4: The Maid's Secret
The words refused to leave Ethan's mind.
"Your father."
Two simple words.
But they carried the weight of betrayal.
For his entire life, Ethan had believed one thing about Richard Ashford.
His father was strict.
Cold.
Demanding.
But honorable.
Richard built the Ashford empire from nothing.
He taught Ethan discipline.
He taught him responsibility.
He taught him that family was everything.
But now Ethan was forced to face a terrifying possibility.
What if the man who taught him to protect his family...
Was the same man who helped destroy his wife?
Ethan arrived at the Ashford mansion before sunrise.
The house was silent.
Almost too silent.
The kind of silence that came after a disaster.
Detective Hayes was waiting inside.
The damaged security footage was displayed on a laptop.
"Ethan."
He nodded.
"Show me."
Detective Hayes pressed play.
The video flickered.
The image was distorted.
The staircase appeared.
Claire was visible.
Eleanor was visible.
Then...
A third figure entered the hallway.
Ethan's breathing stopped.
Even though the image was unclear, he knew.
The way the person walked.
The posture.
The confidence.
It was his father.
Richard Ashford.
"No."
The word escaped Ethan's mouth.
Detective Hayes watched him carefully.
"You recognize him?"
Ethan didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
His silence was enough.
"Your father was near the scene before the fall."
Ethan shook his head.
"He could have been trying to stop it."
"Could he?"
That question hurt.
Because Ethan didn't know.
And not knowing was worse.
Richard found them in the study.
"What are you doing?"
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Ethan turned around.
"Why were you upstairs last night?"
Richard's expression changed slightly.
Only slightly.
But Ethan noticed.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"The security footage."
A pause.
Richard looked toward Detective Hayes.
Then back at his son.
"You are questioning me based on a damaged video?"
"I'm asking you a question."
"And I am your father."
Ethan's eyes hardened.
"That doesn't answer me."
For the first time, Richard looked disappointed.
"You have changed."
Ethan laughed quietly.
"No."
He looked toward the staircase.
"Claire changed me."
Richard walked closer.
"You are letting emotions control you."
"No."
Ethan's voice became cold.
"For the first time, I'm seeing clearly."
The older man stared at him.
"Be careful, Ethan."
"Is that a threat?"
"No."
Richard lowered his voice.
"It's advice."
But Ethan heard what was underneath.
A warning.
Before Detective Hayes could continue questioning Richard, his phone rang.
After a brief conversation, his expression changed.
"Ethan."
"What?"
"There is someone else we need to speak with."
"Who?"
The detective looked toward the servants' area.
"Lily."
The maid had disappeared.
Not completely.
But enough.
She was avoiding everyone.
Ethan found her in a small room near the kitchen.
She looked terrified.
"Lily."
The young woman immediately stood.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I shouldn't have said anything."
Ethan stepped closer.
"You did the right thing."
She shook her head.
"No."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"You don't understand."
"Then help me understand."
Lily looked toward the closed door.
Then whispered:
"If Eleanor finds out I told you everything..."
She stopped.
Ethan's expression darkened.
"She threatened you."
Lily said nothing.
But her silence confirmed it.
They moved to a private room.
Detective Hayes sat across from Lily.
"Start from the beginning."
The maid held her hands together tightly.
"I have worked for the Ashford family for six years."
She looked down.
"When I first came here, Eleanor was kind."
Ethan frowned.
"Kind?"
Lily nodded.
"She was charming. She knew how to make people trust her."
A sad smile appeared.
"That was before Claire came."
Lily explained.
At first, Eleanor only made small comments.
Nothing obvious.
A missing invitation.
A ruined dress.
A false accusation.
Things that seemed too small to confront.
"But they weren't accidents."
Lily's voice became quiet.
"Eleanor wanted Claire to feel like she didn't belong."
Ethan closed his eyes.
Because he remembered.
Claire coming home upset.
Claire saying she felt alone.
And him telling her:
"Just give them time."
He hated himself for those words now.
"Then the baby news happened."
Lily's expression changed.
"That was when Eleanor became different."
"Why?"
"Because everyone was happy."
Ethan looked confused.
"Everyone?"
Lily nodded.
"Even your parents."
That surprised him.
"Your father especially."
Detective Hayes noticed.
"Explain."
Lily hesitated.
"Mr. Ashford was always proud of Ethan."
She looked at him.
"But he wanted an heir."
Ethan froze.
"What are you saying?"
"The baby changed everything."
Lily took a breath.
"Eleanor believed that once the baby was born, Ethan would become completely independent from the family."
"And she hated that."
"Yes."
But Lily wasn't finished.
"There was something else."
"What?"
She looked at Ethan.
"Eleanor didn't just want Claire gone."
A pause.
"She wanted the baby gone."
The room became silent.
Ethan's face turned pale.
Detective Hayes leaned forward.
"Are you saying she planned to hurt the child?"
Lily shook her head quickly.
"I don't know exactly what she planned."
She swallowed.
"But I heard her talking."
"When?"
"Three days before the incident."
Lily remembered.
She had been cleaning Eleanor's room.
The door was slightly open.
She heard Eleanor speaking on the phone.
"Claire thinks she won."
A pause.
"She doesn't know what is coming."
Another pause.
Then Eleanor said:
"After this, Ethan will finally understand who his real family is."
Ethan felt sick.
Because that sentence was not anger.
It was planning.
Detective Hayes looked at Lily.
"Why didn't you report this earlier?"
The maid's eyes filled with tears.
"Because Eleanor knew."
"She knew what?"
"She knew I heard her."
Ethan looked at her.
"What happened?"
Lily whispered:
"She threatened my younger brother."
The room froze.
"She said if I ever spoke against her, my brother would lose everything."
Ethan clenched his fists.
That was the Eleanor he never wanted to see.
The Eleanor hidden behind expensive clothes and perfect smiles.
That evening, Ethan returned to the hospital.
Claire was awake.
She looked at him.
"You found something."
It wasn't a question.
He sat beside her.
"Lily told the truth."
Claire looked away.
"She was always scared."
"I should have noticed."
Claire looked at him.
"Ethan..."
"No."
He shook his head.
"I should have protected you."
Her expression softened.
"You didn't know."
"I should have."
Silence.
Then Claire asked:
"Who else was involved?"
Ethan hesitated.
That hesitation told her everything.
"My father."
Claire's eyes widened.
"What?"
"He was there."
She slowly processed the words.
"The whole family..."
Ethan looked down.
"Maybe."
Meanwhile, inside the Ashford mansion...
Eleanor stood in the dark hallway.
Her phone was pressed against her ear.
"You told me you handled the footage."
The voice on the other side sounded nervous.
"I tried."
"You failed."
"Eleanor, the police are getting close."
She looked toward the staircase.
The place where everything started.
"No."
Her voice was cold.
"They are only close because I allowed them to be."
A pause.
"You don't understand."
Eleanor smiled.
"They think Claire is the victim."
Her smile disappeared.
"But they don't know the truth."
The person on the phone asked:
"What truth?"
Eleanor looked at a framed family photograph.
A photograph of Ethan.
Of herself.
Of the Ashfords.
Then she whispered:
"The truth about why Claire was never supposed to become Ethan's wife."
The next morning, Claire received an anonymous envelope.
No name.
No address.
Only one sentence written on the front.
"You think you know why Eleanor hates you. You don't."
Inside was a photograph.
A photograph taken years before.
And standing beside Ethan...
Was Claire.
But she had never met him before.
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End of Chapter 4
Next: Chapter 5 – The Ashford Family War
The truth begins tearing the Ashford family apart. Richard tries to protect the family's reputation, Ethan chooses Claire over his inheritance, and Claire discovers that her marriage may have been connected to a secret hidden for years.
