Chapter 9
The nursery was bathed in a soft, warm glow from a starry-night projector spinning slowly in the center of the room. The walls were painted a pale, soothing lavender, filled with plush toys and towering bookshelves. Curled into a tight ball in the center of a massive canopy bed was four-year-old Lily.
She possessed the same dark, slightly wavy hair as her father, but her fair, rosy face was currently stained with tears and blotchy from crying. The nanny, an older woman sitting nervously in a rocking chair, stood up immediately as Dominic and Elena entered the room.
Dominic dismissed the nanny with a single, sharp nod. The woman scurried out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
Lily peeked over the edge of her thick duvet. When her wide, tear-filled eyes landed on Elena’s white, bulky bandage, she let out a tragic, heartbreaking sob.
"You got hurt!" Lily cried, scrambling out from under the covers and running across the plush carpet.
Elena dropped to her knees, completely ignoring the flare of pain in her hand, and caught the little girl with her good arm. She pulled Lily against her chest, burying her face in the child's soft hair.
"I'm okay, sweetheart. I'm okay," Elena hushed her, rocking her gently. "It's just a big bandage. The doctor is going to fix it right up."
"She was so mean," Lily whimpered, clinging tightly to Elena's black maid dress. "She tried to lock me in the dark. I didn't want to go in the dark."
Dominic stood near the doorway, watching the scene unfold. His chest ached with a profound, terrifying rage at the thought of Audrey terrifying his child, but the anger was tempered by the overwhelming relief of seeing Lily safe in Elena's arms.
"I know, baby. I know," Elena murmured, pressing a kiss to Lily's forehead. "But she is gone now. Your daddy sent her far away, and she is never, ever coming back."
Lily looked up, her blue eyes shifting to her father. "Really, Daddy?"
Dominic walked over and knelt beside them, placing a heavy, warm hand on Lily’s small back. "Really, little bird. She is gone forever."
"Will you stay with me?" Lily asked, turning her hopeful gaze back to Elena. "Can you sleep in my room tonight? I don't want the monsters to come back."
Elena looked at Dominic. He gave her a slow, encouraging nod.
"I'm going to do better than that, Lily," Elena smiled, wiping a tear from the little girl's cheek with her good thumb. "I'm going to move into the room right next door to yours. And I'm going to be your new guardian. I will be right here every single time you need me."
Lily’s face lit up with a brilliant, gap-toothed smile. She threw her arms around Elena’s neck, hugging her with all the strength a four-year-old could muster. "Yay! You're my hero!"
Dominic watched the beautiful, heart-shaped face of the housemaid glow with a genuine, maternal warmth as she held his daughter. For the first time in a very long time, the cold, heavily fortified walls around Dominic Vale's heart cracked just a fraction. He had brought Audrey into this house because it made strategic, business sense. But watching Elena, he realized that true loyalty and protection couldn't be negotiated in a boardroom; it had to be forged in the fire.
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"Come on, little bird," Dominic said softly, picking Lily up effortlessly. "Let's get you back into bed. Elena needs to rest her hand for tomorrow."
As Dominic tucked his daughter in, Elena stood up, smoothing the wrinkles from her uniform for the very last time. She was no longer a maid in this house. She had just become the most important woman in the Vale empire.
