Chapter 2 - The Guest Who Became the Queen
Vivian entered the apartment as if she had come to inspect property Daniel had purchased for her.
She was elegant, loud, and skilled at making criticism sound like advice. During her first week, she moved Rose’s silver tea service, replaced the flowers, and placed her own photographs on the mantel.
Emily returned from work one evening and found Rose’s portrait inside a closet.
“Mother thought the frame was gloomy,” Daniel explained.
Emily put it back. The next morning, it was missing again.
At meals, Vivian spoke of Emily as if she were not present.
“A wife should know how to make a man feel important,” she would say.
Daniel never challenged her.
When Emily asked when Vivian planned to return home, Daniel became defensive.
“She has nowhere comfortable to go.”
“She owns a house in Connecticut.”
“It needs repairs.”
Emily offered to pay for a temporary rental. Vivian called the suggestion insulting.
Gradually, she invited friends without asking, used Emily’s wine collection, and treated staff as if they reported to her. Daniel gave her a key to the private elevator.
Emily began working longer hours because her office was the only room where she could close a door.
The first time Daniel ordered her out of the dining room, she thought he was joking.
“My mother and I are discussing family matters,” he said.
“I am your family.”
May you like
His expression turned cold. “Not everything concerns you.”
Standing alone in the hallway, Emily realized she had begun lowering her voice in her own apartment.
