CHAPTER 1: The Maid Who Entered the Mansion
Three weeks earlier, Emma had entered the Harrington mansion with an old suitcase and a carefully folded job application.
She had not been born into poverty, but life had changed after a family tragedy. Her parents had once owned a small bakery in the suburbs. When her father became seriously ill, every bit of their savings went into hospital bills. After he passed away, her mother collapsed under the grief.
Emma left university in her final year and began working multiple jobs at once.
She worked as a cashier.
A waitress.
A dishwasher in a restaurant.
A hotel housekeeper.
To Emma, no honest job was lowly.
Only people who gave themselves the right to look down on others were truly pitiful.
The job at the Harrington mansion came through an acquaintance of her mother’s. The Harrington family needed extra service staff while preparing for Adrian and Cassandra’s engagement party.
On her first day, Butler Malcolm carefully warned her.
“You must remember,” he said, “this house has many rules. But the most important rule is this: do not give Miss Cassandra a reason to dislike you.”
Emma was slightly surprised.
“Is she very difficult?”
Malcolm was silent for a few seconds.
“She is used to everyone obeying her.”
Emma understood.
She had met people like that before. They did not need a reason to look down on someone. They only needed that person to stand lower than them on the social ladder they had created in their minds.
At first, Emma worked with extreme care.
She always arrived early, left late, and remembered every small requirement in the mansion.
She knew Eleanor liked chamomile tea in the afternoon.
She knew Adrian drank black coffee without sugar.
She knew Leo could not eat almonds because of a mild allergy.
That was how she became close to Leo.
One morning, while Emma was cleaning the study, she heard something fall in the small dining room. When she rushed over, she saw Leo standing beside the table, his face red, one hand clutching his throat, his eyes full of panic.
On the plate of pastries were thin slices of almond.
Emma immediately called for help while taking Leo’s allergy medicine from the medical cabinet, following the instructions attached to the box. She comforted him calmly and kept him from panicking further.
When Adrian rushed in, Leo was already better, but he was still holding tightly to Emma’s hand.
From that day on, Leo began following Emma everywhere.
“Miss Emma, do you know how to fold a towel into a swan?”
“Miss Emma, why do grown-ups always talk in such a confusing way?”
“Miss Emma, do you like taking pictures? I have my own camera.”
Emma was never annoyed.
She patiently answered every question.
Sometimes, inside that enormous but cold mansion, Leo’s clear little voice was the only thing that made her feel there was still warmth in the place.
Adrian noticed it.
He was a man of few words. After his brother and sister-in-law died in an accident, Adrian became Leo’s guardian. He loved the boy deeply, but his work kept him busy, and his reserved personality made it hard for him to express affection.
Leo had rarely smiled before.
But since Emma arrived, he smiled more often.
One day, Adrian saw Emma sitting in the back garden with Leo, helping him clean his toy camera. Leo excitedly showed her the pictures he had taken: a flower, a bird, a glass of milk, Malcolm’s shoe, and even one picture of Adrian standing by the window.
“Uncle Adrian always stands like a statue,” Leo said.
Emma burst out laughing.
Standing behind the doorway, Adrian heard it, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly without him realizing it.
But Cassandra noticed.
From the first day she met Emma, Cassandra disliked her.
Not because Emma had done anything wrong.
But because Emma did not fear her in the way Cassandra wanted.
Cassandra liked seeing people lower their heads. She liked trembling voices saying yes to everything. She liked the feeling that with one frown, everyone would panic and rush to fix things for her.
But Emma was different.
She was polite, but not weak.
Humble, but not self-degrading.
When Cassandra deliberately spilled water on the tablecloth and scolded her for being clumsy, Emma calmly replaced it.
When Cassandra ordered her to fetch a pair of shoes and then claimed she had brought the wrong color, Emma apologized properly but did not beg.
That irritated Cassandra.
“Who does she think she is?” Cassandra once said to her personal assistant in the dressing room. “She is just a maid, yet she acts so dignified.”
The assistant quickly replied:
“Why bother with her? After you marry Mr. Adrian, you can fire anyone you want.”
Cassandra looked at herself in the mirror and curved her lips.
“Exactly. But I don’t like waiting.”
What Cassandra feared was not only Emma’s attitude.
She feared Adrian’s gaze.
Adrian had never looked at Cassandra with the same softness he showed when watching Leo laugh with Emma. He was courteous to Cassandra, attentive when necessary, but there was always an invisible distance between them.
Their marriage had been arranged for the benefit of two families.
Cassandra knew that.
She did not need love, at least not at first.
What she needed was the Harrington name. The position of mistress of the mansion. The power that marriage would bring.
But Emma’s presence made Cassandra feel threatened.
A poor maid with no jewelry, no expensive dress, somehow earned Leo’s trust, Eleanor’s approval, and Adrian’s attention.
Cassandra could not accept that.
So she began looking for ways to make Emma make a mistake.
When Emma prepared tea for Eleanor, Cassandra secretly switched the sugar jar with salt.
But Emma noticed before serving it.
When Emma was in charge of the flower list for the party, Cassandra had the florist deliver the wrong flowers.
Emma called the supplier herself and fixed everything before the evening.
When Emma cleaned the sitting room, Cassandra deliberately placed a diamond bracelet under the chair and then pretended it was missing.
But Malcolm found it before the situation could grow worse.
Each time, Cassandra became angrier.
And Emma became more careful.
Then, two days before the engagement party, Emma accidentally overheard Cassandra speaking on the phone in the glass room.
“No, I’ll transfer the rest after the wedding.”
Cassandra’s voice was low, but in the quiet glass room, Emma still heard a few broken sentences.
“That heirloom ring is worth more than you think. But I’m not stupid enough to sell it immediately. I just need control of the assets after the marriage.”
Emma froze.
She had not meant to eavesdrop. She was only bringing in a tray of tea as scheduled. But those words sent a chill down her spine.
She stepped back, and the silver spoon on the tray lightly tapped the cup.
Cassandra turned sharply.
Their eyes met.
Emma immediately lowered her head.
“Sorry, Miss. I brought your tea.”
Cassandra stared at her.
“What did you hear?”
“Nothing, Miss. I just arrived.”
Cassandra walked closer, her smile thin and cold.
“You had better remember your place. There are some things that, even if you hear them, you should pretend you never did.”
Emma did not answer.
May you like
That night, Cassandra decided she had to get rid of Emma before the engagement party.
And the heirloom ring became the perfect tool.
