Chapter 2 - The Iron Gates of Castellano ManorThe heavy black iron gates of Castellano Manor parted with a slow, mechanical groan, revealing a quarter-mile drive flanked by towering, frost-bitten oaks. Iris Day clutched the handle of her worn duffel bag, her knuckles white. Inside the bag were three changes of clothes, a photograph of Maya on a playground swing, and a plastic tube of cheap antiseptic cream for the purple bruise blooming across her ribs.
A security guard with a tactical vest and an unreadable expression checked her ID against a digital tablet.
"Iris Day?"
"Yes."
"Turn out your pockets."
She complied without a word. Her phone, a tube of chapstick, forty-seven dollars in crumpled bills, and the pink beaded bracelet. The guard lingered on the bracelet for a second, then nodded curtly. "Proceed to the north entrance. Mrs. Croft is waiting."
The mansion itself was an architectural monument to isolation. Vaulted ceilings of hand-carved mahogany stretched over floors of pale Italian marble that echoed every footstep like a gunshot. There were no family portraits in the grand foyer—only dark, brooding oil paintings of landscapes swallowed by storms.
Mrs. Helen Croft met her in the shadow of a grand double staircase. The estate manager’s silver hair was pulled back into a bun so tight it seemed to lift the corners of her eyes.
"You are twenty minutes late, Miss Day," Croft said, her voice dry as autumn leaves.
"My bus from the South Side stalled on the expressway," Iris replied evenly, refusing to cower. "I walked the last two miles in the snow."
Croft’s sharp eyes scanned Iris from the scuffed duct tape on her sneaker to the tired shadows beneath her eyes. A flicker of something resembling grudging respect crossed the older woman’s face.
"Rule one of Castellano Manor: You do not speak unless spoken to," Croft instructed, turning on her heel to lead her down a narrow, wood-paneled corridor. "Rule two: You clean the east wing, the library, and the private family quarters. Rule three: You do not, under any circumstances, attempt to enter the master's study or approach the child's bedroom uninvited."
May you like
"Understood," Iris said.
"Good." Croft stopped in front of a heavy oak door. "Your quarters are small, but they have heat. Change into your uniform. You begin immediately."
