Chapter 4 - The Uninvited Shadow"Open up! I know you're in there, Thomas!"
A shrill, manic voice pierced through the grand foyer, followed by the sound of expensive heels clicking furiously across the marble floor.
Thomas frowned, instantly recognizing the voice. Before he could intercept, the kitchen swinging doors flew open, and Victoria Sterling marched into the room.
Victoria was high society royalty—impeccably dressed in a tailored Chanel suit, her blonde hair styled to absolute perfection, her face sculpted by the finest plastic surgeons in Manhattan. She was the daughter of Sterling Industries' chairman, and Thomas’s late wife's cousin—a woman who had spent the last two years aggressively inserting herself into Thomas’s life, convinced that she was the logical, socially acceptable replacement for Emily.
"Thomas! Are you out of your mind?" Victoria shrieked, stopping dead in her tracks as she took in the domestic scene: Thomas sitting in a casual shirt, Clara in her faded apron, and Lucas holding a toy car. Victoria’s eyes narrowed into venomous slits as they locked onto Clara. "What in God's name is this peasant doing in your kitchen?"
Lucas shrank back into Clara’s side, letting out a small whimper at Victoria’s piercing tone. Clara immediately wrapped a protective arm around the boy.
"Victoria," Thomas said coldly, standing up and blocking her path to the counter. "What are you doing here? You can't just barge into my home."
"Your home is a disaster area, Thomas!" Victoria hissed, waving a diamond-encrusted hand dismissively. "The board has been calling me because you ghosted Zurich! Your father-in-law is furious. And you're sitting here playing domestic house with... with a common maid?" Victoria stepped closer, sneering at Clara. "Where did you dredge her up from? Some charity shelter? Look at her—she probably smells like laundry detergent and desperation."
"That's enough," Thomas warned, his voice dropping into a dangerous, glacial register.
"No, Thomas, it is not enough!" Victoria stepped past him, ignoring his warning entirely, and zeroed in on Clara and Lucas. "Listen to me, little girl," Victoria snapped at Clara, pointing a sharp acrylic nail inches from her face. "You are an employee. You were hired to wipe counters and keep the kid quiet, not play mommy. Pack your cheap bags and get out of this house before I have security throw you out on the street."
Lucas began to tremble, tears welling in his eyes. "No... no go, Clara..." he sobbed out, his voice breaking.
Clara gently stroked his hair, her expression remaining remarkably calm, though a cold fire burned in her eyes. "It's okay, Lucas. I'm right here." She looked up at Victoria, her voice steady and clear. "Mrs. Sterling, I take my orders from the master of this house. And unless Mr. Caldwell tells me to leave, I suggest you lower your voice in front of a child."
Victoria’s jaw dropped in sheer disbelief. "How dare you talk back to me, you miserable little—"
"Victoria, enough!" Thomas roared, the sound echoing off the high ceilings like a gunshot. The entire kitchen went dead silent. Thomas stepped between Victoria and Clara, his expression a mask of absolute fury. "You will not speak to my staff that way in my home. And you certainly will not terrorize my son."
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Victoria blinked, her expression shifting from rage to hurt disbelief. "Thomas... I am doing this for you. For our family! You're letting some random nobody manipulate your household while you throw your empire away! Emily would be disgusted!"
The mention of Emily’s name struck the room like lightning.
