The Girl in the Maid's Dress
Chapter 02 - The Girl in the Maid's Dress
For several seconds, no one spoke. The chandeliers glittered above them, but the foyer felt darker than any room Adrian had ever entered.
He opened the passport again, hoping he had misread the ticket. The flight was bound for Geneva. A private car was scheduled to take Grace from the airport to Blackthorn Academy, a remote boarding school in the mountains. The itinerary listed Vivian as the only authorized guardian. Adrian’s name did not appear anywhere. Grace was still enrolled at her neighborhood school, yet the ticket package included a withdrawal letter dated three days earlier. Someone had been quietly erasing her life before she even left it.
“Explain this,” he said.
Vivian’s smile tightened. “It was meant to be a surprise. Blackthorn is highly selective. Grace needs structure, and you’re always traveling. I planned to discuss it when you returned.”
“You planned to send my daughter out of the country tomorrow.”
“Our daughter,” Vivian corrected softly.
Grace flinched at the words. Adrian noticed and pulled her closer. The maid’s uniform was too large for her, as if it had been taken from a storage closet. Her shoes were wet. A faint bruise marked one knee, but she insisted she had slipped.
Adrian asked where Mrs. Brooks was. Nora Brooks had cared for Grace since her mother died and had been the one person Adrian trusted without question.
Vivian folded her arms. “Nora quit three weeks ago. She became unstable and accused me of ridiculous things. I protected Grace from the drama.”
Grace finally looked at him. “She didn’t quit.”
Vivian’s gaze snapped toward the child. “Grace, that is enough.”
The sharpness in her voice revealed more than her explanation did. Adrian rose, lifting Grace into his arms even though she was almost too big to carry. She clung to his neck with desperate strength.
“Go upstairs and pack,” Vivian said, regaining her calm. “You’re exhausted. We can discuss this privately.”
“No,” Adrian replied. “Grace stays with me.”
He ordered the driver to bring the car around and told the security chief to preserve every camera recording from the previous two months. Vivian gave a small laugh.
“You can ask for anything you like,” she said. “The cameras have been offline since the storm.”
There had been no storm in Manhattan.
May you like
As Adrian carried Grace toward the door, she pressed her mouth to his ear.
“I hid something in my dollhouse,” she whispered. “Before she finds it, you have to go back.”
