Chapter 5 - THE FIRST OFFER
Victoria invited Emily into the library.
A check rested on the desk.
The amount was $75,000.
Emily stared at it.
“What is this?”
“A generous severance payment.”
“I haven’t resigned.”
“You will.”
Victoria said Emily had become emotionally dependent on the boys.
She claimed remaining in the house would confuse them after the wedding.
“They need to accept me as Richard’s wife.”
“They don’t need to accept losing everyone they trust.”
Victoria slid the check closer.
“You have no husband, no children, and no family in this city. Take the money and begin somewhere else.”
Emily’s mother had died the year before she joined the Ashford household.
Her father had never been part of her life.
Victoria had investigated enough to know she was alone.
That was why she spoke with such confidence.
Emily pushed the check back.
“The boys are afraid of you.”
“They are afraid of change.”
“Ethan says you told them not to mention the school to their father.”
Victoria’s expression sharpened.
“You should be careful repeating the inventions of grieving children.”
Emily left the library.
That evening, her staff access card stopped working in several areas of the mansion.
The next day, Victoria accused her of breaking a crystal vase.
Then money disappeared from the household petty-cash box.
Marcus reviewed the security footage and proved Emily had not entered the office.
Victoria called it an accounting mistake.
Emily began documenting everything.
She photographed Noah’s bruised wrist.
She wrote down Liam’s nightmares.
She saved copies of Victoria’s messages directing staff to prevent the boys from calling Richard during meetings.
Emily planned to present the records to Richard after his return from a business trip.
But Victoria discovered one of the files.
She entered Emily’s room while Emily was helping Noah bathe.
When Emily returned, her desk drawer was open.
The notebook was gone.
Victoria stood near the doorway.
“You’ve mistaken access for power.”
“I don’t need power to tell the truth.”
“Truth only matters when someone important believes you.”
Emily felt the threat beneath the words.
Victoria believed Richard would choose his fiancée over a housekeeper.
She was probably right.
Two days later, the Rolex disappeared from Richard’s private dressing room.
It had belonged to Caroline’s father.
Richard valued it more for history than price.
Victoria gathered the staff in the main hall.
Then she suggested searching every employee’s room.
The watch was discovered inside Emily’s suitcase.
Richard returned home during the search.
He saw the Rolex.
He saw Victoria crying.
He saw the staff watching.
May you like
And he made his decision before Emily spoke.
👉 Victoria had spent weeks teaching Richard to distrust Emily, so when the Rolex appeared, he believed the lie exactly as she planned.
