The first sapphire struck the marble hard enough to bounce.

Claire followed them into the marble foyer to ensure they left the premises without damaging estate property.

Julian was frantically trying to pull on his overcoat near the front entrance, his hands shaking. Vanessa stood in the center of the foyer, her breath coming in ragged gasps, her face contorted with embarrassment and blinding rage.

Beside the console table sat a small velvet tray containing the estate’s secondary administrative access keys and security fobs.

Vanessa’s sharp eyes caught a white electronic access card resting on the tray—a master security card that opened the private archives in the basement where the Vale family trust ledgers were stored.

Vanessa reached out her manicured hand, attempting to snatch the card off the tray.

"Don't touch that, Mrs. Arden," Claire said sharply, stepping forward quickly to block her. "That is restricted estate property."

Vanessa turned on her with the speed of a striking cobra.

"Get your hands away from me, you worthless bitch!" Vanessa screamed.

Before Claire could step back, Vanessa lunged forward, her hand grabbing the delicate white-gold white-gold chain of the sapphire bracelet wrapped around her own wrist. In her blind, unhinged rage, Vanessa didn't just grab—she reached out and seized Claire’s left wrist, yanking it violently while simultaneously tearing at her own sapphire bracelet, trying to shove the broken jewelry into Claire's hands to fabricate a theft.

"Let go of me!" Claire demanded, trying to pull her arm back.

"You stole it!" Vanessa shrieked hysterically. "Look at her! The maid is stealing my jewelry!"

Vanessa jerked Claire’s wrist a second time with brutal, mechanical force.

SNAP!

The delicate white-gold clasp of the sapphire bracelet snapped violently under the tension.

The fine metal wire broke apart, sending dark, brilliant blue gemstones scattering across the marble floor like hard rain.

The first sapphire struck the marble hard enough to bounce.

The second rolled beneath a carved walnut table.

The third disappeared beneath the heel of Vanessa’s leather boot.

Pain exploded through Claire’s wrist as the broken metal wire dragged across her skin. She stumbled sideways, her heel catching on the edge of the marble rug. She lost her balance, reaching out blindly to catch herself against the sharp edge of the mahogany console table, but her foot slipped on one of the scattered sapphires.

She hit the floor hard.

Her right knee struck the marble first with a sickening thud.

Then her right palm.

A sharp piece of broken glass from a shattered perfume bottle that had fallen off the console sliced clean across the heel of her hand.

A thin, brilliant red line opened across her skin, blood pooling instantly and dripping onto the white Italian marble.

Vanessa stepped over her, her eyes wild, her heavy boot coming down near Claire’s face as she grabbed Claire’s injured wrist once more, pinning her to the floor.

"Look at you," Vanessa hissed, her hot, alcohol-laced breath hitting Claire’s face. "Playing dress-up in somebody else's home. You think wearing his family jewelry makes you important?"

Claire raised her eyes, her vision swimming with pain, but her voice remaining steel. "Let go."

"You were hired to watch a child!" Vanessa spat, tightening her grip directly over the bleeding cut on Claire's wrist. "That is all you are! A servant!"

Suddenly, the sound of running feet echoed down the grand staircase.

Small feet.

Fast.

"Claire!"

Six-year-old Ethan Vale appeared at the entrance of the marble foyer. He was wearing his dark blue sweater, one sneaker untied, his hair messy from sleep.

He stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes fell on the blood pooling on the white marble floor.