Chapter 2: The Recording That Changed Everything
Victoria's recorded voice echoed through the hallway.
“Put the bracelet beneath her clothes.”
“And if Rossi asks questions?”
“Then make sure Beatrice is gone before he has the chance.”
Silence swallowed the mansion.
Every servant standing nearby slowly turned toward Victoria.
Even the two security guards hesitated.
Their hands fell away from Beatrice.
Victoria's elegant smile disappeared.
She stared at the tiny recorder in Lily's trembling hand as though it were a loaded weapon.
For the first time since arriving at the Rossi estate...
She looked frightened.
"Lily," Victoria said softly.
"You don't understand what you're hearing."
The little girl hugged the recorder against her chest.
"I do."
"You were talking about Bee."
"You wanted her to leave."
Victoria forced herself to breathe.
She took one careful step forward.
"Sweetheart..."
"Come here."
"We can explain everything."
Lily immediately backed away.
"No."
She ran straight toward Beatrice.
Without hesitation, Beatrice knelt and wrapped both arms around the child.
The movement was instinctive.
Protective.
Leo watched everything.
His face revealed nothing.
That frightened Victoria more than shouting ever could.
He slowly held out his hand.
"Lily."
The little girl looked up.
Her eyes were still wet with tears.
She carefully placed the recorder into her father's palm.
Leo pressed play again.
The conversation repeated from the beginning.
This time...
Everyone listened.
Every word landed harder than before.
When it ended, nobody spoke.
Mateo finally broke the silence.
"Who was the man with you?"
Victoria answered too quickly.
"I don't know."
Mateo raised an eyebrow.
"You don't recognize the man helping you plant stolen evidence?"
"It isn't real."
"The recording was edited."
Lily suddenly shook her head.
"No."
"I heard her."
Victoria froze.
The little girl looked directly at Leo.
"I couldn't sleep."
"I walked downstairs."
"Victoria was talking to someone."
"I hid behind the flowers."
"I heard everything."
Leo slowly closed his hand around the recorder.
His knuckles turned white.
"When?"
"The night before my birthday."
Beatrice's heart sank.
Victoria had planned everything long before the celebration.
Long before the panic attack.
Long before anyone suspected her.
Leo finally looked at Victoria.
"Leave."
She blinked.
"What?"
"Leave."
"You don't mean that."
"I do."
"This is my house."
Victoria laughed nervously.
"My father invested hundreds of millions into Rossi Global."
"Our engagement—"
"There is no engagement anymore."
The sentence landed like broken glass.
Every servant in the hallway lowered their eyes.
Victoria stared at him in disbelief.
"You can't humiliate me like this."
Leo's voice remained perfectly calm.
"You tried to destroy an innocent woman's life."
"You terrorized my daughter."
"You searched my employee's room."
"You planted stolen property."
"You lied to me."
"I have shown remarkable restraint."
Victoria's composure finally cracked.
"You think she's innocent?"
She pointed directly at Beatrice.
"You think she isn't manipulating Lily?"
"Look at them."
"Your own daughter cries for a maid before she comes to you."
Every word hit Leo harder than Victoria realized.
Because part of it was true.
Lily had chosen Beatrice.
Not because Beatrice asked for it.
Because Leo had not been there.
Victoria noticed the hesitation in his eyes.
Immediately, she attacked.
"You failed your daughter."
"So she replaced you."
"And now you've convinced yourself this woman is a saint because she filled the place you abandoned."
The hallway fell silent again.
Leo said nothing.
His silence made Beatrice nervous.
Not because she doubted him.
Because Victoria had touched the one wound Leo never allowed anyone to see.
Mateo stepped between them.
"That's enough."
Victoria ignored him.
She looked only at Leo.
"Ask yourself one question."
"If Beatrice loves Lily so much..."
"Why did she never leave?"
"Why spend years cleaning floors?"
"Why remain invisible?"
"Unless she wanted something."
The accusation lingered in the air.
Several servants exchanged uncertain glances.
Beatrice felt their eyes.
The same looks she had endured for years.
Suspicion.
Judgment.
Disgust.
She slowly stood.
Holding Lily's hand.
"I'll answer."
Everyone turned toward her.
Her voice was quiet.
"I stayed because Lily needed someone."
Victoria laughed.
"How touching."
Beatrice continued.
"I stayed because every time I tried to resign..."
"Lily stopped eating."
Leo frowned.
"What?"
Beatrice looked at the floor.
"I submitted my resignation three times."
"You never saw the letters."
Leo's eyes narrowed.
"I signed every resignation request that came through Human Resources."
"You never received mine."
Mateo immediately looked toward the estate manager.
The elderly man had gone completely pale.
"I..."
"I was instructed..."
"By whom?"
Nobody answered.
Leo's voice became colder.
"Answer me."
The manager swallowed.
"Miss Kensington."
"She told me to destroy every resignation letter from Miss Miller."
Beatrice closed her eyes.
So that was why.
For two years she had believed Leo simply wanted cheap labor.
Instead...
Victoria had trapped her inside the estate.
Keeping her close enough to control.
Far enough to destroy whenever she wished.
Leo turned slowly toward Victoria.
"You kept her here?"
Victoria folded her arms.
"Of course."
"If she left..."
"Lily would never forgive you."
"I simply protected your family."
Mateo stared at her in disbelief.
"You call this protection?"
Victoria smiled bitterly.
"I call it winning."
The words echoed through the marble hallway.
No excuses.
No apology.
Only pride.
Leo walked toward her.
Each step sounded louder than the last.
Victoria lifted her chin.
"You won't touch me."
"My father—"
"I don't care."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"But the police will."
Victoria's confidence faltered.
"What police?"
Mateo had already taken out his phone.
"I've called them."
"They're on their way."
For the first time...
Victoria realized this situation could no longer be controlled with money.
She glanced toward the front entrance.
Calculating.
Measuring distances.
Searching for escape.
Beatrice noticed before anyone else.
"Leo..."
"She's going to run."
Victoria spun around.
Her high heels struck the marble floor as she sprinted toward the front doors.
The nearest guard reacted too late.
She shoved him aside.
The heavy doors burst open.
Rain hammered the stone steps outside.
Victoria ran into the storm.
A black luxury sedan waiting beyond the gates immediately roared to life.
Leo didn't move.
Mateo did.
He sprinted after her with two security guards close behind.
Tires screamed across the wet driveway.
Seconds later...
A deafening crash shattered the morning.
Everyone inside the mansion froze.
The sound came from the front gate.
Metal twisting.
Glass exploding.
Then...
Complete silence.
Leo slowly looked toward the entrance.
Something deep inside him whispered that Victoria's plan had never ended with framing Beatrice.
May you like
And whatever had just happened outside...
Was only the beginning.
