Chapter 17 - The Secret Guardian
Chloe stood frozen under Julian’s intense gaze.
"Julian... I can explain," Chloe said softly, her voice barely audible.
Julian stood up from his desk, the letter trembling in his grip.
"Did you know Clara before you came to work here?" Julian asked, a dangerous edge returning to his voice.
"Was your arrival at this estate just another calculated setup?"
Chloe shook her head rapidly, tears welling in her eyes.
"No! Julian, please listen to me!"
"Clara was my older sister!" Chloe revealed, her voice cracking with raw emotion.
Julian’s jaw dropped.
"Your... sister?"
"We had different fathers," Chloe explained, wiping a tear from her cheek.
"Clara was taken in by a wealthy foster family when we were kids, but we stayed in secret contact our entire lives."
"Two weeks before she died, Clara called me in terror."
"She told me she was being poisoned."
"She told me that if anything happened to her, I had to get a job inside the Sterling estate to protect Lily."
"I applied as a low-level maid under my birth name to stay under Lady Eleanor’s radar."
"I came here for one reason only: to keep my niece safe from the monsters in this house."
Julian stared at her, processing the overwhelming truth.
All the pieces suddenly clicked together into a grand picture.
Chloe's relentless bravery when Victoria held the hot iron.
Chloe's fierce, motherly protection of Lily.
Her refusal to accept money or abandon the child.
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She wasn't just a brave maid.
She was Lily's aunt—Clara's own blood.
