Chapter 7 - The Cold Courtyard
At 10:30 PM, the effects of the heavy sedative Stella had instructed Diane to pour into the glass—supposing Ivy had swallowed it—were supposed to have rendered Ivy completely unconscious.
The door to Daniel’s suite opened quietly.
Stella stepped inside, accompanied by two heavy-set male estate guards who usually managed security during large events.
Ivy lay on the bed, her eyes closed, breathing slowly, pretending to be sound asleep.
"Pick her up," Stella ordered in a cold whisper. "Take her out through the rear servant exit to the courtyard."
"Ma'am?" one guard hesitated. "Mr. Daniel said—"
"Mr. Daniel is in a video conference with London in the east study for the next two hours," Stella snapped. "Do as I say! She is being dismissed for theft."
The guards lifted Ivy off the bed. Ivy kept her body completely limp, realizing that resisting now against two large men would only get her hurt. She needed to wait for her moment.
They carried her down the cold service stairs and out into the freezing courtyard behind the mansion.
The November wind bit through Ivy’s thin cotton uniform. The stone floor of the courtyard was coated in a thin layer of silver frost.
The guards set her down on the frozen bricks.
Stella stood over her, wrapped in her luxurious fur-trimmed silk robe.
"Wake up, you little parasite," Stella hissed, kicking Ivy’s foot gently.
Ivy opened her eyes, pretending to slowly recover from a heavy daze. She sat up, shivering violently, holding her arms around herself.
"Mrs. Harrington..." Ivy whispered, her teeth chattering.
"You thought you could entrap my son, didn't you?" Stella sneered, stepping closer. "You thought a pretty face and a sad story would make you the mistress of this estate?"
"I don't want your estate," Ivy gasped through the freezing cold.
"You will kneel right here on these bricks," Stella commanded, pointing down at the icy stone. "You will kneel here until the frost burns the pride out of your skin. And at dawn, a car will take you to the bus station, and you will never see Daniel again."
"No..." Ivy choked out, her knees trembling as the cold penetrated her thin trousers.
"Kneel!" Stella barked. "Or I call the police right now and report that you stole my diamond necklace from Daniel's dresser!"
Ivy looked into Stella’s eyes and saw absolute, unhinged madness. Stella was willing to frame her, ruin her life, and freeze her to death just to maintain control over her son.
Ivy slowly dropped to her knees on the frozen courtyard bricks.
The sharp, burning agony of the ice sliced into her knees through her trousers. Her ankle throbbed. The wind whipped her hair across her pale face.
May you like
Stella looked down at her with cold, dark satisfaction. "Stay there. Do not move."
Stella turned and walked back inside, shutting the heavy oak courtyard door behind her, leaving Ivy alone in the freezing darkness.
