Chapter 4 - The Spider's Web
Emma’s breath hitched. She dropped the folder onto the desk, her hands shaking violently. "Isabella... you can't do this. I know what you’re doing to Ethan. I know he’s downstairs."
Isabella laughed, a sharp, mocking sound that echoed in the quiet study. She walked into the room, her silk robe trailing behind her like spilled blood. "You know? And who, my dear Emma, is going to believe a low-wage housekeeper over me? Marcus, did you hear something?"
Marcus stood by the door, his arms crossed. "I heard nothing but a disgruntled employee attempting to rob her employers."
Emma looked at Marcus in horror. "Marcus, no! You're head of security! You swore to protect this family! Ethan is starving down there! She's drugging him!"
Marcus’s expression didn't soften. "My loyalty is to the person who pays my bonuses, Emma. And Mrs. Sterling has been very generous."
Emma felt a cold wave of despair wash over her. Marcus was in on it. Isabella had bought the security team. There was no one inside this house she could trust.
"What is the meaning of this?"
A deep, commanding voice shattered the tension in the room.
William Sterling stood at the doorway. He was wearing his pajama trousers and a dark robe, his brow furrowed in deep confusion and anger. He looked from Emma, who was standing by the open, picked drawer, to Isabella, and then to Marcus.
"William, thank goodness you're awake!" Isabella gasped, her voice instantly transforming into a trembling, fragile whisper. She rushed to his side, throwing her arms around him. "I heard a noise and came to investigate. We found Emma rifling through your private financial documents! She... she picked the lock to my desk!"
William’s eyes hardened as he looked at Emma. "Emma? Is this true? You've been with our family for three years. I trusted you."
"Mr. Sterling, please listen to me!" Emma cried, stepping forward. "She is lying to you! Ethan is not in Maine! He is locked in a secret room behind the painting in the staff corridor! She has been drugging him! She’s trying to steal your estate!"
William stared at her, shock flickering in his eyes before being replaced by sheer disbelief. "Ethan? In a secret room? Emma, that is absurd. I spoke to my sister in Maine yesterday. She confirmed Ethan is doing wonderfully."
"She’s using a voice simulator, or your sister is being blackmailed!" Emma pleaded. "Just come with me to the basement! I can show you! Please, William, for the love of your son, just look behind the painting!"
Isabella buried her face in William’s chest, sobbing softly. "William, she’s hysterical. Or she’s trying to distract us from the fact that she was stealing. Look, she has the trust documents in her hand. She was going to sell our private information!"
William looked at the document in Emma's hand, his face tightening with anger and disappointment. "Marcus, call the police. Have her arrested for trespassing and attempted burglary."
"No!" Emma screamed.
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Marcus stepped forward, grabbing Emma’s arm with a iron grip. He began to drag her out of the room. Emma thrashed against him, crying out to William. "Please, William! Look behind the painting! If you don't, she’s going to kill you next! She’s going to kill you!"
But William only turned his back, comforting a weeping Isabella as the doors closed.
