Chapter 6 - THE ACCUSATION
Within three minutes, I was forced into the grand central parlor.
Mr. Hayes stood by the cold fireplace, his arms crossed over his chest, his gray eyes burning with cold fury. Selene stood beside him, pointing her finger at me with a look of triumphant malice.
"I found her right behind Dr. Vance’s desk, Mr. Hayes!" Selene declared loudly, making sure her voice reached the housemaids gathering near the parlor door. "She had the drawers open! She was picking the locks with a piece of metal! Heaven knows what she's already stolen and hidden in her apron!"
"Is this true, Clara?" Mr. Hayes asked, his voice low, sharp, and dangerous.
"I was not stealing, Mr. Hayes," I said firmly, standing tall despite the cold fear settling in my stomach. "I went into that room looking for proof of something dangerous happening in this house."
"Proof?!" Selene laughed mockingly. "Listen to her! She's a common street girl trying to make up stories to cover her theft!"
"Silence, Selene," Hayes ordered coldly. He stepped toward me, extending his hand. "Empty your apron pockets, Clara. Now."
I reached into my pocket. I knew what was in there. The piece of steel corset stay, the amber bottle of Solution No. 4 I had taken from Juliet two nights ago, and the page of medical notes I had pulled from Vance's drawer.
If I gave them to Hayes now, would he believe me? Or was Hayes part of Vance’s scheme?
Before I could make a choice, heavy footsteps thundered down the grand staircase.
"What is the meaning of this commotion?"
Adrian Vale entered the parlor. He wore no jacket, his white linen shirt rolled up at the sleeves, revealing powerful forearms covered in faint scars. He looked exhausted, but his dark eyes were sharp enough to cut glass.
"Mr. Vale," Hayes bowed slightly. "I apologize for the disturbance, sir. It appears the new maid, Clara, was caught breaking into Dr. Vance’s private study. Selene caught her picking the locks."
Adrian stopped in the middle of the room. His dark gaze slid from Hayes to Selene, and finally settled on me.
"Is this correct, Clara?" Adrian asked quietly.
"I broke into the room, sir," I admitted, looking him straight in the eyes. "Because Dr. Vance is lying to you. And he has been poisoning your daughter for six years."
A collective gasp echoed through the parlor. Selene pulled back in shock, while Mr. Hayes’s face turned completely white.
"You insolent creature!" Selene yelled. "How dare you speak about the master's family—!"
"Be quiet!" Adrian’s voice cracked through the parlor like a whip.
The entire room went dead silent. Not a maid dared to breathe.
Adrian stepped closer to me, standing less than two feet away. His height towered over me, his shadow completely enveloping my small frame. The sheer physical presence of the man was overwhelming, but I forced myself not to look down.
"That is a dangerous claim, girl," Adrian said, his voice dropping to a low, terrifying whisper. "Dr. Vance was my wife's physician. He saved my daughter's life the night the river house burned."
"He didn't save her, Mr. Vale," I said, my voice trembling slightly, but holding firm. "He trapped her."
I reached into my apron pocket and pulled out the small amber bottle, holding it up between us.
"This is Solution No. 4," I said. "Dr. Vance gives it to Juliet every single night. He told you it was a sedative for her spinal nerves. But I worked at Saint Jude’s Infirmary for two years, sir. I know what Belladonna, Laudanum, and heavy Bromide smell like when they are mixed together."
Adrian stared at the tiny amber bottle in my hand. His face remained unreadable, but a muscle in his jaw twitched violently.
"This mixture does not cure nerves, Mr. Vale," I continued, tears of frustration stinging my eyes. "It paralyzes the muscles! It keeps her legs weak, her mind confused, and her throat constricted! Juliet’s legs are not broken! She cannot walk because Dr. Vance is drugging her so she never recovers her memory of the fire!"
"This is madness!" Dr. Vance’s voice suddenly shouted from the parlor doorway.
The doctor had just entered the mansion, his coat still wet from the rain outside. His face was bright red, his eyes bulging with rage as he marched into the room.
"Adrian! Do not listen to this uneducated kitchen girl!" Vance roared, pointing his cane at me. "She is a thief! A liar! She knows nothing of medicine! I demand she be arrested and thrown into prison immediately!"
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Adrian slowly turned his head toward Dr. Vance.
"If she is lying, Vance," Adrian said, his voice terrifyingly quiet, "then testing the contents of that bottle will prove her wrong. Won't it?"
