A Malicious Welcome to the Servants' Quarters

I stared up at the imposing Bennett mansion, my stomach twisting into knots. The grand three-story building with its pristine white columns and perfectly manicured lawn seemed to mock me. Two weeks ago, I'd have been welcomed through the front door as Julian's girlfriend. Today, I was entering as... what exactly? A glorified prisoner?

"Isn't it magnificent?" My mother whispered beside me, her eyes wide with awe. "To think we'll be living here!"

I forced a smile. "Yeah. Magnificent."

The driver unloaded our meager luggage—all we had left after selling most of our possessions to cover Dad's legal fees. I watched as he placed our bags at the foot of the marble steps like offerings to some cruel god.

The massive oak door swung open. Charlotte Bennett stood in the doorway, tall and elegant in a cream-colored dress that probably cost more than our old car. Her smile was perfectly practiced, not reaching her cold eyes.