He Chose The Maid Over The Heiress Chapter 06

He Chose The Maid Over The Heiress Chapter 06

Kimberly POV 

The limousine’s interior was a hushed, hermetically sealed capsule of hand–stitched leather and tinted glass. 

Lily sat on the opposite bench, her small legs dangling, her gaze fixed on her knees. She was clutching a linen napkin Rocco had given her to wipe the playground grime from her palms. 

I hadn’t attempted to hug her yet. She needed a moment to process the bomb that had just detonated in her life. 

My phone buzzed against my thigh. It was Sarah, my assistant. 

Status: Assets frozen. Estate security codes reset. All staff currently undergoing interrogation. Found three more unauthorized credit cards in his name. 

I typed back: Cancel them. Flag his social security number for fraud. 

I looked out the window. The city blurred past, a gray smudge. of concrete and steel. A strange hollowness expanded in my chest. The anger was there, burning hot and bright, but beneath it lay a vast, empty space where my marriage used to be. 

I had loved him. That was the humiliating truth. 

I had loved him because he was simple. He liked baseball and bad pizza. He didn’t know how to load a Glock. He was my 

vacation from the blood and the noise. 

But vacations end. 

“Mommy?” 

I looked at Lily. She was watching me with wet, red eyes. 

“Why did Daddy choose the boy?” 

The question was a knife to the gut. I moved to the seat next to her and pulled her into my lap. She smelled like strawberry shampoo and playground dust. 

“Because your father is a weak man, Lily,” I said. I didn’t lie to her. In our world, lies got you killed. 

“And weak men are afraid of strong things.” 

“Am I a strong thing?” she asked, her voice trembling. 

I smoothed her hair. “You are a Miller,” I said fiercely. “You are the strongest thing I know..” 

She rested her head on my chest. I heard her breathing slow down, matching the rhythm of mine. 

My phone buzzed again. It was Austyn. 

Incoming Call: Austyn 

I let it ring. 

It stopped. Then it started again. 

Incoming Call: Austyn 

I answered on the fifth ring. I put it on speaker so the silence. 

of the car could amplify his desperation. 

“Kimberly!” his voice cracked. “The cards are declined! The cab driver is threatening to call the police!” 

I stared at the partition separating us from Rocco. “That sounds like a personal problem, Austyn.” 

“You have to turn them back on! Just for today! We are 

stranded!” 

“Walk,” I said. 

“It’s five miles! And Jaylin is crying!” 

I looked at Lily. She was listening. Her face was blank, a perfect mask. 

“You have legs,” I said. “Use them. And Austyn?” 

“What?” he snapped. 

“Don’t come to the estate. The locks are changed. Your things. 

are on the curb.” 

“You can’t kick me out! That is my house!” 

“It is the Trust’s house,” I corrected him. “You were a guest. And your invitation has expired.” 

He screamed a curse word that made Lily flinch. 

I hung up. 

I blocked the number. 

The car slowed as we approached the estate. The iron gates swung open. I saw the pile immediately. 

It was a mountain of clothes, golf clubs, and boxes on the wet 

pavement outside the gate. It looked like trash because it was 

trash. 

Rocco drove past it without slowing down. 

We pulled up to the main entrance. The front door was open. My head of security, a scarred man named Luca, was waiting. on the steps. 

He opened my door. “Duchess.” 

“Report,” I said, stepping out. 

“We found the stash,” Luca said. “Under the floorboards in the guest cottage. Jewelry. Cash. Passports.” 

“Passports?” 

“Fake ones,” Luca said. “For him, the woman, and the boy. They were planning to run.” 

I felt a chill settle over my skin. They weren’t just stealing. They were planning an exit strategy. They were going to bleed me dry and then vanish. 

“Where is the staff?” I asked. 

“Kitchen,” Luca said. “We are vetting them. But the nanny… she 

knew.” 

“Bring her to me,” I said. 

I walked into the foyer. It was grand, silent, and cold. It felt different now. Tainted. 

Lily ran up the stairs to her room. I let her go. She needed her 

sanctuary. 

Two guards dragged the nanny into the hallway. She was a young girl, barely twenty, looking small and pathetic against the marble floors. She was crying. 

“Ms. Miller, please, I didn’t-” 

“How long?” I asked. 

She fell to her knees. “They made me! Mr. Hester said he would fire me! He said you wouldn’t believe me!” 

“How long?” I repeated. 

“Two years,” she sobbed. “Since I started. They… they would 

meet in the cottage while you were at the office.” 

In my house. While I was working to pay her salary. 

“Get her out,” I said to Luca. 

“She isn’t leaving with a reference,” Luca clarified. 

“She is leaving with nothing,” I said. “And make sure every agency in the city knows she covers for thieves.” 

The guards dragged her out. Her wails faded as the heavy oak doors slammed shut, sealing the silence back inside. 

I stood alone in the hallway. I looked at the portrait hanging above the fireplace. It was of me and Austyn on our wedding day. He was smiling that charming, boyish smile. I looked happy. I looked blind. 

I walked over to the fireplace. I picked up the heavy iron poker. 

I swung it. 

The canvas ripped with a satisfying shriek. 

I swung again. 

And again. 

I destroyed his face. I destroyed the memory. 

I dropped the poker. It clanged on the marble hearth, the sound echoing like a gunshot. 

My phone buzzed. A text from Ms. Albright. 

Ms. Miller, I have added you to the ‘Elite Parents‘ group chat. I hope we can put today’s misunderstanding behind us. 

I stared at the screen. The audacity was breathtaking. She thought power was a social club. She thought she could 

smooth this over with a text message. 

I opened the chat. It was full of messages. 

So sorry to hear about the trouble! 

We had no idea! 

Poor Lily! 

They were scared. They had Googled the name ‘Miller‘ and realized they had been mocking a shark. 

I typed a reply. 

You aren’t sorry. You are scared. Ms. Albright, you are fired. The Miller Foundation is withdrawing all funding from St. Jude Academy effective immediately unless she is removed from the premises within the hour. 

I hit send. 

Then I left the group. 

I walked to the window. It was starting to rain. I saw a taxi pull up to the gate. 

Austyn got out. He was soaked. He ran to the pile of his belongings, frantically digging through the wet clothes. Evalena stayed in the cab. 

I watched him. He looked like a rat drowning in a gutter. 

I felt nothing. No love. No hate. Just the cold, hard clarity of 

the Vendetta. 

He had tried to steal my kingdom. 

Now he would see what the Queen did to traitors.