Chapter 2 - Shadows of the Past
By noon, the floodwaters had receded enough for emergency vehicles to navigate the coastal road, but Elias canceled the medical transport before it even reached the gates. Instead, his personal physician, Dr. Sterling—a man bound to silence by decades of legal and financial obligation—was escorted across the bridge by two of Elias’s armed security enforcers.
Upstairs in the sprawling master suite of Blackwood Estate, Anna woke to the scent of lavender and old cedar. The room was vast, adorned with dark mahogany furniture, heavy velvet drapes, and a crackling fireplace that cast a warm, golden glow across the silk sheets.
She flinched violently, scrambling upright as the memory of the freezing greenhouse floor flooded her mind. Her hands instantly flew to her stomach, then dropped in shock when she realized she was no longer wearing her damp, ruined maid's uniform. Instead, she was dressed in a soft, oversized silk nightshirt.
“Don't move too fast. Your body has been through a trauma.”
Anna gasped, turning her head toward the fireplace. Elias sat in a high-backed leather armchair, nursing a glass of amber whiskey. The morning light caught the sharp angles of his jaw and the silver threading at his temples. He looked every bit the ruthless predator the harbor rumors made him out to be, yet his gaze rested on her with an unnerving, steady gentleness.
“Mr... Mr. Mercer,” Anna stammered, her voice raspy. “Where... where is my son? Did the orphanage—did someone take him?”
“Look to your left, Anna.”
She turned her head. In a custom mahogany bassinet lined with imported Egyptian cotton, the baby was sleeping soundly, his tiny chest rising and falling in rhythmic peace.
“No one is taking him anywhere,” Elias said, standing up and walking slowly toward the bed. He set his glass down on the bedside table. “Dr. Sterling examined you both an hour ago. You are recovering well, and the boy is entirely healthy. He weighs nearly eight pounds. Quite a robust little fighter.”
“I... I need to get back down to the kitchens,” Anna whispered, tears welling in her dark eyes as she tried to swing her legs over the side of the mattress. “Mrs. Quinn will fire me. I shouldn't be in this bed. I’m just a temporary hire. I don't belong here.”
Elias stepped forward, placing a warm, heavy hand gently on her shoulder. The authority in his touch immobilized her instantly.
“Mrs. Quinn will not fire you, because you are no longer a maid at Blackwood Estate,” Elias stated flatly.
May you like
Anna stared at him, her heart hammering against her ribs. “Then... what am I?”
“You are a guest here,” Elias replied, his dark eyes narrowing slightly as he recalled the bruises he had briefly caught sight of on her wrists while carrying her out of the greenhouse. Bruises she had tried desperately to hide during her four months of employment. “And tonight, we are going to have a conversation about how a young woman with a university degree in architectural history ended up scrubbing floors in my mansion under a false name, running from a ghost who thinks he owns her.”
