<b>Chapter </b><b>87 </b>


    -CELINE-


    The phone rang at seven in the morning.


    I had barely slept, checking on Caesar every hour to make sure he was still there, still safe. The relief of having him back hadn’t faded the fear that lived in my chest now.


    “Miss Brown?” Mrs. Reid’s voice was crisp through the phone. “I would like Caesar to join me for breakfast this morning.”


    My stomach dropped. “Mrs. Reid, I…”


    “Eight o’clock. In the main dining room. You’ll serve us, of course.”


    The line went dead.


    I stared at the phone, my hands shaking. She wanted me to serve them. To wait on her while she had breakfast with my son like I was nothing more than hired help.


    Which, I supposed, was exactly what I was to her.


    Caesar was still asleep when I woke him, his dark hair messy against the pillow. He smiled when he saw me, that bright, innocent smile that made my heart ache.


    “Morning, Mama,” he mumbled, reaching up for a hug.


    “Morning, baby.” I held him tight, breathing in his scent. “Remember the nicedy from yesterday? She wants to have breakfast with you.”


    His face lit up. “Thedy with the pretty ne? She gave me toys!”


    “Yes, thatdy.”


    I dressed him in his best clothes…the ones that were still shabbypared to what Mrs. Reid had bought


    him yesterday. Then I put on my uniform and tried to pretend my hands weren’t shaking.


    The main dining room felt huge and cold. Mrs. Reid sat at the head of the long table, looking perfect in a cream blouse and pearls.


    Caesar ran to her like they were old friends.


    “Good morning, dear boy,” she said, her voice warm in a way I’d never heard before. “Are you hungry?”


    “Yes! Mama makes good pancakes. Do you have pancakes?”


    14:57 Sun, 3 Aug


    “We have whatever you’d like.” She looked at me with those cold eyes. “Miss Brown, please bring Caesar some pancakes. And orange juice. Fresh squeezed.”


    I nodded and hurried to the kitchen. Sally was there, watching me with an expression I couldn’t read. Something softer than usual.


    Almost… concerned? “Everything alright, dear?” she asked quietly. I blinked at her in surprise. Sally had


    never called me dear before.


    “Fine,” I lied, focusing on the pancakes.


    When I returned to the dining room with the food, Caesar was chattering away about his stuffed elephant. Mrs. Reid listened like every word was fascinating.


    “Mama likes pancakes too,” Caesar said as I set his te down. “But she doesn’t like strawberries. They


    make her face funny.”


    Mrs. Reid’s eyes flicked to me. “How interesting. And where is your mama’s breakfast?”


    “I’m not hungry,” I said quickly.


    “Nonsense Caesar, wouldn’t you like your mama to eat with us?”


    Caesar nodded eagerly. “Mama, sit! You like pancakes!”


    But Mrs. Reid gestured to the corner. “Miss Brown will stand there. She’s working.”


    The words hit like a p. Caesar looked confused, his small face scrunching up.


    “Why can’t Mama sit?”


    “Because that’s her job, dear. To take care of us.”


    I stood in the corner like a piece of furniture, watching my son eat breakfast with a woman who was slowly,


    deliberately cutting me out of the picture. Every time Caesar looked my way, Mrs. Reid redirected his


    attention.


    “Tell me about your favorite games, Caesar.” <fn563f> ???s ??????? ?s ?????? ?? find?novel</fn563f>


    “Do you like books? We should read togetherter.”


    “You’re such a smart boy. Just like your….<i>” </i>She caught herself. “Just like I thought you’d be.”


    Tears started burning my eyes. I turned away quickly, pretending to arrange flowers that didn’t need arranging.


    “Mama?” Caesar’s voice was small. “Why aren’t you eating? You always eat with me.”


    ?????? ???????


    1 turned back, forcing a smile. “I’m fine, baby. You eat your pancakes.”


    But the tears wereing anyway. I pressed my lips together, trying to stop them, but one rolled down my cheek.


    Mrs. Reid noticed everything. Her smile was sharp.


    By the time breakfast ended, word had spread through the house like wildfire. I could feel the stares, and hear the whispers that stopped when I walked by.


    “Hunter’s secret son…”


    “Been right under our noses…”


    “Wonder if he even knows…”


    “Bet she nned this whole thing…”


    “Smart girl, getting a job here with his baby…”


    The usations hurt worse than the stares. Only Marcus, the head chef, still smiled at me when I passed


    through the kitchen. Sally tried to be kind in her awkward way, but even she looked at me differently now.


    It was Ana who said what everyone was thinking.


    “Must be nice,” she said loud enough for half the staff to hear. “Having a backup n. Get a job as a maid,


    then surprise! Here’s your son’s baby. Instant money.”


    “It’s not like that,” I whispered.


    “Sure it’s not.” Ana’s smile was poison. “Pure coincidence, right?”


    I wanted to scream that I had taken this job. Because I was desperate. I needed work because I never expected to see Hunter again. But who would believe me now?


    At ten o’clock, Mrs. Reid’s voice echoed through the mansion.


    “All staff to the main parlor. Immediately.”


    We gathered in the fancy room with its silk wallpaper and crystal chandelier. Mrs. Reid stood at the front like a queen addressing her subjects.


    Caesar sat on the floor next to her, ying with one of his new toys….. an expensive–looking wooden train.


    I stayed at the back, watching my son instead of listening to whatever speech she was about to give.


    “I’m sure you’ve all heard rumors by now,” Mrs. Reid began. “Gossip has a way of spreading in households


    like this.”


    Murmurs rippled through the group. I saw heads turn toward me, then quickly look away.


    “I want to make something very clear,” she continued, her voice cutting through the whispers. “Any discussion of Caesar’s parentage stops now. Completely. I will not tolerate gossip about this child or his mother.”


    The room went dead silent. Even Caesar looked up from his train.


    “But Mrs. Reid,” Ana started, “we were just…”


    “You were just spreading rumors that could damage this family’s reputation.” Mrs. Reid’s voice could have frozen fire. “That stops now. Anyone caught discussing this matter will be terminated immediately. Without reference.”


    My heart pounded. I looked around the room, seeing the same confusion on everyone’s faces that I felt.


    Why would she want to keep it quiet? If she knew Caesar was Hunter’s son, why silence the staff instead of… I don’t know, announcing it? Using it somehow?


    Unless she didn’t want Hunter to find out.


    The thought hit me like lightning. What if she nned to handle this herself? What if she wanted to control


    the situation, control Caesar, without Hunter knowing the truth?


    “Do I make myself clear?” Mrs. Reid asked.


    A chorus of “Yes, ma’am” filled the room.


    “Good. Anyone who vites this order will answer to me personally.”


    One by one, the staff filed out. I started to follow, but Mrs. Reid’s voice stopped me.


    “Not you, Miss Brown.”


    I froze as the room emptied, leaving just me, Mrs. Reid, and Caesar with his train.


    “You look confused, dear,” Mrs. Reid said, her voice sickeningly sweet. “Wondering why I would want to


    keep such interesting news quiet?”


    I nodded, not trusting my voice.


    “Because, my dear girl, some stories are best told at the right time. By the right people.” Her smile was all


    teeth. “And you are not the right people.”


    Caesar looked up from his train. “Mama, are you okay? You look sad.”


    Mrs. Reid knelt beside him. “Your mama is fine, darling. She’s just thinking about grown–up things. Why


    14:57 Sun, 3 Aug


    don’t you show me how your trains works?”


    As Caesar chattered about his toy, Mrs. Reid looked at me over his head. Her message was clear: she was in control now. Of the narrative. Of my son. Of everything.


    And there was nothing I could do to stop her.