Chapter 6 - Unraveling the Lies
The temperature in the yellow parlor plummeted to absolute zero.
Vanessa’s face drained of color, her manicured fingers flying up to her mouth. “Dominic, don't listen to them! It’s a pack of lies! That woman—that fat, lazy maid—was stealing food from the pantry and talking back to me! I only disciplined her the way any mistress of a house would discipline insolent staff!”
Dominic did not look at Vanessa. His eyes remained fixed on Ivy, who stood quietly by the door, her hands folded over her white apron.
“Ivy,” Dominic said, his voice rough, stripped of all its corporate armor. “Is that true?”
Ivy stepped forward, her footsteps light and unhurried. She stopped three feet away from him. Close enough that Dominic could smell the faint scent of lavender soap she always carried with her.
“It’s true, Mr. Bellmore,” Ivy said evenly.
“You didn't fight back?” Dominic asked, his jaw clenching so hard a muscle twitched in his cheek. “You let her cut your hair?”
“Fighting back with scissors in a crowded lobby proves nothing except that we were both animals in a cage,” Ivy replied, her dark eyes steady. “I preferred to let her finish. Because people who need to cut other people’s hair to feel powerful usually don't realize how weak they actually are.”
Vanessa shrieked, lunging toward Ivy. “You arrogant little bitch—!”
“Silence!”
Dominic’s roar shook the crystal pendants of the chandelier above them. It wasn't just a loud command; it was the raw, primal authority of a man who commanded thousands of men and controlled empires.
Vanessa froze, trembling as Dominic turned his full, terrifying fury upon her.
“You touched her,” Dominic whispered, taking a slow step toward Vanessa. “In my grandmother’s house. In front of my people.”
“She’s just a maid, Dominic!” Vanessa cried out, tears of genuine panic springing to her eyes. “We’re getting married! My father is a senator! Why are you acting like this over a hired servant?!”
“Because,” Dominic said, his voice dropping into a chilling, lethal register, “my grandmother taught me something you were too blind and arrogant to ever understand. A mansion full of frightened servants is just a beautiful prison. You didn't just cut her hair, Vanessa. You broke the fundamental rule of this home.”
He turned to Captain Ramirez, who was standing quietly in the hallway.
“Ramirez.”
“Yes, Boss?”
“Escort Ms. Sterling to her quarters. Have her packing her bags within the hour. Ensure all her jewelry, designer clothes, and gifts are boxed and loaded into her father’s car by midnight.”
“Dominic, you can't do this!” Vanessa screamed, grabbing his arm. “My father will destroy your shipping contracts! The board will vote you out!”
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“Your father’s construction firm is currently being audited by the State Attorney General’s office for federal contract fraud,” Dominic said coldly, pulling a small flash drive from his pocket—the very drive Ivy had downloaded from the library wall safe forty-eight hours earlier and quietly slipped onto his private desk while he was upstairs. “And as for the board... they answer to me. Get out of my house, Vanessa.”
Captain Ramirez and two security guards stepped into the room, their grips firm and unyielding as they took Vanessa by the arms. Her desperate screams echoed down the marble hallway until the heavy oak front doors slammed shut behind her, cutting her off from the Bellmore estate forever.
