Elma’s eyes bulged. She was horrified by Nathan’s words. “No!” she shrieked. She hadn’t expected him to be so cruel. She was an experienced, loyal servant of the Bush family, so she had thought that her punishment would be light. But, apparently, she had been wrong.
Helen was as shocked as her nanny was, and not knowing what else to do, she dropped to her knees and began to beg for mercy for her nanny. “Nathan,” she cried. “Please show mercy. I promise that this will not happen again!”
“Get up!” Nathan ordered. He hated to see a woman crying. “And from now on, you might want to watch what you say. The baby protects you for now, but you won’t be pregnant forever. So keep it up, and you will get the same. Eventually.” As he spoke, he nodded to Vic, and the guard dragged Elma to a
Once the doctor was done treating Helen’s bodyguard, he took out a paper from his briefcase. Then he turned to Nathan, gave him the report, and said, “I have the results from your blood tests. Everything is normal.”Nathan took the paper, gave it a cursory glance, crumpled it up, and threw it away without even saying thank you.Crystal wanted to say something about that, but she thought better of it and changed the subject instead. She said, “Since you know who the snitch is, would you like to check on Helen and Elma?”Nathan shook his head and said, “No.”Crystal: “But the child is innocent, and Elma wasn’t the rat!”Nathan frowned. Even though he owed Helen somethi
Nathan grabbed Crystal by the shoulders and shook her. “If you didn’t poison Helen,” he shouted, “then prove it!”“Okay!” Crystal cried. “And if I cannot, then I will apologize. There. Are you happy?”Nathan: “I am. But how will you prove it?”Crystal: “By reviewing all of the security footage.”Nathan nodded to Vic and said, “Make it so.”Vic wasn’t gone long, and when he returned, he had an unhappy expression on his face. He looked at Nathan and said, “I’m sorry, sir, but for various reasons, certain rooms - such as the servants’ quarters - cannot be displayed...”
In the dining room - While Crystal ate her breakfast, she watched the servants in the kitchen. They were gossiping about her, and they didn’t even have enough track to keep their voices down. They thought that she’d tried to kill Helen’s baby. Thus, in their eyes, she was a very wicked woman. She tried not to listen to them, but it was impossible to shut out their hateful words.After eating, she went back into the living room to tell Nathan that she wanted to visit her father in the hospital. He had just gotten off the phone, and he was leaning back on the couch.His eyes were closed, and he looked tired. She went over, sat beside him, and gently massaged his temples.Her gentle movement softened Nathan’s heart. He pulled her hands down and asked, “are you acting so nice today?”
When Crystal got into the car, the first thing she did was check her phone for any missed messages, and she was shocked to see dozens of texts from Carlos - and to her dismay, the first one said: “Crystal, I still love you, and I miss you very much.” Crystal felt like throwing her phone out of the window when she read that, but she managed to stay composed. What is he thinking? - she wondered - Surely, he must know that we are not getting back together!Crystal closed her eyes for a moment to gather her strength, and when she opened them, she started to read the rest of the messages.Carlos: “The sun is shining brightly today. I am sitting under a large maple tree, shaded by dappled trees, and thinking of you. I am thinking about the day you walked into the classroom. I looked up. There you were, and in less than a second before we’d eve
The Beverly villa was more than just the moderate house that Nathan shared with Crystal, Helen, and all staff. What made it what it was, what made it special - was the grounds. There was the view, the trees, the animals, and the other buildings. These included servant accommodations, a shed, two guest houses, and the stables.The stables were seldom used, though, so when Helen heard the sound of a horse-drawn carriage coming from that direction, she was more than a little bit surprised. Who is that? - she wondered. She looked around the room, but there was no one to ask. When Crystal and Nathan came in, he had gone directly to his study, and she had gone to her room - and after greeting them, Elma had drawn herself a mineral bath to help with her wounds.The carriage looked E
Once they were alone, Nathan examined Crystal from head to toe. “Are you sure that you are okay?”“I’m fine,” Crystal said. “I think I’d like to go for a walk, though.”Nathan scooped up her hand and said that he would join her. She pushed him away, though, and told him that she wanted to be alone.“But it’s not safe,” Nathan argued.Crystal: “I don’t care. This villa feels like a prison, and it’s not like I’m any safer in here than I would be out there, as today has shown us.”“Why do you feel like this place is a prison?” Nathan asked.Crystal sighed and wordlessly turned
Helen smiled as she brought the phone to her ear and said hello to her Grandfather.The old Davis: “Helen, have you settled down? How is everything? Are you used to living there yet?”Helen: “I’m fine. Christine is here. Everything is good, so don’t worry.”The old Davis: “Okay. I feel better knowing that Christine is there with you.”Helen: “Thank you, grandpa.”The old Davis: “Does Nathan treat you well?”“Um...” Helen hesitated for a moment too long.The old Davis: “Put him on the phone.”Hele
The carriage stopped at a white building, and Nathan helped Crystal down.In front of the building, there was a fountain with a statue of a mermaid. She was holding a shell and spraying pearls.The building’s door was a crystal curtain, and the ceiling had been designed to reflect the sun’s light into the building. Where am I? - Crystal wondered.Nathan nodded to a servant, and she pulled open the crystal curtain to reveal a large, indoor, natural hot spring. Mermaids surrounded the pool, and each of them held shells, which, like the one outside, spewed water.In the center were two naked angels. Their wings were spread, and they were hugging each other. Above the pool, the ceiling was transparent. It was made from white tempered glass. At the flick of a swit