Isabella let out a small, mocking laugh. "Respect? You are a servant. You should be happy we don't call the police right now."
Liam stood in the back. He was watching Elena. He looked confused by her boldness.
"Search them," Arthur ordered.
Mrs. Gable and another senior maid took Martha and Elena into a small side room. They performed a thorough search.
They checked their pockets, their shoes, and even their hair.
After that, they went to the servant quarters and tore their room apart. They threw the pillows on the floor. They emptied the small closet.
Elena stood by the door and watched. She felt a deep pain in her heart.
In the past life, she had cried during this search. She had felt humiliated.
But now, she only felt unbothered. She knew the earring was safe by the fountain.
Ten minutes later, Mrs. Gable came out. She looked pale. She turned to Arthur Sterling and shook her head.
"There is nothing sir. We found nothing in the room or on their body."
Isabella's face twisted in anger. "Then she hid it somewhere else! She must have passed it to someone!"
"That is enough, Isabella," Liam said. He stepped forward.
His voice was firm. "You were walking in the garden with me. You were tossing your head around. It is more likely that it fell off in the grass."
"But Liam—"
"I will have the security guards search the garden with flashlights," Liam interrupted.
He did not look at Isabella. He was looking at Elena. "If it is found there, you owe Martha an apology."
Arthur Sterling looked at his son. He seemed surprised by Liam's sudden interest in justice. "Fine. Guards, go to the rose garden. Search every inch."
The group left the kitchen. The other maids began to whisper.
Elena led her mother back to their room. The small space was a mess. Martha sat on the bed and began to pick up their scattered clothes. Her hands were still trembling.
"Why is this happening Elena?" Martha whispered. "I have always been honest. I have worked so hard."
Elena knelt on the floor and took her mother's hands. "Because they think we are less than them mom. They think they can break us because we have no money."
"I was so scared," Martha said. A tear fell down her cheek. "I thought they would send me to jail. What would happen to you then?"
Elena leaned her head against her mother's shoulder.
"I won't let them hurt you again, Mom," Elena said. "I promise. We are not going to be servants forever. I am going to get us out of here."
"How?" Martha asked. She wiped her eyes. "We have no savings."
"I have a plan," Elena said. "In addition, I have knowledge they don't have. Just trust me."
Elena spent the next hour tidying the room. She was careful and slow.
She used the time to think. Her first move had worked. She had protected her mother from the theft charge.
Plus, she had planted a seed of doubt in Liam's mind about Isabella.
But it was not enough. She needed to start making money.
Later that night, when the mansion was finally silent, Elena waited for her mother to fall asleep.
Martha's breathing became deep and steady. Elena rose from her bed and moved quietly to the corner of the room.
She reached under a loose floorboard and pulled out a small, old laptop. She had bought it second-hand with her graduation money a year ago.
She turned it on. The screen glowed in the dark. She opened a browser and began to look at the financial news.
She looked at the stock for the Sterling Corporation. It was currently trading at forty dollars a share.
She knew that in three days, a secret report about a new tech patent would be leaked. The stock would jump to eighty dollars.
She had two hundred dollars in her bank account. It was all she had. It was the money she had saved for her mother's birthday gift.
"I have to do it," she whispered.
She opened a trading account. She placed an order for five shares. It was a small start. But it was a start.
Suddenly, she heard a soft knock on the door.
Elena jumped. She quickly hid the laptop under her blanket. She waited. Her heart was in her throat. Was it Mrs. Gable? Was it the guards?
The door opened just a crack.
"Elena?"
It was a man's voice. It was Liam.
Elena felt a rush of blood to her head. What was he doing here? The master was never supposed to enter the servant quarters at night.
She stood up and walked to the door. She pushed it open just enough to see him. Liam was standing in the narrow hallway.
He had taken off his tie. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar.
"The guards found the earring," Liam said quietly. "It was in the grass near the willow tree. Just like I thought."
Elena felt a sense of relief, but she did not let it show. "I am glad, Sir. Now my mother can sleep in peace."
Liam leaned against the doorframe. He looked tired. "My father did not apologize. Isabella did not apologize. So, I am here to do it for them. I am sorry, Elena."
Elena looked at him. In her past life, an apology from Liam would have made her fall in love with him all over again.
She would have seen him as a hero. But now, she saw the truth. An apology in the dark was a coward's way out.
"An apology in the hallway does not fix the mess in our room sir," Elena said.
"It does not stop the other maids from whispering. If you want to be a man of honor, apologize in front of everyone tomorrow."
Liam flinched. He looked as if she had slapped him.
"Goodnight sir," Elena said.
She closed the door in his face.
She leaned against the wood and waited. She heard his footsteps slowly move away.
Elena went back to her bed. She pulled the laptop out. She looked at the small investment she had made.
"Step one is complete," she thought.
However, she knew the road ahead was long. She was playing with fire.
The Sterlings and Thrones were families of sharks. If she wanted to survive, she had to become the ocean.
She fell asleep dreaming of the river…