Chapter 3

Clara's POV

Before sunrise the next day, I was violently dragged out of bed.

Julian was standing at my doorway, his face dark with fury. Without a word, he grabbed my wrist in a vice grip and dragged me down the hall.

I hadn't even slipped my shoes on properly. My bare heels caught hard on the doorframe, but he didn't slow down for a second.

The dining room was blindingly bright.

The little boy sat in a chair, his skin flared up with angry red hives, sobbing hysterically.

Serena sat beside him, gently rubbing his back. The moment I walked in, she wiped at the corners of her eyes.

A young maid cowered near the wall. Seeing me step through the doorway, she visibly shuddered.

"Speak," Julian ordered, letting go of me and jerking his chin toward the girl.

The maid swallowed hard, twisting her apron in trembling hands. "It was... Mrs. Sterling told me to do it. She said the boy scratched her hand yesterday, so she told me to slip something into his snack to make him break out."

The dining room fell dead silent, save for the boy's relentless sniffling.

"I never did that," I looked at the maid. "When on earth did I ever tell you to do such a thing?"

The maid kept her head down, too terrified to meet my gaze. "Last night... you caught me in the hallway and told me."

"I was in my bedroom the entire night," I said steadily. "Who can verify your story?"

"Stop," Julian said coldly.

Only then did Serena look up, fresh tears immediately spilling over her cheeks. She grabbed Julian's sleeve. "Julian, please don't do this. I'll leave right now. I'll take him and go. Please don't be angry with her, and don't fight in front of my baby."

"Clara," Julian said, immediately shifting to block her behind his body, glaring back at me. "They're already leaving! What more do you want?"

"Whether she leaves or stays is her business," I said. "Don't pin things on me that I didn't do."

"You didn't do it?" He barked out a laugh. "Why would a maid frame you out of nowhere? She has no reason to hate you."

"No reason to hate me," I repeated, turning my gaze to the shaking girl by the wall. "Then tell me, what did I give you? Or did someone else give you something to say this?"

The maid's shoulders hitched, and she ducked her head even lower.

"Shut up," Julian growled. "You're good at intimidating people, aren't you?"

"I'm not intimidating anyone," I kept my voice calm. "Julian, ask her. Where did I speak to her? Was it face to face, or did I message her? Aside from her word, does she have any actual proof?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes.

I caught that hesitation. But seeing it only made my chest ache more, because I knew that if he just asked one more question, there might still be a path forward for me in this house.

Suddenly, Serena whimpered softly that the child wasn't breathing well, and the boy wailed louder.

Julian whipped around instantly to soothe the boy, rubbing his back and asking where it hurt. When he turned back around, the slight flicker of doubt in his eyes was completely gone.

"Only you would do something this disgusting," he stated coldly.

In the end, he didn't ask a single follow-up question.

In his mind, I had always been the kind of monster who would do this.

"From today on, you're the only one taking care of him," he handed down my sentence. "You are not allowed to leave his side. No one is allowed to cover for you. You don't close your eyes to sleep. You stay until he fully recovers, and guards will be stationed outside the door."

"You want me to take care of him alone?" I stared at him. "He cries through the night. How am I supposed to manage that on my own?"

"Why couldn't you?" He looked down at me with disdain. "If you had the heart to harm him, you have the stamina to watch over him."

"When did I ever harm him?" A hollow laugh escaped my lips. "Julian, since Serena moved in, have you investigated a single thing before blaming me?"

"No need to investigate," he turned his back. "Get someone in here."

Two security guards stepped forward, grabbing my arms on both sides.

"Take her to the boy's room," he said, not even glancing back. "Post guards outside. If she tries to take one step out, drag her right back in."

I didn't fight them.

Yesterday, I lost our babies. Today, he forced me to nurse another woman’s child.

I wasn't going to waste my breath arguing anymore. All I needed was to get through these few days in peace.

As the guards escorted me out, I caught the faint whiff of Serena's perfume as I passed her.

"Julian," Serena said softly, leaning into his side. "I'll go check on him in a bit. Please don't be too angry."

Resting against his chest, she glanced up at me.

There was a fleeting spark of smug triumph in her eyes, so quick it almost seemed like a hallucination.

They hauled me into the room, and the heavy door slammed shut behind me.

Guards stayed right outside. Through the wood, I could hear their hushed chatter.

On the bed, the boy cried loudly, his voice turning raspier with every scream.

I twisted my fingers together until my knuckles turned stark white.

*Julian,* I thought to myself, *why did you convict me on nothing more than someone else's word?*