Annabella Barrett stormed out of the mansion's double doors. She hiked up the heavy skirt of her silver evening gown, her high heels sinking into the grass as she marched toward the chaos.

Right behind her came Alden Barrett, his face purple with rage, and Kiera Barrett, the eldest daughter, maintaining her mask of delicate concern.

Annabella's eyes locked onto the black coffins. She saw Aspen's red dress sticking out of the half-closed lid. She saw the bodyguards cowering in the distance.

Blood rushed to Annabella's head. Her carefully maintained elegant facade shattered.

"You ungrateful little bitch!" Annabella shrieked, pointing a manicured finger at Evelina. "How dare you bring this filth into my home!"

Annabella closed the distance. Blinded by fury, she raised her hand high, aiming a vicious slap at Evelina's face.

Evelina's eyes went dead. She did not dodge. She shot her hand forward and clamped her fingers around Annabella's wrist. The grip was brutal, digging into the soft flesh.

Annabella gasped in pain, her face twisting into an ugly grimace. She tried to yank her arm back, but Evelina held her fast.

Evelina pulled Annabella close. She leaned in until her lips were inches from Annabella's ear.

"Do not think I don't know how my mother really died," Evelina whispered. Her voice was a venomous hiss.

Annabella's pupils dilated in absolute terror. The color vanished from her face. Her struggles stopped instantly, her body freezing in shock.

Evelina used that second of paralysis. She stepped forward and slammed her shoulder hard into Annabella's chest.

Annabella lost her balance. She stumbled backward, her high heels twisting in the soft dirt.

Evelina swept her leg out, kicking the back of Annabella's knee.

Annabella screamed as her legs gave out. She fell backward, her arms flailing wildly. With a heavy thud, she crashed perfectly into the second open black coffin beside Aspen.

The crowd gasped. The matriarch of the Barrett family, thrown into a coffin like a piece of trash.

Alden lost his mind. He charged forward, stopping just out of Evelina's reach.

"Evelina!" Alden roared, spit flying from his lips. "You are a lunatic! You have disgraced this family for the last time!"

Evelina turned to face her father. A sneer curled her lips.

"You threw your own daughter out to steal my mother's money," Evelina spat back. "Where was your concern for the family's grace then?"

Alden's face turned from purple to a sickly gray. His hands shook with impotent rage.

Kiera stepped forward. She placed a hand on her chest, her eyes wide and pleading.

"Evelina, please," Kiera said, her voice dripping with fake sorrow. "Violence is not the answer. You are ruining a beautiful charity event. We can talk about this."

Evelina glared at Kiera. "Save the white lotus act for your rich friends, Kiera. I know exactly what you are."

Inside the coffin, Annabella scrambled to sit up. Her hair was a mess. She dug frantically into her silver clutch and pulled out her phone.

Her fingers trembled as she dialed 911.

"Police! I need police at the Barrett estate immediately!" Annabella screamed into the phone. "There is a deranged woman here! She is trying to murder my family! Bring guns!"

Annabella dropped the phone and glared at Evelina with pure hatred. "You are going to rot in a cell for the rest of your life."

Alden sneered, regaining some of his arrogant posture. "No one can save you now. You are going to federal prison."

The guests murmured, shaking their heads. Evelina had gone too far. The police would end this.

Evelina did not run. She turned her back on her screaming family. She walked casually over to a long catering table draped in white linen.

She picked up a crystal flute and a bottle of unopened champagne. She popped the cork, poured herself a glass, and took a slow sip.

The wail of sirens cut through the night air. Two NYPD cruisers, their red and blue lights flashing violently, tore through the ruined gates and skidded to a halt on the grass.

Officer Hayes kicked his door open. He drew his weapon, keeping it pointed at the ground, and moved quickly into the crowd followed by three other officers.

Alden rushed forward, pointing a shaking finger at Evelina. "Arrest her! She is a terrorist! She attacked my wife and daughter!"

Annabella crawled out of the coffin, her dress ruined. She sobbed loudly, playing the perfect victim. "She tried to kill us! Look at what she did!"

Officer Hayes took in the bizarre scene-the coffins, the terrified guests, and the stunning woman sipping champagne. He holstered his gun but kept his hand on the grip. He walked toward Evelina.

"Put the glass down. Turn around and put your hands behind your back," Hayes ordered, his voice hard.

Evelina smiled faintly. She set the crystal flute on the table. She turned her back to him and crossed her wrists.

The cold steel of the handcuffs clicked tightly around her skin. The metal bit into her bones.

Aspen, leaning heavily on a bodyguard, spat on the grass near Evelina's feet. "I hope you die in a cage, you bitch!"

Evelina let the officers push her toward the cruiser. Before she ducked into the backseat, she looked back at the Barretts and gave them a slow, chilling smile.

The cruiser sped away, leaving the Barretts to clean up their destroyed reputation.

Inside the 19th Precinct, the air smelled of stale coffee and sweat. Evelina was shoved into a small, freezing interrogation room. She sat on a hard metal chair.

Officer Hayes sat across from her, dropping a thick file on the table. "You are looking at felony trespassing, aggravated assault, and terroristic threats. You are done."

Evelina leaned back, the handcuffs clinking against the chair. "I want my phone call."

Hayes sneered. He slid a desk phone toward her. "Call whoever you want. No one is getting you out of this."

Evelina dialed a private, unlisted number. It rang once.

"I am detained at the NYPD 19th Precinct," Evelina said calmly. "You have ten minutes."

She hung up and closed her eyes, ignoring Hayes's demands for a statement.

Exactly eight minutes later, chaos erupted outside the interrogation room. Heavy footsteps pounded down the hall. A loud, panicked voice-the Precinct Captain's-echoed through the door.

The door flew open. The Captain rushed in, sweating profusely.

"Hayes! Take those cuffs off her right now!" the Captain yelled.

Behind the Captain stood Doyle Fields. Flanking Doyle were three men in immaculate, thousand-dollar suits carrying leather briefcases. The top defense attorneys in New York.

Doyle stepped forward. He slammed a heavy document stamped with the Montgomery Corporation legal seal onto the metal table.

The lead attorney looked at Hayes with eyes like a shark. "Our client was exercising her right to lawful self-defense," the lead attorney stated, his voice slicing through the room. "The Barrett family has a documented history of severe abuse and unlawful confinement against my client. We are filing for immediate release on bail, and we reserve the right to pursue legal action regarding any procedural violations during this arrest."

Hayes froze. Before he could argue about probable cause, the Captain's personal cell phone began to ring incessantly. The Captain answered it, his face draining of color as he listened to the voice of the Police Commissioner.

The Captain shoved Hayes aside and fumbled with his keys, unlocking Evelina's handcuffs. "I am so sorry, ma'am. A terrible misunderstanding. We are processing the release immediately."

Evelina rubbed her red wrists. She stood up, ignoring the apologizing police. She walked out the door.

Doyle held the precinct door open for her. The lawyers flanked her like a secret service detail.

Outside, a massive, bulletproof Rolls-Royce Phantom idled at the curb.

Inside the precinct lobby, Alden and Annabella had just finished giving their furious statements to the desk sergeant. The sergeant hung up his phone, his expression turning pale. "Sir, the suspect has just been released. Her legal team is escorting her out."

"Released? !" Alden bellowed. He and Annabella stormed out through the double doors, stopping dead on the concrete steps.

They watched in absolute, paralyzing horror as Evelina, surrounded by the most powerful lawyers in the city, stepped into the back of the Rolls-Royce. The car door shut with a heavy, expensive thud.

Alden's knees buckled. Annabella covered her mouth to muffle a scream of pure despair.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom glided silently through the dark streets, eventually turning into a massive, heavily wooded private road. It pulled up to the grand entrance of the Montgomery Manor, a sprawling estate that looked like a European castle.

The driver got out and opened the door. Evelina stepped onto the cobblestone driveway.

Doyle rolled down the window from the front seat. "I have to return to the office to handle the European merger fallout. The staff is expecting you."

The car pulled away, its red taillights disappearing into the night.

Evelina stood alone in front of the massive oak doors. The cold night wind whipped her black dress around her legs. Dust and dirt from the fight at the Barrett estate still clung to the fabric.

She walked up the stone steps and pressed the heavy brass doorbell.

A minute later, the door swung open. Finch, the elderly butler in a pristine tailcoat, stood in the doorway. Behind him stood Mrs. Gable, the head maid, wearing a stiff black uniform. Her face was pinched tightly in disapproval.

They looked Evelina up and down. They saw no luxury car waiting. They saw no luggage. They saw a woman in a dirty, unbranded black dress with messy hair.

Mrs. Gable crossed her arms. "You must be the new maid from the agency," she snapped, her voice dripping with condescension.

Evelina opened her mouth to correct her. She was about to say she was Sterling's wife.

But a slight movement caught her eye. She glanced up.

On the second-floor interior balcony, overlooking the grand foyer, stood Sterling. He wore a dark silk robe, holding a crystal glass of whiskey. He looked down at her, his gray eyes cold and amused.

He was watching. He had already instructed Doyle to call ahead and inform the staff that a 'guest' would be arriving late, ordering them to handle her arrival based entirely on their own judgment without any formal introduction. He was testing her. He wanted to see if she would throw a tantrum and scream her title like a spoiled child.

Evelina's jaw tightened. She swallowed her words. She lowered her eyes and nodded slowly. "Yes. I am the new maid."

Mrs. Gable scoffed. "You are three hours late. You have zero respect for time. Follow me."

Finch pointed a stiff finger toward a narrow, unlit hallway. "Use the servant's entrance. Do not track dirt onto the Persian rugs."

Evelina kept her head down and followed Mrs. Gable into the dark corridor.

Up on the balcony, Sterling took a sip of his whiskey. He spun the gold ring on his finger. He was surprised. She had swallowed her pride instantly.

Mrs. Gable led Evelina down to the basement. She pushed open the door to a tiny, damp room that smelled of mildew.

She threw a scratchy, gray maid's uniform onto the narrow cot. "Put this on. Then go to the main banquet hall and scrub the carpets on your hands and knees." Mrs. Gable slammed the door shut.

Evelina stood in the dark room. She looked at the ugly gray uniform. Her eyes narrowed into deadly slits.

She did not touch the uniform. She unzipped her backpack and pulled out her micro-laptop. She sat on the edge of the cot and booted it up.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard. Within two minutes, she had hacked into the Montgomery Manor's internal management network. She pulled up the staff files and the accounting ledgers.

She scanned the numbers. A cold smile spread across her face. Mrs. Gable had been skimming off the top of the grocery and supply budgets for three years. The fake invoices were sloppy.

Evelina closed the laptop. She picked up the gray uniform and dropped it straight into the trash can.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a clean, fitted black turtleneck and dark jeans. She changed quickly. She pulled the pins from her hair, letting the dark waves fall freely around her shoulders.

She was done playing the victim. If Sterling wanted a show, she would give him one.

Evelina opened the basement door. Memorizing the blueprints from her hack, she turned left and walked straight up the grand spiral staircase, heading directly for the master bedroom suite on the second floor.