Elena’s Bruise
Chapter 04 - Elena’s Bruise
Dante turned to Elena.
“Who hit you?”
Elena looked down.
Vanessa laughed once. “She fell against the nursery door.”
Elena’s jaw tightened.
“Elena,” he said, “look at me.”
She did.
“Who hit you?”
“Miss Cole.”
Vanessa’s face sharpened. “That is a lie.”
Elena’s eyes stayed on Dante.
“She took the music box from Lily. Miss Lily tried to hold it. I stepped between them. Miss Cole slapped me and told me to leave before the wedding guests arrived.”
Dante looked toward Lily.
The girl nodded against the bear.
Vanessa moved closer.
“You are believing the maid over your future wife?”
Dante did not answer.
Elena continued, words gathering strength now that someone had finally asked the correct question.
“She said I was finished here. She told Lily that after the wedding, she would be sent to boarding school because children should not interfere with a marriage.”
Lily began to cry again.
Dante’s face changed.
He had brought Vanessa into Lily’s house.
He had asked Lily to call her family.
And while Dante controlled an empire, he had left his daughter alone with a woman who treated grief like disobedience.
The truth made him look at the mansion differently. The marble floor, the staircase, the chandelier, the rooms protected by cameras and guards—none of them had protected Lily from a voice telling her she no longer belonged. Dante had spent money securing doors while ignoring what happened after they closed.
He turned toward Elena again.
“How long has this been happening?”
May you like
Elena hesitated. “Small things for months. Today was the first time she said Miss Lily would be sent away.”
Dante’s shame deepened. Small things had been asking for his attention long before the emergency call.
