Chapter 2
Julian stood frozen in the open doorway, the heavy leather briefcase slipping slightly from his numb fingers. His slicked-back dark hair and sharp, tailored grey double-breasted suit suddenly felt like a suffocating armor. He stared at the scattered papers, the overturned wheelchair, and the motionless figure of his pregnant wife sprawled awkwardly across the gleaming marble.
"What... what is happening here?" Julian’s voice emerged as a strained whisper, devoid of its usual boardroom authority. He took two slow steps forward, his dark tie swaying slightly against his chest. "Clara!"
Sarah was already kneeling beside Clara, pressing two trembling fingers against the unconscious woman’s neck. Tears streamed freely down the maid's face as she looked up at Julian with fierce, accusing eyes.
"Mr. Vance, thank God you're home," Sarah cried out, her voice shaking violently. "Your mother... she forced Mrs. Vance to drink something from a cup. She said Clara was going to ruin everything. Then the chair slipped."
Elena spun around to face her son, her posture instantly hardening despite the pale terror lingering in her dark eyes. She stepped between Julian and Clara, her chin lifted with arrogant defiance.
"Don't listen to this hysterical servant, Julian," Elena snapped, her tone sharp and icy. "Clara had a dizzy spell and fell out of her chair. The girl is clumsy, and now she’s trying to cover her own negligence by blaming me. You know how frail Clara has been lately."
Julian looked from his mother’s rigid, aggressive expression to Sarah’s tear-stained, desperate face. He knelt down beside his wife, ignoring both women for a terrifying moment. He reached out a trembling hand to touch Clara’s cheek; her skin was ice cold.
"Her pulse is dangerously faint," Julian murmured, looking up at Sarah. "Call an ambulance immediately. Do not hesitate."
"I already tried to use the house phone in the pantry," Sarah sobbed, wiping her face with her grey sleeve. "The landline is dead. The entire phone line has been cut from the outside."
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Julian stood up abruptly, his height casting a long shadow over both women. He pulled his smartphone from his suit pocket, tapping the screen frantically, only to watch the signal bars drop to zero in real time.
"No service," Julian whispered, his eyes widening in sudden realization. He looked slowly back at his mother, whose face had gone completely rigid. "Mother, why is there no cell service inside the estate?"
