I shook my head weakly. “I didn’t—”
“Do it!” he roared. “Or your son loses everything. No doctors. No education. No food. Let him rot alongside you.”
I went still.
Across the room, Asher continued pounding the piano keys, his grin identical to his mother’s—triumphant. The maids kept their heads lowered, pity flickering in their eyes, but none of them dared step forward.
Ethan trembled beside me.
For him—and only for him—I sank lower until my forehead nearly touched the floor. Tears slid down my cheeks as I whispered,
“I’m sorry, Marina.”
Laughter erupted. Glasses clinked.
“At least she knows obedience,” one man sneered.
Marina dabbed at her eyes and approached, smiling sweetly. She patted my head like I was a stray animal.
“It’s alright,” she said gently. “Vivienne is simply unwell with jealousy. I forgive her.”
The men praised her generosity, every word slicing into me.
“What a compassionate woman.”
“So gracious.”
Ethan’s small voice pierced through the noise.
“Don’t talk about my mama like that! She’s not sick!”
Dominic’s expression darkened instantly. He snapped his fingers.
“Take that bastard away before he embarrasses me further.”