Elias knelt—ignoring the protest of his joints—and picked it up. He recognized the insignia immediately. It was a Valor Pin from the Great War, a rare honor given to those who held the line against impossible odds.
“Where did you get this?” he asked.
“My Great-Grandfather,” Maya whispered. “He was a medic. Mama says he crawled through fire to save his friends. She told me to hold it when I’m scared. To remember that we are people who help, not people who run.”
The Housekeeper’s Wrath
“What is the meaning of this?!”
Mrs. Gable stood in the doorway, her face a mask of fury. She saw the mess, the maid’s daughter, and the master of the house on the floor.
“Mr. Sterling, I am mortified,” Gable snapped. “I knew food was disappearing. I’ll have Elena Miller and this little thief out on the street tonight. I’ll call the police!”
“You will do no such thing,” Elias said. His voice was a low rumble that silenced the room.
“But sir, the rules! The theft!”
“The only theft here, Mrs. Gable, is the fact that a descendant of a war hero is starving under my roof while I throw away enough food to feed a village,” Elias stood up, his stature suddenly looming. “Go to your office. Now.”