The atmosphere shifted when Claire Whitman, the mansion’s sharp-eyed legal advisor, appeared at the end of the hall, heels clicking against the floor. She moved with the confidence of someone who believed she belonged at Marcus’s side. When she saw him kneeling with a baby in his arms, her steps faltered for just a second before her expression hardened. “What is going on here?” she demanded. Her eyes jumped between Marcus and Lena, measuring threat and control. Marcus stood slowly, Ivy peaceful against his chest, and said calmly that the baby had been crying and he helped. Claire narrowed her eyes at Ivy, then at Lena, asking why a servant’s child was in his arms. Lena flushed with embarrassment, but Ivy only tangled her fingers in Marcus’s shirt. Claire leaned closer, inspecting the baby like evidence, asking whose child she was. Lena answered softly that Ivy was hers. Claire smiled thinly and warned Marcus in a low voice that this all felt strange—a new employee, a baby drawn to him, a story that fit too neatly. But when Ivy grabbed the silver pendant again, Marcus felt the truth growing stronger than suspicion, something Claire could not control no matter how hard she tried.