Chapter 4 - HELENA'S WRATH
The revelation shattered Richard’s world. Emma was Kenji’s daughter. Lila, the quiet, unassuming maid he barely noticed, was the widow of his estranged best friend.
But the tape held more than just a greeting. As Richard listened to hours of recordings over the next few days, a darker truth emerged. Kenji hadn't just walked away from Callahan Global because of a business dispute. He had been forced out. He had been framed for embezzling company funds—a crime Richard had believed Kenji committed.
But Kenji’s tapes revealed a different culprit: Helena Voss.
Helena had been the Chief Financial Officer at the time. She had manipulated the ledgers, funneling money into offshore accounts and planting the evidence on Kenji’s computer. She knew Richard’s blind spot was his strict, unforgiving moral code. When Richard confronted Kenji, Kenji was too proud, too hurt by Richard's lack of faith, to beg for his innocence. He had left America, sick and broken, only returning years later under a false name, where he met Lila.
Richard’s blood boiled. Helena was still in his inner circle. She was a board member, a socialite who sneered at people like Lila.
Meanwhile, Helena had not forgotten the incident in the music room. She sensed Richard’s sudden, intense interest in the maid and her child. It threatened her carefully curated control over Richard’s life.
On a rainy Tuesday, while Richard was at corporate headquarters, Helena ambushed Lila in the estate’s laundry room.
"You think you’re very clever, don't you?" Helena sneered, cornering Lila against the commercial washing machines.
"I'm just doing my job, Mrs. Voss," Lila kept her head down, folding a stack of towels.
"I know what you're doing," Helena hissed, grabbing Lila’s wrist. "You're trying to worm your way into his bed. You play the pathetic, struggling mother, using that brat to get his attention. Let me make this clear: Richard belongs to my world. You are dirt. If you aren't packed and gone by tomorrow, I will ensure social services takes that child away from you. I have judges in my pocket, Lila. Don't test me."
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Lila ripped her arm away, her heart pounding. She had spent her whole life running, hiding, surviving. But looking at Helena’s venomous face, something inside Lila snapped. She wasn't just surviving for herself anymore. She was surviving for Kenji’s legacy.
"You don't scare me," Lila said, her voice dropping to a dangerous calm. "And you don't own him."
