The crystal chandeliers of the Grand Monarch Hotel – the jewel of the Hale Group – cast sparkling rays of light, reflecting off the polished marble floors. But for me, Alexander Hale, my world had just crashed down around my feet in shattered fragments
The crystal chandeliers of the Grand Monarch Hotel – the jewel of the Hale Group – cast sparkling rays of light, reflecting off the polished marble floors. But for me, Alexander Hale, my world had just crashed down around my feet in shattered fragments.
“Don’t tell me this maid is your missing wife?“
The giggling, shrill laugh of Chloe – the new girlfriend I had just arrived with – rang in my ears, drawing several curious stares from the reception staff. I didn’t hear anything else she said. My ears were ringing, my heart pounding in my throat.
At our feet, a woman in a slate gray housekeeping uniform was down on her knees, her hands trembling as she wrung out a soaked cleaning rag. One hand instinctively supported her heavily pregnant belly, clearly protruding under the coarse fabric of her shirt. Those hands, once so soft, once cherished and adorned by me with a ten-carat diamond ring, were now rough, raw and reddened by cleaning chemicals.
“Lucy…” My voice caught, dry and hollow.
The woman shuddered violently. She slowly lifted her head. Her once smooth and silky hair was now dry and straw-like, hastily tied back in a bun. Her refined face was thin and gaunt, but those eyes, though tired, were unmistakable.
It was Lucy. My wife, who had vanished without a trace seven months ago.
Seven months ago, the whole world told me she had run away. My mother, Victoria Hale, had shown me bank statements indicating Lucy had withdrawn the full three million dollars from our joint account. My trusted assistant, David, had provided a cruel farewell letter written in her own hand: “I’m tired of being Mrs. Hale. I want money, I want distance, I want silence.”
I had believed them. I had been in agonizing pain, furious, and ultimately descended into debauchery to forget her betrayal. Until this very moment.
“Alexander…” Lucy’s voice was weak, filled with fear. She didn’t look at me with the eyes of an unfaithful wife caught by her ex-husband, but with the eyes of a small animal driven into a corner. She tried to stand up, but her heavy pregnancy and the slippery floor made her stumble.
I immediately let go of Chloe’s hand and rushed to catch Lucy. But as soon as my fingers touched her shoulder, she flinched and shrank back, petrified.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hale. I… I’ll clean it up right away. Please don’t fire me.” She ducked her head, her voice shaking uncontrollably.
“Lucy! What are you saying? It’s me, Alexander! Why are you here? This belly… this baby…” My mind was in a whirl. Seven months. That baby bump was clearly six or seven months along. My child!
“Alexander, what are you doing? She’s just a maid!” Chloe stamped her foot, tugging at my arm, her beautiful face twisted in annoyance.
“Shut up!” I bellowed, a furious glint in my eyes that paralyzed Chloe.
I turned back to Lucy, dropping to the cold, wet floor in front of her, disregarding my expensive suit. “Lucy, answer me. What happened?“
Lucy looked at me, the tears she had held back for so long finally spilling over, streaming down her gaunt cheeks. Her lips parted, but before she could utter a word, a commanding, icy voice rang out from the main entrance:
“Alexander! What kind of farce are you making here in the hotel lobby?“
My mother, Victoria Hale, walked in with her usual regal elegance, followed by David. But the moment her eyes met Lucy kneeling on the ground, her flawless features cracked, her pupils constricting. Though it only lasted a second, I caught that split-second flash of panic.
A monstrous suspicion suddenly ignited in my mind.
“Mother…” I stood up, stepping towards her, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “You knew Lucy was here, didn’t you?“
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Victoria quickly regained her composure, touching her silk handkerchief to her nose as she looked at Lucy with profound disdain. “So, she was hiding here? What cheap trash. Took three million and ran, squandered it all, and now she’s back here to humiliate the Hale family?“
“You’re lying!“
Lucy’s scream echoed through the lobby. She gripped a marble column with all her might, forcing herself upright, her eyes filled with hatred directed at my mother. “I never touched a single cent of your family’s money! It was you! You and David forced me to sign those divorce papers and that letter!“
The entire lobby fell into a silence waiting to explode. I turned to look at David. The assistant’s face was drenched in sweat, he avoided my gaze.
“Lucy, don’t throw blood around like that!” David shouted, trying to hide his guilt.
“I’m throwing blood?” Lucy laughed through her tears, a bitter, hollow laugh. “Seven months ago, right after I told you I was pregnant, you had me kidnapped. You said my common blood was not worthy to bear the Hale heir. You confiscated my phone, locked me in an underground cellar in the suburbs. David held a knife to my throat, forced me to write that letter, said if I didn’t disappear, you would destroy my family back in the countryside!“
Every blood vessel in my body felt like it was boiling. I stared at my mother, the woman who was always preaching about family honor. “Mother… is what she’s saying true?“
“Alexander, you believe the word of a spoiled woman? She left with a lover, and now that she’s pregnant, she’s trying to frame you!” Victoria raised her voice, but her voice was trembling.
“I escaped three months ago!” Lucy cut in, her voice choking from exhaustion. “I didn’t dare go to my parents’ home because I was afraid you would retaliate against them. I couldn’t contact Alexander because David blocked all his communication channels. I hid in your own hotel, changed my name to Mary, took on this heavy labor just to be in the safest place possible – a place with numerous guards and surveillance cameras, where you couldn’t silently make me and my child disappear!“
“The most dangerous place is the safest place.” My wife, my once gentle, shy wife, had endured such terrifying days to protect our flesh and blood?
“David.” I spun around, grabbing the assistant by his collar, lifting him off his feet. “You have three seconds to speak the truth. If not, I swear you will not see the sunrise tomorrow.“
“Sir… CEO… I… I’m sorry!” David completely collapsed under my pressure. He fell to his knees, weeping uncontrollably. “It was Madame Hale! Madame Hale ordered me to do it! Madame transferred that three million dollars into a secret Swiss account in my name as my payment. Lucy’s phone was tracked and completely blocked from your phone. All the letters she sent back were burned by me…“
“Traitor!” Victoria shrieked, her regal face contorted in rage.
I let go of David, a wave of profound disgust and guilt washing over me. What had I done? I had believed in lies, left my wife to suffer and be degraded right in my own building.
“Alexander…“
Lucy’s faint moan startled me. I turned and to my horror, saw her collapsing, both hands clutching her abdomen, cold sweat drenching her forehead. At her feet, a patch of water was soaking into the floor.
“Lucy! What’s wrong?” I rushed to her, scooping her up in my arms. She was so light, so achingly light it made my heart contract with pain.
“Pain… my stomach hurts so much… The baby…” Lucy lost consciousness in my arms.
“Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance right now!” I roared like a wounded animal. The entire lobby staff fell into chaos.
Before carrying Lucy out the door, I paused in front of my mother. The look in my eyes at that moment must have been terrifying, because Victoria had to step back in fear.
“From this moment on, you are no longer my mother. And the Hale Group… I will personally tear it down to pay for what you have inflicted on my wife and child.“
Three hours later, at the city’s top VIP hospital.
I sat by the hospital bed, tightly holding Lucy’s rough hand. The doctor said she was severely physically weakened and showing signs of premature labor due to overwork and psychological shock. Fortunately, both she and the baby were temporarily out of danger, but Lucy needed to be strictly monitored in the hospital until her delivery.
Chloe had long since vanished. David had been arrested by police right in the hotel lobby for kidnapping and extortion. And Victoria? My lawyers were finalizing the procedures to freeze all her assets within the board of directors.
Lucy stirred slightly, her tired eyes slowly opening. Seeing me, she instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but I held on tightly, placing a kiss of contrition on it.
“Don’t hide from me anymore, Lucy. I’m sorry… I’m so sorry for being so foolish.” My tears fell onto the back of her hand. “From now on, no one can ever harm you and the baby again.“
Lucy looked at me intently, a tear rolling down the corner of her eye, but this time, she didn’t pull her hand back. She gave a slight nod, a flicker of forgiveness emerging in the peace after the storm. I knew the road ahead to make it up to her was very long, but I would use the rest of my life to protect this small family.
