Chapter 3: Secrets in the Dust
Chapter 3: Secrets in the Dust
The next morning, news of the scandal leaked to Madrid’s high-society tabloids. Headlines blazoned across the front pages: Servant to Heiress: The De La Vega Family Secret Exposed!
Elena woke up early out of habit. Force of memory urged her to put on her black-and-white apron, but when she opened the closet, she found simple, elegant attire provided by Gabriel. She chose a modest navy dress, refusing the lavish furs and jewels that Sofia’s family typically wore.
When Elena walked down the central staircase, the estate staff—former colleagues who had worked alongside her—stood in a line. Some looked nervous, fearing retribution for how they had treated her when she was just a maid.
Instead of demanding subservience, Elena walked over to Maria, an older maid who had once shared half her meager lunch with Elena on cold winter days.
"Good morning, Maria," Elena said gently, taking the older woman's worn hands. "Please, nothing changes between us. I am still the same Elena."
Tears welled in Maria's eyes. "God bless you, child. You have the same soft heart your mother had."
In the dining hall, Victoria and Doña Sofia sat at the long mahogany table. When Elena walked in, Victoria slammed her silver fork against her porcelain plate.
"How dare you sit at this table!" Victoria spat. "You may have gotten lucky with that camera footage, but you are nothing more than a street rat wearing silk!"
"Victoria, that is enough," Gabriel’s voice echoed from the doorway. He walked in alongside Julian Vance. "Elena has every legal right to be here. In fact, under the terms of Don Fernando's latest directive, Elena is appointed as the interim supervisor of the De La Vega Charitable Foundation."
Sofia’s eyes narrowed. The foundation controlled tens of millions of euros dedicated to orphanages and children’s hospitals across Spain. It was also the primary account Sofia had been quietly siphoning funds from for years to cover her mounting gambling debts.
"This is an outrage!" Sofia declared, rising from her chair. "She has no education! She knows nothing of finance or philanthropy!"
"She has something far more valuable, Doña Sofia," Julian replied calmly, stepping forward and opening a document. "She has empathy. And unlike the previous administration, she will conduct an immediate, independent audit of all foundation expenses over the last five years."
Sofia turned pale. She glanced at Victoria, exchanging a silent, panicked look.
That afternoon, Julian offered to take Elena to her childhood home—a modest apartment in the working-class district of Vallecas—to collect her mother’s personal belongings, which had been put in storage after her passing.
During the drive, Elena looked out the window of Julian's car. "Why are you doing all this, Julian? You could just be a regular corporate lawyer."
Julian smiled faintly, his hands steady on the steering wheel. "My father was an honest craftsman who was ruined by wealthy men who used legal loopholes to steal his life's work. I promised myself I would use the law to protect people who can't fight for themselves. When Don Fernando asked me to find you, I swore I wouldn't let anyone steal your birthright."
At the storage facility, Elena opened an old wooden trunk left by her mother. Inside, beneath faded blankets, she found a stack of unmailed letters addressed to Don Fernando. Each letter was filled with love, detail about Elena’s childhood, and prayers for his health.
Attached to the bottom letter was a hidden medical record from twenty years ago. Elena scanned the document, her heart pounding.
"Julian... look at this," Elena whispered, her voice trembling.
May you like
Julian leaned in and read the paper. His expression hardened. The document showed that twenty years ago, Doña Sofia had paid a disgraced doctor to declare Elena's mother mentally unfit, forcing her into hiding under threat of losing her baby.
"It wasn't just a lie," Julian said coldly. "It was a deliberate, criminal conspiracy to erase you and your mother from existence."
