"Free maid?"

I laughed until tears spilled from my eyes, my chest aching so badly I could barely breathe.

So that was how it was. When he married me, he called me his little princess, sweet-talked me until my head was spinning.

Now that I'd outlived my usefulness, I was nothing but a free maid.

Even the three unborn children I'd carried had become innocent casualties.

Just then, Madge strolled over wearing my nightgown, the red marks on her neck obscenely vivid.

"Come on, sis, stop making a scene."

"Everard's being perfectly reasonable. You've been living here rent-free all this time. Now that you want to leave, paying back what you owe is only fair, isn't it?"

She rubbed her flat stomach with deliberate slowness. "Oh, right. You know the reason your three babies never made it? Bad luck. You can't pin that on Everard."

I stared at her, unblinking.

This was the woman who drove my mother to her death and stole her ashes. Who took my husband, seized the Pruitt family fortune, and now twisted the knife deeper into my heart.

Everard patted Madge's hand, his eyes dripping with affection.

"That's enough, babe. Otherwise a certain rabid dog might start biting again."

When he turned to me, the warmth vanished. Ice replaced it.

"Iris, I'm giving you one last chance."

"Stay. Keep taking care of me and Madge. Once the baby's born, I'll write off your debt and let you keep a roof over your head."

"Otherwise, I'll see you in court."

I looked at the two of them standing there, and something inside me went still.

The tears stopped completely. All that remained in my eyes was a frozen, bottomless cold.

I should have stopped holding out hope for this man long ago. I should have stopped being weak.

I lifted my gaze to Everard, my voice level.

"Everard, since we're done pretending, let me be equally clear."

"You betrayed me first. You hurt me after. I will never forgive you."

"Everything you and Madge stole from me, I'm taking back. All of it."

Everard laughed like he'd just heard the funniest joke of his life.

"Iris, have you lost your mind? With what? You don't have a single thing to your name."

Madge joined in, her voice dripping acid.

"Sis, stop clinging to your pride when you can barely survive. You're a stray dog with nowhere to go. What can you possibly do besides beg us?"

I ignored their mockery.

I didn't say another word.

They took everything I said for empty bluster. They never believed a syllable.

But I knew. Revenge started now.

Everard waved his hand with casual indifference and signaled the housekeeper to take me away.

"The basement's nice and quiet. Let my wife spend some time down there reflecting on her choices."

They locked me up. As I was being dragged away, Madge seized my chin, her nails digging in.

"Sis, looks like you've had it too easy for too long. You have no idea how the real world works."

"A little suffering will teach you to appreciate what you had."

"As for the good life of Mrs. Delgado, I'll be enjoying that on your behalf."

I was locked in the basement for three days. No water. No food. Then the door swung open, and Everard and Madge stood side by side in the doorway.

"Iris, I hear you've come to your senses and want to talk."

Everard crouched down slowly, studying my hollow, gaunt face. Something flickered in his eyes for a fraction of a second. A trace of pity, maybe.

But I knew it was nothing more than an illusion.

"If you'd just behaved from the start, none of this would have happened."

"If you hadn't bullied Madge, if you hadn't called her the mistress's daughter, I wouldn't have had to punish you like this just to stand up for her."

"Now that you've seen reason, go ahead and give Madge a proper apology."

I kept my head down, my gaze locked on the tips of Madge's shoes, my lips pressed into a hard, thin line.

Madge's lips curled into a vicious smile.

"Dear sister, I hear you've been crying about those three unborn babies every single day for the past three days."

"Don't you want to know where they're buried?"

My hand clenched.

These past few days had probably been Madge's way of getting back at me. She'd had the housekeepers stand outside my door, gossiping loudly about my three children's tiny bodies. About where they'd been buried.

None of them had made it into this world alive, but laying the dead to rest in hallowed ground was a tradition as old as time. I'd asked Everard countless times where their graves were. He always used my depression as an excuse, claiming he was afraid the emotional toll would be too much for me, and refused to say a word.

Madge crouched down and gripped my chin, her tone flippant and cruel.

"You want to know? Fine."

"Get on your knees and wash my feet. Do a good enough job, and I'll tell you."

My whole body trembled. My eyes burned red.

Her taunting, poisonous voice kept going.

"Those three half-formed little runts of yours? I tossed them somewhere random. If you don't kneel, you'll never find their graves for the rest of your life."

I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, the light in them had gone hollow. I nodded.

"I'll do it. Just tell me where my children are buried."

Madge grinned in triumph and planted her foot on the back of my hand.

"There's a good girl."

I swallowed the pain, slowly knelt before her, and bent down to remove her shoes.

Everard stood to the side, watching with cold indifference. Not a flicker of emotion crossed his face.

Madge savored every second of my servitude, drawling lazily.

"Those three kids of yours are buried in the farthest corner of that abandoned cemetery on the outskirts of town. Not even a headstone to mark them."

"If it weren't for my generosity, you'd never have found out."

My fists tightened. "I know I was wrong. From now on, I'll serve you both obediently. Just please stop using the children against me."

Seeing me submit, Everard relented.

"Since you've admitted your mistake, you'll stay in this house as the help. Keep your mouth shut and don't even think about fighting back."

I kept my head bowed, hiding the flash of cold fury in my eyes.

Everard. Madge.

This debt? I'll collect every last cent. With interest.

Over the next few days, I became the picture of silent obedience. Whatever they told me to do, I did without resistance. Without complaint. I even drank the hormone-laced juice on my own, unprompted.

Madge reveled in the thrill of tormenting me.

Only Everard frowned now and then, a faint unease surfacing in the back of his mind.

"Madge, don't you think Iris has been a little too well-behaved lately?"

Madge barely glanced up from admiring her fresh manicure. "So what?"

"She's been beaten into submission. What else can she do besides obey? She can't even slit her wrists without the housekeeper stopping her. Her children are gone. She's got nothing left but to live off our mercy for the rest of her miserable life."

Everard considered this for a moment, then let the warmth of the woman beside him dissolve his doubts. He exhaled.

"You're right. She couldn't make waves even if she tried."

For the entire week that followed, Everard pretended to be away on business while he and Madge worked their way through every themed hotel in the city.

They were having the time of their lives.

Then, on the seventh night, Everard's phone rang. And rang. And rang.

He answered with an irritated snap. "What is it?"

On the other end, the housekeeper's voice came through choked with sobs, frantic and panicked.

"Ma'am said she was feeling low and went to the beach for some air. She threw herself into the ocean!"