“You were trying to do what was best for him,” I said.

“No,” he said. “I was trying to find an easy solution to a difficult grief.”

“You did the hard work, Elena.”

“You listened to him when he cried in the night.”

“You watched the gates when everyone else was asleep.”

“I only did what Eleanor asked me to do,” I said.

“You did more than that,” he said.

“You made this place a home again.”

We stood at the window together, watching Ethan run across the bright green lawn.

The shadow that had hung over the Hawthorne Estate for so long was finally gone.

The security guards still patrolled the perimeter, but the threat from within had been removed.

I knew there would be challenges ahead.

The social circles Alexander moved in would not understand his choice.

There would be whispers, gossip in the newspapers, and questions about why a maid had been given such power.

But looking at Ethan’s smile as he threw the ball again, I knew none of that mattered.

The silent guardian of the Hawthorne Estate was no longer hiding in the shadows.

I had a place at the table now.

And I would make sure no one ever threatened Ethan Hawthorne again.