---- Chapter 6 Jody POV: Arthur had been gone for less than an hour when Claudia started. A sharp, insistent knock on my door. | opened it to find her standing there, a triumphant smile on her face. "Arthur told you to take care of me," she said, her voice dripping with condescension. "I'm hungry. Go make me lunch." | was done playing her games. | just stared at her, my face impassive, and tried to close the door. She stuck her foot in the opening, blocking it. "Don' t you want to marry my brother, Jody? If you don't do as | say, | can make sure that never happens." A cold dread washed over me. She was unhinged, capable of anything. | knew | just had to endure a little longer. Suddenly, she grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin. "You think you can just ignore me?" she shrieked, her face contorted with rage. She pulled me out into the hallway, her grip surprisingly strong. And then, she did the unthinkable. She threw herself backwards, dragging me with her, and we both tumbled down ---- the grand staircase. The fall was a chaotic blur of sharp angles and jarring impacts. We landed in a tangled heap at the bottom, the sound of our fall echoing through the silent mansion. Instantly, maids and servants came running from every direction. Claudia was the first to move. She clutched her stomach, her face a mask of agony. "She pushed me!" she screamed, pointing a trembling finger at me. "Jody pushed me down the stairs! My baby! She' s trying to kill my baby!" A dozen pairs of eyes turned to me, wide with shock and accusation. | lay there, dazed and bruised, the air knocked out of my lungs. The butler, a man who had always been kind to me, immediately called Arthur and an ambulance. Arthur was back in under thirty minutes, his car screeching to a halt in the driveway. He burst through the front door like a hurricane, his eyes wild. He saw Claudia on the floor, weeping hysterically, and then he saw me. He didn't ask what happened. He didn't wait for an explanation. He just reacted. He lunged at me, shoving me so hard that my head slammed against the marble floor. A white-hot pain exploded behind my eyes, and | felt something warm and sticky trickle down my ---- temple. "What did you do?" he roared, his face just inches from mine, his eyes blazing with a hatred so pure it stole my breath. "What did you do to her?" "| didn' t.." | started, but my voice was drowned out by his rage. "Tell me what happened!" he demanded, turning to the assembled staff. One of the maids, a young girl Claudia had recently hired, stepped forward. "I saw it, Mr. Lowery," she said, her voice trembling. "Ms. Campbell... she pushed Ms. Sloan." A chorus of agreement rose from the other servants. They were all on Claudia' s payroll, or too scared of her to tell the truth. | was alone. "You see?" Arthur hissed at me, his voice dripping with disgust. "You're a liar. A jealous, vindictive liar. You make me sick." | stopped trying to defend myself. What was the point? He had already tried and convicted me. | simply lowered my head, letting my hair fall over my face to hide the blood and the tears. The look in his eyes-of utter revulsion-was a wound far deeper than any physical injury. The paramedics arrived and carefully loaded Claudia onto a stretcher. Arthur hovered over her, his voice a soothing ---- murmur, before lifting her into his arms and carrying her out to the ambulance himself. He didn' t give me a second glance. Two of his security guards grabbed my arms and hauled me to my feet. They dragged me outside, into the perfectly manicured front yard. Arthur' s voice cut through the cold air. "Let her kneel there until she admits what she did. She doesn' t eat, she doesn' t drink, she doesn' t move until she apologizes." | didn' t struggle. | let them force me to my knees on the cold, damp grass. | stayed there as the sun set, as the temperature dropped, as the night settled in. | knelt for hours, my knees screaming in protest, my head throbbing with a relentless rhythm. The servants would peek out the windows, whispering and pointing. | heard their cruel words, their speculation about the crazy fiancée who had tried to kill her rival. Each word was a fresh humiliation. Sometime after dawn, Arthur' s car pulled back into the driveway. He got out, carrying a sleeping Claudia in his arms. He saw me, still kneeling in the same spot, my clothes damp with dew, my face pale and stained with dirt and dried blood. For a fleeting moment, | saw something like pity in his eyes. "Have you thought about what you did?" he asked, his voice softer now, but still cold. He walked past me and into the house. He came back out a ---- moment later, his face hard again. Claudia was safe, and so his mercy had vanished. "| won' t apologize for something | didn't do," | said, my voice a hoarse whisper. His face contorted in a new wave of fury. He strode over to me and grabbed my arm, hauling me to my feet. | was so weak and stiff that my legs gave out from under me, and | collapsed onto the grass. "You are the most stubborn, heartless woman | have ever met!" he yelled. "| should have known. | should have seen what you really were." He turned to his guards. "Lock her in the basement. She can stay there until she' s ready to tell the truth."