The Teddy Bear Held Her Mother's Secret
CHAPTER 1 - The Maid Caroline Chose
Jonathan Ashford expected his engagement announcement to be the happiest moment of the evening.
He stood beneath the ballroom's largest chandelier with his fiancee, Vanessa Cole, beside him. Their marriage would unite two wealthy families and end three years of loneliness following his wife's death.
His five-year-old daughter, Caroline, stood several feet away.
Jonathan held out his hand.
"Come stand with us, sweetheart. We are going to be a family."
Caroline did not move.
She hugged her gray teddy bear and pointed across the ballroom.
"I choose her."
Every guest turned toward Luna Moretti, the twenty-two-year-old maid standing beside the dining table.
Jonathan bent toward his daughter.
"Caroline, do you understand what you're saying?"
"I want Luna!"
Luna covered her mouth.
She had worked in the Ashford house for only six months. She served meals, cleaned rooms, and helped Caroline prepare for school. Jonathan had never realized how much time they spent together.
Luna knelt and took Caroline's hands.
"Sweetheart, please go back to your father."
Caroline began crying.
"No, you're the only one who truly cares about me."
Jonathan felt the guests watching him.
Vanessa stepped forward.
"The child is tired. Luna has obviously confused her."
Luna's expression changed, but she said nothing.
Caroline looked directly at her father.
"When I'm scared and crying at night, she's with me... Mommy."
The word stopped every conversation.
Vanessa reached for Caroline.
The girl screamed and pulled away so violently that her teddy bear struck the floor.
A seam opened along its back.
A small brass key fell onto the marble.
Jonathan picked it up.
His face lost its color.
The key had belonged to his late wife, Emily. She carried it every day, but it disappeared after the car accident that killed her.
Vanessa stared at the key.
For one second, fear replaced the pleasant smile on her face.
Then Caroline whispered, "Vanessa keeps asking me where Mommy hid it."
Jonathan slowly looked at his fiancee.
Vanessa shook her head.
"She is five years old. She doesn't know what she's saying."
But Jonathan had already noticed the fading marks around Caroline's wrist.
He turned to Luna.
"Tell me what has been happening in my house."
Luna looked at the frightened child.
Then she faced Jonathan.
"First, you need to cancel this engagement."
The maid Caroline called Mommy knew that Emily's death had not been an accident.
