Chapter 2 - The Empty Courtyard
The shock of the cold water tore the breath from Maggie’s lungs, dragging her downward by the heavy fabric of her blue housekeeping uniform. Kicking against the drag, she caught sight of Ethan below her. His gray eyes were wide, stripped of the terrifying authority that usually kept his staff cowering. They were the eyes of a man confronting his own mortality. Kicking furiously, Maggie reached him, grabbing his shirt and hauling him upward. Ethan’s panic nearly pulled her under as his heavy shoulders fought for air. "Stop fighting me!" she gasped. "I’m trying to help you!"
Desperately, she hooked an arm beneath his chest, but his lower body was dead weight. Her lungs burned, and black spots danced across her vision. Finally, Calvin broke his trance and hit the water, helping her drag Ethan toward the shallow edge where the gardener and cook hauled them onto the burning deck. Ethan collapsed, coughing violently as water spilled from his lungs. As Maggie knelt beside him, shaking and soaked to the bone, the illusion of Vale House as a sanctuary of elite perfection shattered completely. The staff did not revere their master; they resented him, and that resentment had nearly cost him his life.
