Chapter 4: On Your Knees
"What is this?" Anna's voice wavered as her eyes swept over the broken suitcases strewn across the front gate of the mansion.
The maid shifted awkwardly, guilt flickering in her eyes. "These are the things Mrs. Hyde allowed you to take with you."
Even she seemed unsettled by the cruel way Anna was being cast out of the house she had called home for years.
I can't believe this...
Anna stared at the mess before her. Three battered suitcases, their seams split, their fabric torn as if someone had deliberately destroyed them. Her clothes and shoes spilled out onto the pavement, dirt-streaked and ruined.
"The thing is," the maid began hesitantly, her voice careful. "Mrs. Hyde decided what should be packed, but when the other staff brought the suitcases outside... Ms. Susanne was pulling her car into the garage, and, well... perhaps she didn't notice..."
Susanne. Of course. Robert's insufferable little sister. Unlike the rest of the Hyde family, who only wanted to use her, Susanne took pleasure in tearing down everything Anna had—just for the fun of it.
She was twisted like that.
Anna exhaled sharply, kneeling to sift through the wreckage, hoping to salvage at least a few belongings that hadn't been completely ruined.