Chapter 81
Betrayed by Blood
Avery stood at the sink, quietly washing the mountain of plates that had been left there after lunch. Usually, there would be two other servants to help with the dishes since there were always a lot, but today the girls didn’t show up, leaving all the work to Avery.
Avery sighed internally as she scrubbed the plates, cursing her luck for having chosen this task. She had always hated doing the dishes and now found herself doing them for the whole week. It felt like torture to her. Avery turned to place the clean plates into the rack when she heard a muffled voice breaking through the quiet of the kitchen. She looked around but realized she was the only one there.
"Please... stop..." the voice croaked out.
Avery froze and heard it again, much clearer this time. "Please don’t," the person pleaded.
The sound of laughter followed, sharp and cruel, then the unmistakable sound of someone being shoved against the wall. "Stop? Why should I stop? Give me a good reason, and maybe I’ll think about it," the other person said, making Avery’s blood run cold. Memories of the night she was ganged up on and beaten flashed through her mind horrifyingly. She recognized the voice as the one who had started the fight with her.
"Don’t..." the voice said, trembling so hard it broke Avery’s heart. It was obvious that the girls had picked on another person to pile on. It made Avery sick, knowing they would treat another maid like that, even though they were also maids. Avery forced herself to continue with the dishes, trying her best to ignore the person’s cries.
But then another shout echoed, sharper this time, and her heart sank. She didn’t waste any time. She quickly set the dish aside and rushed towards the door.
When she opened it, she was met with a sight that made her blood run cold. Millie was on the ground, her knees bruised from the fall, her small body trembling as she tried to push herself up. Her face was smeared with dirt, a deep red mark from where she had been struck. The two other servants stood over her, smirking, one of them nudging Millie with a boot, making her stumble back to the ground.