The morning came with a silent restlessness, as if the walls of the mansion knew that something was coming. Anne sensed it from the moment she opened her eyes: the air was thicker, the gazes of the servants more elusive, the corridors permeated with a murmur that seemed to creep between the curtains.
That afternoon, as Anne helped tidy up the main hall, the great oak door opened with a creak that froze time. Everyone stopped what they were doing. Even the butler - unperturbed even when Viktoria shouted - held his breath.
There, on the threshold, standing with icy elegance, was she.
Tall, flawless, in crimson coat and lips as red as rage. Her eyes were two sharp mirrors, and her bearing, that of a queen returning to a throne that should never have been occupied.
-I'm home," she announced, with a smile that did not reach her eyes.
Lucian appeared a few minutes later. His countenance, for the first time since Anne had known him, faltered. It was not surprise that crossed his features, but something more disturbing: tension.
-Natalia," he said her name with a mixture of respect and caution.
The woman did not answer him. She walked steadily towards him and kissed him on the cheek, like a wife who knows perfectly well that betrayal has touched her bed, but has not yet decided how to collect it.
Ana watched the scene from the second level, behind the railings. She felt a shiver run down her spine. Natalia saw her. Just for a second. But in that second, Ana knew she had been discovered.
Not as a simple maid.
But as the woman who took her place.
**
That night, the mansion returned to its true form: a war camp disguised as a palace.
Natalia did not scream. She did not confront. She glided like an elegant shadow through the corridors, greeting everyone with venomous kindness. Her silence was more dangerous than any words.
Lucian would not look her in the eye.
And Ana... Ana could not sleep. In every corner she felt Natalia's footsteps, as if the echo of her restrained fury could tear down walls.
The next day, Ana was called to the private room. When she arrived, Natalia was already waiting for her. Sitting like an empress, calmly crossing one leg, drinking tea.
-Sit down," she ordered gently.
Ana obeyed. She knew she had no choice.
-Do you know who I am?
-Yes, ma'am," she replied, lowering her eyes.
-Don't call me that. It sounds hypocritical coming from you," she sighed, setting the cup down on the saucer with a dry sound. I'm not going to yell. I'm not going to drag you down the stairs. I won't stoop to that. But you must understand something, Ana...
He leaned forward, his eyes alight.
-This place, this man, this family... they were mine before they were yours. You are an intruder. And even if Lucian has lost himself in your sad eyes and your trembling mouth, that doesn't give you the right to anything. Do you understand?
Anne didn't answer. She was petrified.
-I'll do whatever it takes to restore the balance," Natalia said, with a smile that chilled. Not for Lucian. Not anymore. But for me.
And as she left, she left a trail of expensive perfume and an invisible threat floating in the air.
**
That night, Ana felt truly vulnerable for the first time. Viktoria hated her. Lucian owned her. Natalia wanted her out.
And in the midst of them all, there was her: the orphan of the past, the doll without a will.
But something inside Anna began to awaken.
Not out of pride.
Not out of courage.
But out of a desperate need to be more than a name whispered in the shadows.
More than someone's mistake.
More than the lover of a man who didn't know how to love without destroying.
And as she watched from her window the figure of Natalia stroll through the gardens like a specter of fire, she knew she had to prepare herself...
Because the real war had just begun.