A man in a black three-piece suit crossed the foyer. "Why is my wife on the floor?"

By 8:00 AM the next morning, the Sterling Estate was under siege.

Not by an army, but by the modern equivalent: a fleet of black SUVs and a circling news helicopter. The events of the Winter Gala had leaked. Social media and high-society blogs were in a frenzy over the billionaire who had violently ousted his estate manager to protect a pregnant maid, claiming her as his wife.

Clara watched the chaos from the heavily draped window of the master suite, wrapped in a luxurious cashmere robe. She sipped a cup of herbal tea, her heart hammering a nervous rhythm against her ribs.

Downstairs, Julian stood in his private study, impeccably dressed in a navy suit, exuding an aura of absolute authority. Sitting across from him, looking deeply displeased, was his aunt, Eleanor Vanguard. Eleanor was the matriarch of the family board, a woman whose heart was rumored to pump ice water rather than blood.

"You have made a mockery of this family, Julian," Eleanor began, adjusting her pearl necklace with perfectly manicured fingers. "Marrying a nobody in secret is one thing. But creating a public spectacle? Over a servant?"

"Careful, Eleanor," Julian warned, his voice dangerously even. "You are speaking about my wife."

"I am speaking about a gold-digger who has successfully trapped you with a pregnancy," Eleanor snapped, dropping all pretense of civility. "The board is in an uproar. Our stock dipped three points this morning. You will annul this farce of a marriage, pay the girl a handsome settlement, and we will handle the child discreetly."

Julian didn't blink. He reached into his desk drawer, pulled out a thick leather-bound folder, and tossed it onto the glass coffee table between them.

"What is this?" Eleanor asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

"That is a detailed record of every illegal maneuver you and my uncle pulled to freeze Clara's accounts while I was in Geneva," Julian stated coldly. "Wire fraud, embezzlement from the family trust, and corporate sabotage. It is enough to put you both in federal prison for the rest of your natural lives."