While David was reading the legal papers in the quiet library, Clara was pacing back and forth in the grand hallway near the main staircase. Her expensive white gown rustled loudly against the hardwood floor as she gripped a silver glass of iced water with white knuckles. Clara had dropped her diamond bracelet earlier in the morning and was frantically searching the carpeted corridors for the lost family heirloom. She marched toward the service pantry where the house servants stored their personal bags during their daily work shifts. Clara shoved the wooden door open with her hand, expecting to find an empty room filled with cleaning supplies and extra coats.
Instead, she saw tiny Daisy sitting on a wooden bench, holding a small silver frame that contained a miniature photo of David as a young boy. The frame was an old trinket that Lily had saved in her small bag to remember the only man she had ever loved. Daisy was smiling gently at the photograph, tracing the edge of the frame with her tiny index finger. Clara stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes narrowing as she recognized the distinct facial features of the child in front of her. The subtle freckles, the clear shape of the jaw, and the bright blue eyes were identical to David's childhood portraits hanging in the main gallery.
Clara: Where did you get that picture, you little thief?! Hand that over to me right now!
Daisy: It belongs to my mommy! Please do not take it away from me!
Clara: Your mommy is a common servant! She has no right to keep pictures of my husband-to-be!
Clara stepped forward and snatched the frame violently out of the little girl's hands, causing the glass back to crack down the middle. Daisy let out a loud cry of fear, pulling her small knees up to her chest as Clara towered over her in anger. Lily heard her daughter's cry from down the hallway and came running into the service room, her apron fluttering as she moved. When Lily saw Clara holding the broken frame and shouting at her small child, her face turned pale with utter horror. Lily rushed between Clara and Daisy, putting her body in front of the little girl to shelter her from the angry bride.
Lily: Miss Clara, please! She is just a child! She did not mean to touch your things!
Clara: You dirty liar! This child looks just like David! Who is her real biological father?!
Lily: Please, Miss Clara, do not do this today. We will leave the house right now and never come back!
Clara: You thought you could hide a bastard child in this house and steal my future inheritance?!
Clara's face turned red with pure, uncontrollable rage as she realized that Lily held a secret that could destroy her upcoming marriage and financial security. If David discovered he had a child with Lily, he would cancel the wedding immediately and strip Clara of access to the vast estate funds. Clara grabbed a decorative wooden baseball bat that was sitting near the hallway display stand as a sports prop for the reception. She raised the heavy wooden bat high above her head, her eyes wild with cruel intention as she stepped toward the cornered mother and child. Lily threw her body over Daisy on the hardwood floor, shielding the small girl with her back as Clara swung the bat down with full strength.