Chapter 2 - THE DEED BENEATH THE SERVANTS’ STAIRS.
Eleanor Ashford entered the dining room with family counsel and called the loose bracket a maintenance issue.
Fletcher placed the screwdriver beside her monogrammed handbag.
“You touched the exact support that failed.”
Eleanor said she wanted the table replaced before the engagement announcement and never expected anyone to fall.
Victoria answered, “You weakened the room, and Madison supplied the accusation.”
Madison admitted Eleanor had warned her that Victoria was trying to steal Daniel, the mansion and a board seat. She had agreed to confront Victoria publicly but denied planning the fall.
Daniel asked why his mother feared a woman she had once employed in the archives.
Victoria removed a sealed envelope from her burgundy clutch. She had discovered that cooks, maids, gardeners and drivers surrendered wages during the Ashford bankruptcy to save the estate.
In return, they received ownership through a worker trust.
Her late mother, Maria Cole, had been the elected trustee.
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Eleanor called the agreement ceremonial.
The original deed called it controlling ownership.
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