The tinny ringtone of Serena’s cell phone brought her back from her reverie. Glancing at the screen, she saw Martha’s name flashing.
"Serena, are you okay?" Martha’s voice, tinged with concern, crackled through the phone.
"Martha, why are you asking all of a sudden? What’s wrong with your voice?" Serena detected a raspiness in Martha’s usually clear tone. Suddenly, she heard the clatter of something falling on
Martha’s end.
Martha seemed to be reaching for the fallen object, and in doing so, must have snagged her wound, letting out an involuntary "Ouch."
Serena’s worry spiked. "Martha, what’s happened? Are you not feeling well? Are you sick?"
"No, it’s—ouch—nothing." Martha’s sharp intake of breath was audible.
"I’m sending a video call, hold on," Serena said quickly.
She hung up and shot a video call Martha’s way, but Martha declined it.
Serena’s curiosity was piqued. She kept trying, and finally, Martha, seemingly with no other choice, reluctantly accepted the video call.
When Serena’s eyes met Martha’s bruised face on the screen, she gasped in shock. "Martha, what happened to you? Did you fall? When did this happen? You never mentioned it!"
"It’s nothing. Ouch." Martha winced, possibly having aggravated her injury again. She steadied herself, holding her side and looking into the camera. "Serena, what’s with the bruises on you? What
happened? And where are you? Isn’t that the guest room next to the main house? Why are you there so late, and still in your pajamas?"
Having been with the Collins family for over a decade, Martha recognized the background in Serena’s video call. It wasn’t the lavish bedroom of Serena’s past.
The floodgates opened as Martha’s concern touched Serena’s already heavy heart, and tears began to stream down her face.
"Serena, why are you crying? It’s okay, tell me."
Serena poured out the events that had unfolded at Mr. Eugene’s birthday party.
"So, because Mrs. Collins heard you were pretending to be Queena’s apprentice, she thought you were trying to punch above your weight. And then she found out you’d been badmouthing Rosemary, saying
she sabotaged your engagement with Mr. McMillian. All because of these two things, she banished you to the next building?"
Serena nodded miserably.
"How can they do this to you? You only pretended to be Queena’s apprentice in front of some friends, and it was those friends who blabbed, not you. It’s their fault, not yours. And you even apologized to Rosemary in front of all those guests. What more does she want?"
Martha’s words struck a chord with Serena, who felt the sting of injustice all over again.
"If it wasn’t for Rosemary coming back to this family, you’d still be engaged to Mr. McMillian. It truly was Rosemary who broke that off, whether or not you’re the one who told people. There’s truth to that, isn’t there? Mrs. Collins shouldn’t have cast you aside over such trivial matters! They’ve cherished you for eighteen years. How can they just neglect you now, just because Rosemary carries their blood?"
"Could it be that all three of us had wronged her, and that’s why Mrs. Collins couldn’t let it go and ordered this payback?"
Serena was shocked to learn about Debby and Daisy’s ordeal, "Now I remember, before mom and dad shipped me off here, they blamed you for leading me astray. They must think you’re the bad influence,and that’s why they’re taking it out on you, and settling scores with Debby and Daisy as well."
Thinking it over, Serena felt a surge of indignation on their behalf.
"That oil spill. We were the ones who got hurt, not Rosemary. They docked your pay, kicked you out, and now, after all this time, they have someone beat you up? That’s just too much! And Debby and Daisy were just trying to put those uppity servants in their place because they were so unbearable. But mom and dad still want to settle old scores."
"Serena, haven’t you noticed? When the lady of the house adored you, we basked in your glow. Now that you’ve been relegated to the guest quarters, it’s no wonder we’re."
Serena hadn’t realized that falling out of favor herself had dragged down her once loyal servants, "Mom and Dad also said that if I don’t reflect on my behavior and dare to disrespect Rosemary again, then I
don’t deserve to carry the Collins name."
"What did you say?" Martha was in disbelief.
"Ridiculous, isn’t it?" Serena laughed bitterly, the pain clear in her voice. Her parents, who had cherished her for eighteen years, were now ready to strip her of her family name just because of their biological daughter’s arrival.
"They’ve gone too far!" Martha never imagined the lady of the house could be so cold-hearted.
Eighteen years of love for her daughter, and yet, as if uprooting a cherished tree, they were ready to deny even her name to such a splendid person.

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