Rupert, annoyed by the behavior of his attorney, grabbed Aniyah by the hand. "Come on, let's go. You-" He pointed at Baron. "-take care of that envelope for me."

The attorney watched as they left out. Aniyah looked back and winked her eye at him. She switched her hips, giving him no choice but to feast his eyes on her. He furiously held up the envelope. Rupert reminded him that he was the one that had won Tessa over.

"To h.e.l.l with him," Baron said with no hesitation and filed the papers.

Closing the file, Baron made up his mind that the reading of the will would be the day that he would introduce Rupert's daughters to their new sister.

Chapter 9.

Bad news is like a contagious virus-it travels fast. Word had already made its way from Lake Murray, South Carolina, to Cancun, Mexico.

Julia, Tessa's sister, was busy cleaning a home where she and Tessa worked.

She dusted a night table in one of the bedrooms. Going over to the other side of the bed to dust the other night table, she picked up a morning newspaper and the story on the front page caught her attention.

"Look, Tessa, there's sad news in the paper about the family you worked for," she spoke in Spanish as she ran to the kitchen.

Tessa, dressed in a floral dress, busily removed the mop from the pail of water. She had just finished mopping the floor. Drying her hands, she took hold of the newspaper.

She stared into the eyes of an older photo of Rupert. Alana's photo lay on the page next to his.

Too weak, Tessa went and sat on a bench in the hallway. Her sister followed and stood over her.

Reading the article word for word, Tessa clutched at the rosary beads that hung around her neck.

"Oh, my G.o.d," she said in Spanish. Her eyes watered as she recalled how wonderfully Alana Houston had treated her. The pretty clothes Alana no longer wanted, she handed to her to share with her family in Mexico.

Alana thought of her as being a fragile-built girl. She pa.s.sed on the leftovers from meals for her to take back to her room at the servants' quarters for snacks.

"She's so beautiful. She deserved a better man than Mr. Houston," Tessa said to her sister.

"Was he a bad man?"

"Yes, very cruel man," she tearfully said. "It's because of him I had to leave."

"What do you mean, Tessa?"

She touched her stomach. "It was his child I carried within me."

"You messed with a married man? How could you do that to his wife? You said she was nice to you."

"You don't understand."

"Tessa," her sister said as she sat next to her on the bench, "you came back home, pregnant and quiet, never wanting to talk about your problems. Please, tell me the truth about what happened."

Tessa's memory was clear as if it had happened yesterday. She wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke.

"My heart was with another man, but Mr. Houston didn't like it. He threatened me. I needed the money for our family. I did what I had to do. I slept with him." Tessa lowered her head. "I'm so ashamed."

"I never met the man and I hate him, too, for what he did to you."

Tessa cried, "G.o.d punished me." She kissed her rosary beads. "That's why I lost my baby girl."

"Oh, Tessa, that's not true. It must have been from all the sadness you had on your heart."

"I should have been stronger. I put money before my belief in G.o.d," she cried as she ran off and left work.

Julia wanted to run after her sister, but in order for them to be paid, she had to finish the day's work for both of them.

Tessa made her way into the house that she shared with her sister. She put a teakettle on the stove before she went into a bedroom, which was barely big enough for a twin bed and a small wooden dresser.

Opening a dresser drawer, she removed a black dress and a white ap.r.o.n from underneath her undergarments. She stared at the maid's outfit she had once worn when she worked for the Houstons, and then she held it close to her and cried.

She thought of what she read in the article. The Houstons' longtime attorney and friend, Baron Chavis, made the funeral arrangements. Just the thought of Baron's name made her smile. She would love to have seen a photo of him in the newspaper. I can speak to Baron now. A relief came over her. Rupert was no longer a threat.

Tessa got up and pulled a box from under the bed. She opened it and counted the money that she saved, in hope of using the funds to help her sister hire a private detective to find her runaway daughter. But, as with anything else, things always came up that she needed to use the money for.

The Houstons' deaths were another situation that she would have to use the money for. Tessa got up and looked inside the closet for her black suitcase. She packed it with a few clothes.

The whistle of the teakettle called her back to the kitchen. She made a cup of tea and sipped on it. Setting the cup down on the table, Tessa picked up the phone and made her reservation to go back to Lake Murray.

Tessa held on tight to her purse as she took her seat on the airplane. The memory of her last time in Lake Murray was devastating.

Nothing stayed on her stomach. Every morning she felt so nauseous. Alana demanded for her to go to bed. "I think you're having a baby," Alana said, "just like me."

Tessa panicked. "Oh no, not me! It's something I must have eaten."

"Nonsense." Alana smiled. "I'll have Doc come over and give you a checkup."

"No, Mrs. Houston, that won't be necessary."

Doc, the physician who aided all of the help, made his way to the servants' quarters. He examined her.

"You're pregnant!" he announced. "I've already shared the news with Mrs. Houston."

Doc left. Tessa trembled, knowing that she carried Rupert's baby, the same time as his wife was with child. If Alana had ever found out, she would have hated her.

Rupert got word of her pregnancy and made his way to the servants' quarters.

He came up to her, as she lay balled up on the bed. He s.n.a.t.c.hed her from the bed.

"You crazy b.i.t.c.h. Don't you know anything about birth control?"

"Sorry, Mr. Houston, please help me get rid of it. I have no money."

Rupert slapped her across the face, shoving her back onto the bed. He got on top of her and ripped off her clothes, forcing himself inside of her, pumping as hard as he could, as if he was trying to destroy the baby.

"Pack all your things. Tonight, you're on the next plane out of here."

Rupert zipped up his pants. Tessa cried as she held the covers over her naked body. He turned around to see that she hadn't moved.

"Hurry up. I'll be waiting right outside." Rupert left, leaving the door ajar.

She grabbed all of her clothing, including her work outfit and shoved them into the same black suitcase she carried now.

Rupert waited for her outside in a limo.

Tessa went to the door and looked back at the bed that was in disarray, leaving the lights to burn and the door wide open. She jumped in the back seat of the limo with her suitcase resting on her lap, staying close to the window, and leaving plenty of s.p.a.ce between her and Rupert.

The driver looked up into the rearview mirror to see her face was full of tears.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" Rupert shouted.

They reached the airport. Rupert instructed the driver to take a walk. The driver got out and got lost.

Houston leaned over and grabbed her by the hair. "My wife is pregnant. That's the only baby I'm looking forward to. I'll destroy you if word gets back to her that you're carrying my baby, too, Forget you ever knew me, much less my family. You hear me?" he shouted as he yanked her hair.

"Yes." Tessa trembled, praying that she would make it to the airplane.

Rupert kissed her on the lips one last time. "It was good while it lasted." He opened the door and pushed her out of the limo. She almost fell over her own suitcase.

The driver witnessed her getting out. He saw to it that she got on the airplane and stayed put until the flight took off.

She made it safely to Cancun, Mexico, finding her way to her sister, Julia, and her newborn baby. Tessa lay in bed for days depressed and sad. She hated that Rupert's selfish ways denied her the chance to have true love with Baron.

Depression took a toll on Tessa until the day that she went into the bathroom and her water broke at seven months. She cried for Julia, who had experienced delivering a baby. After so many pushes, Tessa delivered a baby girl. Her sister cut the umbilical cord. The baby had problems breathing. Mother and baby were rushed to a hospital. Due to renal complications, her baby died.

As time pa.s.sed, Tessa recovered. She found work cleaning in Mexico. It did not pay much like the Houston Estate. The income was insufficient so she got up enough nerve to send Rupert a photo of her sister's little girl, who resembled her. She wrote on the back of the photo: "Mr. Houston, this is your daughter."

Rupert received the photo at his office. He panicked. To keep Tessa away, he mailed her three hundred dollars a month, for what he called support.

The flight attendant's announcement for pa.s.sengers to fasten their seat belts brought Tessa back to reality. She fastened the belt and reached into her purse to find a stick of gum to help with the signs of nausea that might come on due to the high alt.i.tude.

Inside her purse was the stub from the last of the three hundred-dollar money orders she had received monthly from Rupert. She started to ball it up and throw it away; but instead, she left it in her purse. She found the stick of gum and chewed on it.

The roaring sound of the airplane's engine taking off made her brace herself. The plane began to move slowly until it picked up speed, faster and faster. Her hands clenched the arms of the seat. Up in the air she went, looking out the window to see the land of her heritage disappear before her eyes.

A flashing light appeared ahead, giving the pa.s.sengers clearance to remove their seat belts. Tessa unlatched her seat belt. She took out the article on the Houstons and read it again. Her eyes stayed glued to Rupert's photo. A male pa.s.senger who sat next to her noticed the photo as well.

"Such a loss. He was a great man."

"So you say."

Tessa folded the paper, shoving it back in her purse.

"I think I'll take a nap. I see this might be a longer trip than I expected." The male pa.s.senger closed his eyes.

Tessa wondered how Rupert was so nice in front of high-society people, but behind the scenes, he treated the common folks so cruel. She witnessed his cruelty against female servants.

Every female servant was under thirty years old, except for Elsa, the head servant. The male servants were older men. She a.s.sumed that he didn't want any younger men around to seduce his wife or daughters.

As with her, and many of the women servants, he would pat them on the backside. Many cried when he would fondle their b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Then it was those he thought were s.e.xier-the women servants whose legs he spread apart and took them for his liking in the servants' quarters.

The women took the abuse because it was all about the pay. She remembered the day she was hired. Rupert interviewed her for the job. Alana was nowhere to be found. His pleasant smile was of such charm.

"You'd like a job at the Houston Estate, I see?"

"Yes, I'm a hard worker," Tessa had said excitedly. "I clean, cook, and wash very, very good."

"Stand up," he ordered.

She eased out of her seat. A long trench coat covered her from the chill of the winter air.

"Remove your coat."

Rupert leaned back in a chair.

Tessa jumped to his command. She removed the coat, to show off a solid beige dress she wore to her knees.

"Take your hair down." He grinned and constantly kept his eyes on Tessa.

She untwisted her hair that was up in a ball. Her hair fell down to flow down her back.

A lady that she met while washing clothes at a Laundromat had told her about work at the Houston Estate. The lady warned her about the interview process. But she shouldn't fret, because it would lead her to making lots of money.

"Turn around," he ordered as he drooled over her.

Tessa shyly turned around, feeling degraded, even with her clothes on. She prayed that the interview would go no further.

"You have the job," Rupert said as he got out of his seat. He pa.s.sed by her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Report tomorrow to the head help. Her name is Elsa."

Tessa was familiar with where she was to go. The next morning she reported to Elsa, who handed her a black dress, a white ap.r.o.n, and a white bonnet. She remembered her conversation with Elsa.

"Mr. Houston is a nice man."

Elsa pointed a finger at her. "You want to keep this job a long time?"

"Yes," Tessa answered, frightened by her tone.

"Stay away from Mr. Houston. Don't give him any reason to have a conversation with you."