“Who did this?” he asked, kneeling so he would not tower over her.

“My father,” Rosalie whispered. “And the doctors he paid to call it treatment.”

In that instant, Manuel understood.

He had not married the monster society described.

He had married the survivor of a powerful family still trying to destroy her.

Across town, Emmett opened Lorelei’s sewing box and discovered the key was gone.

PART 2: THE HIDDEN PLAN

Manuel cleaned Rosalie’s wound himself, asking permission before every touch.

“No doctor chosen by your father will enter this house again,” he promised.

Rosalie did not fully trust him, but it was the first promise she had heard that did not sound like a threat.

Over the following weeks, their business arrangement slowly changed.

Rosalie reviewed the estate accounts and uncovered fraudulent charges harming the workers. Manuel dismissed the corrupt manager and returned the missing money.

When a dressmaker insulted Rosalie and suggested hiding her beneath dark fabric, Manuel removed the woman immediately—then apologised for acting without Rosalie’s approval and allowed her to choose her own replacement.