CONTINUE READING: *The Maid's Secret at the Piano

By early spring, the shadow of the Haynes family had completely faded from Greenwich.

Richard Haynes had resigned from his board under the weight of three separate federal indictments for corporate fraud and patent infringement. Victoria and her mother had quietly relocated to a private estate in Palm Beach, banished from the social calendars of New York and Connecticut high society.

On a warm Saturday afternoon in April, the double doors of the east parlor stood wide open, letting in the sweet, fresh scent of blooming magnolias and damp earth.

I stood by the threshold, wearing a soft cream cashmere sweater and jeans, holding two mugs of fresh coffee.

In the center of the room, sitting side-by-side on the narrow bench of the Steinway grand piano, were Ethan and Lily.

Ethan had his jacket off, his sleeves rolled up to his forearms. Lily sat on a velvet booster cushion, her small sneakers dangling high above the rug, holding Button the rabbit in her lap with one hand while her little right index finger tapped against the keys.

Plink... plink... plink.

"No, sweetie, like this," Ethan murmured gently, taking her tiny hand in his large, calloused palm and guiding her fingers across middle C, E-flat, and G. "Press them together. That's a chord. That's how the song starts."

Lily pressed down. The three notes chimed together in a soft, rich harmony that echoed off the vaulted ceiling.

Lily gasped, her big gray-green eyes lighting up with pure, unadulterated wonder. "It sang a big song, Daddy!"

"It did," Ethan laughed softly, leaning down to press a kiss into her dark, messy curls. "Because you played it."

I leaned against the doorframe, watching them, feeling a warmth spread through my chest so deep and profound that my eyes blurred with tears.

Ethan looked up, catching my gaze across the room. The coldness that had defined his face for two years as my employer—the icy, controlled mask he wore for the corporate world—was completely gone. In its place was a quiet, reverent peace.

"Are you going to stand there all day, Dr. Martinez?" Ethan asked softly, a crooked, beautiful smile touching his lips. "Or are you going to join us?"

"I was just admiring the teachers," I said, walking into the room and setting the mugs on the side table.

I sat down on the edge of the bench beside Ethan, wrapping my arm around his waist while Lily proudly demonstrated her new three-note chord for me again and again until the room was filled with the sound of music and a child's unstoppable laughter.