Adopted by the Billionaire✔️

[32]

Ellie's POV
When I opened my eyes, Daddy's room was dark.
For a second, I forgot why I was there. Then I remembered.
London.
Daddy was gone.
I sat up and looked around his room. Everything was quiet. The clock on his nightstand said 7:00 PM. I rubbed my eyes just as I heard a knock.
"Miss Eliana," Edmen said from the other side of the door.
I slid off the bed and opened it.
"Hi."
"Are you ready for dinner?" he asked.
I nodded. I hadn't even noticed I was hungry.
He walked me downstairs, and the house felt bigger than usual. The dining table looked too long. My plate was waiting at the end, but Daddy's chair was empty. Only the dining room lights were on. The rest of the house was dark.
"Where is everyone?" I asked.
"The staff have retired for the evening," Edmen replied.
I frowned. Everyone who worked here always sounded the same—polite, quiet, serious. Like robots.
"Why can't they stay?" I asked. "There's nobody else here."
"Your father restricted visitors," Edmen said calmly.
"But they're not visitors," I argued. "They live here."
"They are employees," he corrected.
That didn't feel right.
"So bring them here," I said.
"That is beyond my authority."
I sighed and ate in silence. Edmen stood nearby, waiting.
When I finished, I slid off my chair and wandered out. That's when I saw a girl scrubbing the stairs. She looked young—older than me, but not grown‑up.
"Why are you cleaning?" I asked.
She jumped and bowed. "Miss Eliana."
"You don't have to do that," I said.
"It's my punishment," she replied quietly.
"For what?"
"I broke a vase."
I looked at the stairs. They were already clean.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Skyla."
"Let's play," I said.
Her eyes widened. "I can't. I have work."
"Call me Ellie," I said.
She looked terrified.
"I was kidding," I added quickly, smiling.
But she still went back to scrubbing.
I didn't like that.
I took her hand and led her to where the maids stayed. Everyone froze when they saw me. Someone called for the head maid.
"What is this?" a woman asked sharply.
"Why is Skyla being punished?" I demanded.
"She broke something expensive," the woman said.
"I break expensive things all the time," I replied.
"That's different," she said. "You're Antonio Smith's daughter."
I didn't like that answer.
"She's a child," I said. "She should be learning, not scrubbing stairs."
"She is doing her job," the woman replied.
I felt my chest tighten.
"Skyla is playing with me," I said.
The woman started to argue—then something inside me broke.
I felt my lips shake. Tears came fast.
Then—
Smack.
Skyla cried out.
My body froze.
That sound reminded me of someone else. Someone I didn't want to think about.
"I want Daddy!" I screamed.
Everything went quiet.
Edmen appeared seconds later.
"What happened?" he asked sharply.
Skyla explained through tears.
Edmen knelt in front of me and hugged me until I stopped crying.
"No one will hurt you," he said.
Then he turned to Skyla.
"You'll move to the guest room beside Miss Eliana," he said firmly.
Skyla stared at him.
Rebecca— the head maid—looked furious.
Later, Edmen sat with me on the couch.
He told me stories about Daddy when he was a boy. About tantrums. About loneliness. About wanting to be better than his father.
I listened quietly.
When I found Skyla later, she was crying.
She told me Edmen was her father.
I hugged her.
We watched a movie together—Inside Out.
It felt right.
I missed Daddy.
But for the first time since he left, I didn't feel completely alone.