The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 8

“She’s a little young…”

Thinking of that sharp, delicate face, Anthony pressed his tongue to his teeth and let a small smile curl at the corners of his mouth. “Find out which family she’s from and let them know.”

Five in the morning.

Charlotte was already up, fresh and ready for the day. She pulled a pen and paper from her bag, quickly scribbled a prescription, and left it on the table. With a tap on her tablet, she blacked out every security camera in the Blair Estate, then walked right out the front door like she belonged there.

Anthony didn’t get the news until ten.

“The cameras were out, so we have no idea when she left,” Hans said, his tone careful. “But we found these in her room.”

He held up a prescription slip and a simple black hair tie.

Anthony picked up the worn hair tie, turning it between his fingers. He thought of her thick, dark hair and his expression turned thoughtful, almost shadowed.

“Did you get her information?”

“Her name’s Charlotte. When she was thirteen, she almost killed someone and was diagnosed with a serious mental illness. Her family sent her to a sanatorium in Lamplighter Village, a place for… special cases. Looks like her family’s timing and ours overlapped, which is probably why there was confusion.”

“A sanatorium?”

Hans nodded. “They called it that, but it was really a place that used violence to break kids into obedience. It was destroyed years ago. Charlotte nearly died there. An old woman took her in, and that’s how she survived.”

Violence and submission…

Anthony’s eyes darkened. “Go on.”

“There was a so-called miracle doctor in the village, but nobody ever saw them or knew who they were. The one we found was a fake.”

He hesitated, then added, “The villagers say Charlotte didn’t even finish high school, let alone study medicine. You might want to have that prescription checked out…”

Anthony leaned back, eyes heavy with emotion. A girl from a brutal institution, no medical background at all…

“See Steven?” The maid looked her up and down again, then snorted. “Do you even know where you are? Steven doesn’t meet just anyone.”

“Just tell him Charlotte is here.”

“Charlotte who? If you don’t leave, I’m calling security!”

The maid was new and had never seen Charlotte before.

The noise at the gate drew out a well-dressed woman in her fifties, her brows drawn tight in irritation. It was Susan, Mrs. Main’s personal maid.

“What’s all this racket? Olivia’s practicing piano. If you interrupt her, you’ll regret it!”

Susan gave the younger maid a sharp pinch, then looked up and saw the girl at the gate. Her face changed instantly.

It was her.