chapter 1
Emma had worked in the Ashford mansion for exactly twenty-three days.
She knew every polished marble floor, every priceless painting, every silent hallway... but she also knew one rule every servant whispered to each other:
Never make Mr. Ashford angry.
The billionaire was respected by the world and feared by everyone who worked under his roof.
That night, the mansion was preparing for a charity gala.
Crystal chandeliers glittered above the grand kitchen while chefs rushed to finish the final dishes. Emma quietly polished silverware, hoping to survive another shift unnoticed.
But fate had different plans.
"YOU!"
The deep voice echoed across the kitchen.
Emma froze.
Standing behind her was Richard Ashford himself—his expensive tuxedo perfectly tailored, his icy blue eyes fixed on her.
"You dropped this."
He held up an antique gold key.
Emma blinked.
"It isn't mine, sir."
Richard stepped closer.
"Are you calling me a liar?"
Every employee immediately lowered their heads.
Nobody dared speak.
Emma felt her heartbeat pounding in her chest.
"I... I've never seen that key before."
Richard's expression darkened.
"So now you're stealing... and lying."
Within seconds, security guards surrounded her.
The housekeeper whispered nervously,
"Just apologize... please."
"But I didn't do anything!"
Richard smiled coldly.
"Search her locker."
Emma watched in horror as the guards returned carrying a velvet jewelry box.
Inside lay a diamond necklace worth nearly two million dollars.
Gasps filled the room.
Emma's knees nearly gave out.
She had never seen that necklace before.
Someone had planted it.
Richard looked almost disappointed.
"I expected better."
"You have five minutes to leave my house before I call the police."
Tears filled Emma's eyes.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to fight.
But no one believed a poor maid over one of the richest men in America.
As she packed the few clothes she owned, an elderly butler quietly slipped a folded note into her hand.
His hands were trembling.
"Don't open it here," he whispered.
"Run."
Confused, Emma waited until she reached the bus stop outside the mansion.
Only then did she unfold the yellowed paper.
It wasn't a letter.
It was an old blueprint of the mansion.
One room was circled in red.
Beneath it, someone had written only six chilling words:
"The truth is buried underneath this floor."
Emma stared at the map.
Then she noticed something even stranger.
On the back was a faded family photograph.
Standing beside a much younger Richard Ashford...
...was her late mother.
Smiling.
With her arm around him.
Emma's hands began to shake.
Her mother had always claimed she had never met the Ashford family.
She had lied.
And if her mother had lied...
What else had been hidden for the last twenty-five years?
Emma slowly looked back toward the glowing mansion on the hill.
For the first time...
She realized she hadn't been fired because she stole something.
She had been thrown out...
May you like
because she was getting too close to a secret someone would kill to protect.
TO BE CONTINUED...
