CHAPTER 2 — THE MAID WHO SAW TOO MUCH
The police wanted immediate arrests.
I refused.
"Not yet."
Marcus stared at me.
"They tried to murder you."
"I know."
"So why wait?"
"Because attempted murder gets prison."
I looked toward the ballroom downstairs.
"Murder conspiracy gets everyone."
Marcus smiled.
Now he understood.
The trap had only begun.
Meanwhile...
Vanessa became crueler every day.
She deliberately held parties upstairs knowing I couldn't "climb" the stairs.
She moved my office downstairs and replaced my chair with an old wooden desk.
She introduced Daniel as "my business advisor."
Everyone applauded.
Everyone except Clara.
She watched silently from the doorway carrying tea.
Later that evening she knocked softly on my room.
"I shouldn't tell you this."
"What is it?"
She handed me a small envelope.
"I found this in Miss Vanessa's room while cleaning."
Inside...
A second engagement ring.
Smaller.
Men's size.
My heart skipped.
Not because she planned to marry someone else.
Because engraved inside were two words.
V + D
Vanessa.
Daniel.
Already ordered.
Already finished.
Weeks before my accident.
Clara's hands trembled.
"I also heard something."
"What?"
"They keep talking about your father."
My stomach tightened.
"My father died years ago."
She nodded.
"I know."
"But they keep saying..."
She swallowed.
"...the old man should have died before changing the will."
I froze.
"What did you say?"
"I think..."
"They believe your father changed something before he passed away."
That night...
I opened the vault no one knew existed.
Inside lay Father's final letter.
He had written it three days before his death.
One paragraph had always confused me.
"Trust the one who protects you when you have nothing left."
Until now...
I thought he meant loyalty.
May you like
I didn't realize...
He already knew betrayal was coming.
