Chapter 3 - The Housekeeper’s Desperate ConfessionThe storm outside raged harder, beating against the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the office.
Maria slowly rose to her feet, keeping the little girl safely behind her skirt. She wiped a tear from her cheek, her chest heaving with panic.
"Her name is Mia," Maria whispered, her voice cracking. "She is my daughter, Mr. Reed. I know breaking the rules like this is grounds for immediate termination. But she’s a good girl. She doesn't touch anything. She was just reading your books..."
"That isn't what I asked, Maria," Alexander interrupted, stepping closer. His sharp gaze swept over the child again. Something about the arch of her eyebrows, the stubborn tilt of her chin, and the way she held her hands nagged at the back of his mind. It was a phantom memory, a ghost from a past he tried desperately to forget. "You said she needs medicine. What kind of medicine?"
Maria hesitated, biting her lower lip until it turned white. "Heart medication, sir. A rare condition. It costs thousands of dollars a month. That’s why I work three jobs... why I’m always so tired."
Alexander stared at her. As a billionaire tech mogul, money was nothing to him—a rounding error on a spreadsheet. Yet here was his most trusted employee working herself to the bone, hiding a sick child in the shadows of his corporate fortress.
"If her condition is that severe, why didn't you ask the company for an advance on your salary?" Alexander demanded. "Our healthcare package covers dependents."
Maria let out a bitter, heartbroken laugh. "Covers dependents? Mr. Reed, your human resources department denied my paperwork three weeks ago because I’m a contract worker, not a full-time corporate employee. They said I don't qualify."
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Alexander’s jaw tightened. A cold fury washed over him—not at Maria, but at the corporate machine he had built. A machine designed to maximize profit while crushing human life.
"Tomorrow morning," Alexander stated coldly, "that policy changes. But right now... we need to talk about why this little girl looks so familiar."
