Chapter 5 - UNMASKING THE HOUSEKEEPEREvery eye in the ballroom snapped from Marcus Vance to the corner where I stood holding the silver tray of champagne.
Slowly, deliberately, I reached up with my right hand.
I grabbed the gray wig, pulled it off my head, and tossed it onto the silver tray.
Then I reached up with my left hand and ripped off the thick, fake-prescription glasses, sliding them into my pocket. I straightened my spine, letting my shoulders drop back into their natural, commanding posture. The stooped, trembling old housekeeper vanished in a single second, replaced by Malcolm Vale—the billionaire titan who controlled the global shipping and logistics empire.
Ethan dropped his champagne glass. It shattered against the marble floor with a deafening crash.
"D-Dad?" Ethan choked out, staring at me as if I were a ghost. "What... what are you wearing? Where have you been? You were supposed to be in Singapore!"
"I never left, Ethan," I said, my voice rich, deep, and carrying absolute authority across the room. I walked slowly out from the shadows of the service door, stepping into the brilliant light of the crystal chandelier.
Serena turned white as a sheet. Her jaw dropped so low it looked unhinged. She looked from Ethan to me, her manicured hands trembling violently against the fabric of her white gown.
"No," Serena whispered, backing away. "No, that's impossible. You're... you're just Martin! You're the maid!"
"I was Martin for three days, Serena," I stopped ten feet away from her, my eyes cold as glacial ice. "And in those three days, I learned more about your greed, your gambling debts, and your plots against my family than you could hide in a lifetime."
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"Ethan!" Serena screamed, spinning around and grabbing my son’s arm, tears instantly welling in her eyes with theatrical perfection. "Tell me your father is insane! He’s trying to ruin our wedding! He humiliated me!"
Ethan didn't move. He pulled his arm slowly out of her grasp, his face pale, his eyes wide with shock and betrayal as he looked at the woman he was supposed to marry tomorrow.
