Chapter 3 - The Viper in the Nest
Working inside the sanctuary of Lily's room changed the dynamic of the mansion entirely. Ethan stopped hiding behind his monitors and security feeds. We began having brief conversations over breakfast—him drinking black coffee while asking about my grandmother’s health, me managing the household staff with a quiet efficiency that left Mrs. Herrera with very little to criticize.
Or so I thought.
Three days after I unlocked the forbidden room, Mrs. Herrera cornered me in the industrial laundry room while the heavy dryers hummed in the background. Her posture was rigid, her eyes sharp as shards of glass.
"You are playing a very dangerous game, Elena," she murmured, leaning against the doorframe so her escape route blocked mine.
"I'm just doing my job, Mrs. Herrera," I replied, folding a stack of pristine linen towels without breaking eye contact.
"Is that what you call charming a grieving billionaire?" She let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Do you think you're the first one to figure out how to crack his armor? The eleventh housekeeper tried the pity route, too. She ended up blacklisted from every estate in Texas before the week was out. Mr. Carter doesn't need a friend. He needs staff who keep their eyes down and their mouths shut."
"Mr. Carter asked me to clean his daughter's room," I said evenly, stepping past her. "If you have a problem with his instructions, I suggest you take it up with him."
Before Mrs. Herrera could respond, a sharp knock echoed from the hallway. It wasn't the front door. It was the private side entrance used only by Ethan’s legal counsel and senior business associates.
I slipped out of the laundry room and headed toward the foyer to answer it, but I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw who was standing on the threshold.
It wasn't a lawyer. It was Marcus Vance—Ethan’s ruthless cousin and the senior vice president of Carter Industries. He was a man whose smile never reached his cold, predatory blue eyes.
"Well, well," Marcus purred, stepping inside without an invitation, brushing past me as if I were a piece of antique furniture. "So this is the new help. The one who actually lasted past Wednesday. Tell me, sweetheart—does my cousin know you're already rifling through his most intimate secrets?"
Ethan appeared at the top of the grand staircase, his face instantly turning to stone at the sight of his cousin standing in his foyer.
"Marcus," Ethan’s voice dropped in temperature by twenty degrees. "What are you doing here without an appointment?"
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Marcus flashed a razor-sharp grin, looking up at Ethan with thinly veiled contempt. "Hello to you too, cousin. I came to deliver some very interesting news regarding the upcoming board meeting. But it looks like you have bigger distractions in the house." He glanced back at me, his eyes gleaming with malicious intent. "Careful, Ethan. Not everyone who wipes your tears is looking out for your bank account. Some people have very expensive grandmothers to support."
My blood ran cold. How did he know about Grandma Carmen?
