Chapter 5 - Ashes in the GreenhouseThe crisp night wind whipped through my chopped hair as I followed the men out into the gardens. In the distance, the glass panes of the grand Victorian greenhouse glowed eerily under the pale moonlight.
As we approached, the acrid smell of burning gasoline hit our nostrils.
"She’s inside!" Richard shouted, breaking into a full sprint.
We threw open the heavy wooden doors of the greenhouse. Rows of exotic orchids and rare plants were already catching fire. In the center aisle stood Vanessa, holding a red plastic fuel container, laughing manically as she flicked a heavy brass lighter.
"Stay back!" Vanessa screamed, her eyes wild and bloodshot, tears streaming down her face, ruining her makeup. "If I can’t have the Caldwell estate, nobody will! Not Richard, not old Arthur, and certainly not this little stray cat!"
"Vanessa, you're insane! Drop the lighter!" Richard yelled, shielding his face from the intense heat and rising smoke.
"Stay back or I drop it!" she shrieked.
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I stepped forward from behind the security guards. The heat washed over my skin, but my heart felt remarkably cold and steady. I looked at the woman who had humiliated me, locked me in a room, and cut my hair just because her insecure husband looked at me for two seconds.
"You called me a maid, Vanessa," I said, my voice cutting cleanly through the roar of the crackling flames. "You thought cutting my hair would strip away my dignity. But you were wrong. All you did was cut away the disguise I didn't even know I was wearing."
