Chapter 1 - THE WOMAN UNDER THE WIG
Vanessa’s face turned as pale as the marble beneath her heels.
Daniel remained frozen halfway down the staircase.
Water dripped from the ends of my wig and collected in a gray puddle around my shoes.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then Vanessa forced a laugh.
It came out thin and broken.
“Daniel, thank God you’re here.”
She pointed at me with a trembling hand.
“Your sister has completely lost her mind.”
Daniel descended the final steps slowly.
His eyes moved from the empty bucket to my soaked uniform.
Then he looked at the muddy rag lying near the entrance.
“What happened?”
Vanessa rushed toward him.
“She entered the house dressed like that and started provoking me.”
“She refused to follow instructions.”
“She accused me of stealing.”
“She threatened me.”
I reached into my pocket and removed the small black recorder.
Vanessa stopped speaking.
Daniel stared at the device.
“What is that?”
“A record of the last hour.”
Vanessa’s expression tightened.
“This was a trap.”
“It was a test,” I replied.
“You had no right.”
“This is my house.”
Her eyes flashed with anger.
For the first time, Daniel saw the expression our staff had been describing for weeks.
Vanessa recovered quickly.
She grabbed his arm.
“Your sister hates me.”
“She has hated me since the day you proposed.”
“That isn’t true,” Daniel said.
But he did not sound certain.
Vanessa began to cry.
The tears arrived so suddenly that I almost admired her timing.
“She dressed like a servant to spy on me.”
“What kind of person does that?”
“The kind of person who was told you abuse the staff,” I said.
Daniel looked at me.
“You said you were going to give her a chance.”
“I did.”
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“You told me the temporary maid had been stealing from wealthy families.”
Daniel turned sharply toward her.
“I never said that.”
Vanessa hesitated.
Only for a second.
But it was enough.
I pressed the playback button.
Her voice filled the entrance hall.
“People like you should be grateful people like me let you into the house.”
Vanessa stared at the recorder as if it were a loaded weapon.
The next recording followed.
“Get on your knees and wipe it with your hands.”
Then came the sound of the bucket being lifted.
Then her laughter.
Daniel released her arm.
Vanessa’s tears disappeared.
“You believe this performance?”
Daniel did not answer.
She stepped closer to him.
“I was under pressure.”
“The wedding is in three weeks.”
“I thought she was trying to steal from us.”
“You put the bracelet in your own purse,” I said.
Vanessa’s head snapped toward me.
“I watched you do it in the hallway mirror.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
He looked like someone trying to hold together a building that had already begun to collapse.
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“Daniel, take me home.”
“This is your home,” he said quietly.
She reached for him again.
He stepped back.
That single movement frightened her more than the recorder had.
Vanessa looked at me with hatred burning behind her eyes.
Then she lifted her chin.
“You think you’ve won.”
“This isn’t about winning.”
“It will be.”
She grabbed her purse and marched toward the front doors.
Before leaving, she turned to Daniel.
“When you learn what your sister has really been doing behind your back, don’t come begging me to forgive you.”
The doors slammed behind her.
Daniel remained silent.
I removed the wet wig.
He looked at my real face and whispered the question I had feared.
“How long have you been investigating the woman I love?”
I held the recorder tightly.
“Not long enough.”
At that moment, Rosa appeared at the end of the service hallway.
She was holding a white envelope.
Her hands were shaking.
“Ms. Clara,” she said.
“You need to see what Miss Vanessa left in Mr. Daniel’s study.”
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Inside the envelope was a copy of Daniel’s signature.
Below it were instructions for transferring twenty-seven million dollars on the morning of the wedding.
