Chapter 4: The Maid’s Hidden Past
The message on Christopher Ashford’s phone refused to disappear.
*Ask Emily why she was really hired by your father.*
He stared at the words until the screen went dark.
A normal person would have dismissed it as another attempt to create fear.
But Christopher was no longer dealing with normal circumstances.
A poisoned coffee.
A hidden letter.
A supposedly dead man standing inside his home.
A photograph proving someone had been watching him.
And now a question about the one person who had risked everything to save his life.
Emily.
For the first time that morning, Christopher wondered if the person who had saved him was also hiding something from him.
He slowly turned toward Daniel Vale.
“What do you know about Emily?””
Daniel’s expression became serious.
“Enough to know you should ask her yourself.””
Christopher’s jaw tightened.
“You brought me back into this room, told me my fiancée has been lying to me, and now you’re telling me my employee has secrets?””
Daniel looked at him calmly.
“I’m telling you that everyone around you has a reason for being close to the Ashford family.””
The words disturbed Christopher because they sounded true.
For years, he had believed wealth gave him power.
But standing in that old room, surrounded by ghosts from the past, he realized something.
Money attracted people.
But it didn’t always reveal their intentions.
“Where have you been for ten years?”” Christopher asked.
Daniel looked toward the dusty windows.
“Running.””
“From who?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
That was becoming a pattern.
Christopher stepped closer.
“I need answers.””
“And you’ll get them.””
“When?””
“When you stop trusting the wrong people.””
Christopher’s eyes hardened.
“That isn’t an answer.””
Daniel sighed.
“Your father left behind secrets, Christopher. Secrets powerful enough to destroy people.””
“My father was not a criminal.””
“I didn’t say he was.””
“Then what are you saying?””
Daniel looked directly into his eyes.
“I’m saying Alexander Ashford knew something about the Laurent family.””
Christopher froze.
“The Laurent family?””
“Yes.””
“Vivian?””
“Her father.””
Christopher remembered the photograph.
Vivian standing beside Marcus Laurent.
A man everyone believed was dead.
A man connected to Daniel’s disappearance.
“How are they connected?””
Daniel walked to the old desk and opened a drawer.
Inside was a stack of documents.
He pulled out a file.
“This was taken from your father’s private collection.””
Christopher took the file.
Inside were financial records, old photographs, and handwritten notes.
One page immediately caught his attention.
A name appeared repeatedly.
*Marcus Laurent.*
“What is this?””
“Proof that your father was investigating him.””
“Why?””
Daniel looked away.
“Because your father discovered Marcus Laurent wasn’t who he claimed to be.””
Christopher flipped through the documents faster.
“This doesn’t make sense.””
“It will.””
“Where did you get these?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
Again.
Christopher closed the file.
“I’m done with half-truths.””
Daniel studied him.
“Then ask Emily.””
Christopher turned.
“What?””
“Ask her why Alexander Ashford personally hired her eight years ago.””
Christopher frowned.
“Emily said she needed work.””
Daniel shook his head.
“She was recruited.””
The word echoed.
“Recruited?””
“Yes.””
“For what?””
Daniel’s face became unreadable.
“That’s what you need to find out.””
Christopher left the room without another word.
The hallway felt longer than before.
Every painting on the wall seemed different.
Every shadow seemed suspicious.
When he returned to the dining hall, Emily was still there.
She stood beside the table, cleaning the coffee stain from the marble floor.
A strange sight.
The woman who had just exposed a murder attempt was quietly wiping away the evidence.
“Emily.””
She immediately stopped.
“Yes, sir?””
Christopher held up his phone.
Her expression changed when she saw the message.
Only slightly.
But again, he noticed.
“You know something.””
Emily lowered her eyes.
“About what?””
“About why my father hired you.””
Silence.
The cloth slipped from her hand.
Christopher watched her carefully.
“Answer me.””
Emily looked toward the empty hallway.
Then back at him.
“I was hoping you would never have to know.””
Christopher’s stomach tightened.
“Know what?””
She took a slow breath.
“Your father didn’t hire me to clean this house.””
“Then why?””
Emily looked at him.
“To protect you.””
Christopher said nothing.
The answer was not what he expected.
“Protect me from what?””
Emily’s eyes filled with fear.
“From people inside this family.””
The room became quiet.
“Who?””
Emily looked toward the staircase.
She lowered her voice.
“Your father believed someone close to him wanted you gone.””
Christopher thought of Vivian.
Richard.
The letter.
The poisoned coffee.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because your father made me promise.””
“My father?””
She nodded.
“Before he died, he called me into his office.””
Christopher felt a strange heaviness in his chest.
“My father spoke to you?””
“Yes.””
“What did he say?””
Emily closed her eyes briefly.
“I remember every word.””
She walked toward the window.
“He told me, ‘Emily, if anything happens to me, Christopher will become the target.’”
Christopher felt his breath catch.
“What else?””
“He told me not to trust anyone who arrived after the company started growing.””
Christopher frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Emily looked at him.
“Vivian arrived three months after your father began investigating Marcus Laurent.””
The timing struck him.
Three months.
A coincidence?
Or not?
“Why did you stay silent all these years?””
Emily looked down.
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of Vivian?””
“No.””
“Then who?””
Emily hesitated.
Before she could answer, the sound of heels echoed through the hallway.
Vivian entered.
She had changed clothes.
The elegant robe was gone.
Now she wore a perfectly tailored outfit, every detail controlled.
But Christopher noticed something.
Her confidence had returned.
That worried him.
“Christopher,” she said softly.
He looked at her.
“We need to talk.””
Emily immediately stepped back.
Vivian noticed.
“Leave us.””
Christopher’s voice was cold.
“No.””
Vivian looked surprised.
“Excuse me?””
“Emily stays.””
For the first time, Vivian looked genuinely angry.
“She is a maid.””
Christopher’s expression hardened.
“And you are a woman who was accused of trying to poison me.””
The words struck her.
Her face tightened.
“I can’t believe you’re saying that.””
“I can’t believe I almost married someone I don’t know.””
Vivian stared at him.
“You think I did this?””
“I think you’re hiding something.””
She became quiet.
Then she walked toward the table.
Slowly.
Carefully.
“You want the truth?””
Christopher didn’t answer.
She smiled faintly.
“Fine.””
She looked at Emily.
“You should tell him.””
Emily went pale.
Christopher noticed.
“Tell me what?””
Vivian turned back to him.
“Ask her why she was really working in this house.””
Emily’s face changed.
“Vivian…”
“Oh, don’t pretend anymore.””
Christopher looked between them.
“What is she talking about?””
Vivian stepped closer.
“Your sweet little maid has been lying to you since the day she entered this estate.””
Christopher’s voice lowered.
“Explain.””
Vivian smiled.
“Because Emily Carter isn’t just a maid.””
Emily closed her eyes.
And Christopher knew.
Whatever came next would change everything.
Vivian reached into her handbag.
She removed a folded document.
Then placed it on the table.
Christopher picked it up.
His eyes moved across the page.
And his heart stopped.
Because at the bottom of the document was a signature.
A signature he recognized.
His father’s.
The document was dated eight years ago.
And the title at the top read:
*Confidential Investigation Report: Emily Carter.*
Christopher slowly looked up.
Emily was crying silently.
“Why,” he whispered.
“Why did my father investigate you?””
Emily opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, the front doors of the mansion suddenly slammed open.
A voice echoed through the estate.
“Christopher Ashford!””
Everyone turned.
A woman stood in the doorway.
Older.
Exhausted.
Holding a worn leather bag.
Christopher had never seen her before.
But Emily had.
The color drained from her face.
Because she knew exactly who had arrived.
“My God…”
Emily whispered.
“She’s alive.””
Christopher looked at the stranger.
“Who is she?””
The woman stared directly at him.
May you like
Then said:
“I’m the woman your father paid to disappear.””
