Chapter 3: The Spy in the Mansion
Chapter 3: The Spy in the Mansion
The first light of dawn crept through the stained-glass windows of the Carver mansion.
Most of the staff had barely slept.
News of what happened at the engagement celebration had spread through the estate before sunrise.
The housemaids whispered while preparing breakfast.
The gardeners stopped working whenever someone mentioned Claire Whitlock.
Even Daniel's security team seemed unusually quiet.
No one had ever seen Daniel publicly humiliate his own fiancée.
And no one understood why he had risked his reputation to protect a pregnant servant.
No one...
Except one person.
A woman dressed in a gray housekeeper's uniform slipped through the servants' hallway carrying a basket of clean towels.
Her name was Evelyn Pierce.
To the Carver household, she had worked there for nearly three years.
To Richard Whitlock...
She was something entirely different.
She quietly entered an unused linen closet and pulled a small burner phone from beneath the towels.
Richard answered on the second ring.
"Report."
"Daniel canceled the engagement."
"I know."
"He defended the maid."
"I know that too."
Evelyn lowered her voice.
"I heard something else."
Richard became silent.
"What?"
"I was outside Daniel's office last night."
She swallowed.
"He has a file on Aaron Brooks."
For the first time during the conversation, Richard did not respond immediately.
"And?"
"I heard Daniel say Aaron left him a letter."
"What letter?"
"I couldn't hear everything."
She paused.
"But I clearly heard one sentence."
Richard's grip tightened around his phone.
"What sentence?"
"'If anything happens to me... trust Hannah.'"
Silence.
Long...
Dangerous...
Silence.
Finally Richard spoke.
"Destroy the letter."
"I don't know where he keeps it."
"Then find it."
"And Hannah?"
Richard's answer came without hesitation.
"Keep watching her."
"If Daniel learns the truth before we do..."
His voice became ice.
"...everything we've built disappears."
Meanwhile, Hannah forced herself through another morning of work.
She insisted she was fine despite Martin's objections.
"You should be resting," he said while watching her dust the library shelves.
"I've rested enough."
"You saw the doctor less than twelve hours ago."
"And he said the baby is healthy."
Martin sighed.
"You are the most stubborn woman I've ever met."
A faint smile crossed Hannah's face.
"My husband used to say that."
The smile disappeared as quickly as it came.
Martin noticed.
"I'm sorry."
"You didn't know."
"No."
He hesitated.
"But I know what grief looks like."
Before Hannah could answer, footsteps echoed across the marble floor.
Daniel entered the library.
Every servant immediately stopped working.
"Leave us," he said.
Within seconds, everyone except Martin and Hannah had gone.
Martin looked at Daniel.
"Sir?"
"You may stay."
Martin nodded.
Daniel turned toward Hannah.
"You didn't listen."
"I'm sorry?"
"I told you to rest."
"I can't afford to stop working."
"You don't work today."
"I need the wages."
"You'll be paid."
She frowned.
"I don't want charity."
"It's not charity."
"It's an order."
Hannah folded her arms.
"I came here to earn my living."
"And you're still employed."
"Then let me do my job."
For several seconds they simply stared at one another.
Martin hid a smile.
Daniel Carver intimidated senators.
Business leaders.
Union presidents.
Yet somehow...
One pregnant housemaid argued with him without raising her voice.
Daniel finally exhaled.
"You remind me of someone."
"My mother."
The confession surprised even him.
Hannah blinked.
"You knew your mother?"
Daniel gave a short laugh.
"For seventeen years."
"It's amazing how little you truly know someone until they're gone."
His expression darkened.
"She never accepted help either."
For a brief moment, the walls between them seemed to disappear.
Then Daniel reached into his coat pocket.
"I have something for you."
He handed Hannah a small brass key.
She looked confused.
"What is this?"
"The old greenhouse behind the west garden."
"I don't understand."
"It's empty."
"No staff."
"No cameras."
"If you ever need somewhere quiet..."
He looked toward her stomach.
"...go there."
She stared at the key.
"Why are you helping me?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward the window overlooking the harbor.
Finally he spoke.
"Because eight months ago..."
His voice was almost a whisper.
"...I ignored someone asking for help."
"And they died."
Hannah's breath caught.
"Was it Aaron?"
Daniel slowly closed his eyes.
Before he could answer—
The sound of breaking glass exploded through the library.
A bullet shattered the window only inches from Hannah's head.
Martin threw himself toward her.
Daniel reacted instantly.
"Get down!"
Another shot rang out.
The crystal vase behind Hannah exploded into hundreds of pieces.
Outside the mansion, a black SUV sped away through the front gates.
Daniel's security team rushed across the lawn.
"Seal the property!" Daniel shouted.
"No one leaves!"
He turned back toward Hannah.
She was shaking.
Not from fear.
From shock.
Martin carefully brushed tiny fragments of glass from her hair.
"My God..."
Daniel stared through the broken window.
His face had gone completely cold.
The sniper hadn't aimed at him.
The shooter hadn't targeted Martin.
The bullets had been fired directly at Hannah.
Someone wanted her dead.
And for the first time, Daniel realized the conspiracy surrounding Aaron Brooks had never ended.
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It had simply been waiting...
...for Hannah to get too close to the truth.
