Chapter 2 - THE MAID WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Dominic Moretti had spent his entire life learning one simple rule.
Never underestimate the quiet ones.
The loud ones told you what they wanted.
The angry ones showed you what they feared.
But the silent ones…
The silent ones were dangerous.
At six-thirty the next morning, Dominic stood inside his private office overlooking Lake Michigan.
The city below was waking up.
Cars moved through frozen streets.
People rushed toward jobs they hated.
Families started ordinary mornings.
But Dominic’s morning was anything but ordinary.
On his desk sat a folder.
A thin folder.
Too thin for the amount of trouble it represented.
Inside was everything his security team had found about Hannah Reed.
Age: twenty-six.
No criminal record.
No unpaid debts.
No family history.
No social media.
No previous employers willing to provide a reference.
It was almost impossible.
And impossible was exactly what bothered Dominic.
He picked up the phone.
“Marco.”
His head of security answered immediately.
“Yes, boss.”
“Tell me why a twenty-six-year-old woman has almost no history.”
A pause.
“We’re still looking.”
Dominic leaned back.
“You’ve never said that before.”
“Because normally people leave traces.”
“And her?”
Another pause.
“She doesn’t.”
Dominic looked through the window.
“What does that mean?”
“It means someone either erased her past…”
Marco stopped.
“Or she erased it herself.”
Dominic ended the call.
That answer stayed with him.
Because there was something about Hannah Reed that didn’t match.
Her job said she was a maid.
Her actions said she had been trained for something else.
Later that morning, Dominic entered the dining room.
Hannah was already there.
Quietly arranging breakfast plates.
She noticed him.
“Good morning, Mr. Moretti.”
He studied her.
Her wrist was wrapped.
Her expression was calm.
Like last night never happened.
“Does your arm hurt?”
“No.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
A small pause.
“Yes.”
Dominic nodded.
At least she didn’t lie.
“Why didn’t you tell me Vanessa attacked you?”
Hannah stopped moving.
Because that was the question she had been hoping he wouldn’t ask.
“I didn’t think it would matter.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
She looked at him.
“People like me usually don’t win arguments against people like her.”
The answer bothered him.
Not because it was wrong.
Because it was true.
Before Dominic could respond, Vanessa entered the room.
Perfect makeup.
Perfect dress.
Perfect smile.
But her eyes were cold.
“Good morning.”
Nobody answered.
Vanessa sat down.
Then looked at Hannah.
“I hope your little performance yesterday was worth it.”
Dominic’s hand tightened around his coffee cup.
“Enough.”
Vanessa smiled.
“You’re still angry?”
“I’m disappointed.”
That hurt her more.
Anger could be fought.
Disappointment meant something had changed.
Vanessa leaned closer.
“You don’t know that girl.”
Dominic looked at her.
“And you do?”
Vanessa hesitated.
Only for a second.
But Dominic noticed.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Vanessa looked away.
“Nothing.”
Another lie.
Dominic recognized it instantly.
And for the first time, he wondered if the person he needed to investigate wasn’t Hannah.
It was Vanessa.
That afternoon, Dominic secretly watched the security footage from the hallway.
He expected to see cruelty.
He expected to see Vanessa losing control.
What he saw was something else.
Something worse.
Before Vanessa raised the strap, she had whispered something to Hannah.
The audio was unclear.
Dominic increased the volume.
Static.
Noise.
Then one sentence.
A sentence that changed everything.
“You should have stayed dead.”
Dominic froze.
The room went silent.
Because Hannah Reed had not been attacked because of a dirty glass.
She had been attacked because Vanessa knew something about her.
Something impossible.
Something buried.
Dominic replayed the footage again.
Then again.
His phone rang.
Marco.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We found something.”
Dominic stood.
“What?”
A pause.
“Her real name isn’t Hannah Reed.”
Dominic’s expression changed.
“What is it?”
Marco lowered his voice.
“Emily Carter.”
Dominic froze.
The name meant nothing.
Until Marco said the next words.
“She was listed as missing eight years ago.”
Dominic stared at the screen.
The woman sleeping under his roof…
The woman his fiancée tried to hurt…
May you like
Was supposed to be dead.
CHAPTER 2 END
