When she saw the thick stack of cash untouched inside, she looked at me strangely.
Almost thoughtfully.
As if she had made a decision.
A week later, I arrived at the estate and immediately sensed something was wrong.
All four of her children were gathered in the living room.
Mrs. Whitmore stood in the center, pale and visibly shaken.
“My diamond brooch is missing,” she announced.
Silence filled the room.
Then she added the words that nearly stopped my heart.
“You were the only person outside the family in this house this week.”
I stared at her.
“Ma’am?”
Then she looked directly at me.
“I think Stan took it.”
The room exploded.
“Of course he did,” Bradley sneered.
“We warned you,” Vivian said coldly. “You let these people get too comfortable.”
These people.
Those words hurt even more than the accusation.
I tried to defend myself.
“Mrs. Whitmore, I would never—”
For a split second, our eyes met.
Something was there.
Fear.
A warning.
Maybe both.
“That’s enough, Stan,” she interrupted sharply.
I’d never heard her raise her voice before.
“Take the car to my mechanic. Leave it there. Your employment is finished.”
