Chapter 2 - The Midnight Ledger
An hour later, seated in a plush armchair inside a warm, softly lit guest suite that was larger than her entire apartment, Maya wrapped a thick fleece throw over her shoulders and stared down at the porcelain mug of Earl Grey tea Leo Vance had left for her. Her wet clothes were spinning in a discreet laundry alcove, and her boots sat drying near the baseboard heater.
A sharp, polite knock rapped against the door.
"Come in," Maya said, her voice sounding smaller than she intended.
The door opened, and Adrien Moretti stepped inside. He had removed his suit jacket, his white dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar, revealing a dark silver chain resting against his throat. He looked less like a syndicate boss in this quiet room and more like a man burdened by secrets he had carried for a lifetime.
"How is the shoe?" Adrien asked dryly, closing the door behind him.
Maya blinked, surprised by his visit. "Recovering, thank you. Though I suspect it will require therapy to overcome the trauma of the Italian marble."
Adrien ached with a sudden, unfamiliar urge to smile—a reflex he had suppressed for years in a world where weakness meant death. He walked slowly toward the seating area, resting one hand on the back of a velvet chair opposite her. "You have a peculiar way of handling emergencies, Miss Collins. Most people run, scream, or beg for mercy when they stumble into my private briefings."
"Most people aren't carrying a blue bucket and a mop when they ruin your floor," Maya pointed out, meeting his gaze with a spark of her usual defiance. "Besides, I didn't know it was a briefing. The Moretti mansion has approximately four hundred doors, and forty-five percent of them appear to exist solely to ruin new employees' lives."
"Fifty-two percent," Adrien corrected softly, a faint smirk finally touching the corner of his lips. "And you discovered one of the secure entry points. Which brings me to why I'm here."
Maya’s posture stiffened slightly, the warmth of the room fading a fraction. "Are you firing me?"
"No," Adrien said, his tone turning serious. "I'm offering you a choice. That pipe upstairs didn't burst by accident, Maya. The brass fitting was sheared from the inside with a micro-cutter. Someone on my staff—or within my council—tried to flood the east wing to distract security while they accessed the digital servers."
May you like
Maya’s breath caught. "You think someone in your house is a spy?"
"I know they are," Adrien replied, leaning forward slightly. "And you have a habit of being where you shouldn't be, noticing things others overlook. I need someone inside the domestic staff who can watch the corridors, clean the executive suites, and report anything unusual directly to me. For triple your current salary, and full protection for your mother’s medical expenses."
