Chapter 4 - The Framing of Maya Carter
By two o'clock that afternoon, the clouds over Manhattan had darkened to an ominous charcoal, unleashing a torrential downpour that rattled against the floor-to-ceiling glass walls of the Hastings penthouse.
Maya stood inside Daniel's private study.
It was a magnificent room: walls lined with dark mahogany bookshelves reaching fifteen feet high, leather-bound volumes of architecture and history, an antique partner's desk carved from English oak, and an immense Persian rug that muffled every sound. In the far corner, concealed behind a false panel of bound encyclopedias, was the biometric wall safe where the Hastings family treasures were kept.
Maya worked with methodical precision, keeping her mind focused on her chores to keep the panic at bay. She dusted the heavy desk, polished the brass lamps, and carefully wiped down the leather armchairs.
She did not touch the hidden safe. She knew where it was—everyone on the staff knew the rumors of the Hastings emeralds—but she kept her distance, treating the corner like radioactive ground.
At three o'clock, the study door clicked open.
Maya turned, expecting to see Evelyn with more cleaning supplies.
Instead, Vanessa Cole stood in the doorway.
She was wearing a cream cashmere trench coat, her damp blonde hair pulled back, her eyes shining with manic, calculated excitement. Behind her stood two men in dark suits—private security guards bearing the crest of Cole Capital—and Julian Vance.
"Miss Cole," Maya said, stepping back from the desk, holding her microfiber cloth in front of her. "Mr. Hastings left strict instructions that the study was to remain private until he returned."
"Did he?" Vanessa said, walking into the room with leisurely, predatory steps. "How terribly sweet of Daniel to try and protect his little territory. But you see, Maya... Daniel doesn't know everything that happens under his own roof."
Julian Vance stepped forward, holding an electronic device that bypassed the study's smart-lock systems with a soft chirp. He walked directly to the false panel on the wall, pulled open the encyclopedia façade, and revealed the heavy steel face of the biometric safe.
The door of the safe was already hanging open by an inch.
Maya’s stomach plummeted into an abyss of cold terror. "The safe... it was closed. I haven't been near it."
"Oh, really?" Vanessa murmured, circling Maya like a shark tasting blood in the water. "Then why did the security alarm trigger a silent breach alert to my father's firm twenty minutes ago? The Hastings family necklace—an eight-million-dollar Burmese emerald set surrounded by eighty carats of diamonds—is missing from that vault."
"I didn't touch it!" Maya’s voice shook, but she stood her ground, her hazel eyes blazing with defiant outrage. "I have been dusting the opposite side of the room. You opened that safe. Your man has the bypass tool in his hand right now!"
Vanessa laughed—a high, musical, terrifying sound. "My dear, naive little peasant. Do you really think anyone will believe the word of a blacklisted, broke nurse over the heiress to the Cole dynasty? Julian... search her locker."
"You have no right to touch my belongings!" Maya yelled, moving toward the door, but the two massive security guards blocked the threshold, their arms crossed, their expressions stone cold.
"I have every right to protect my family's future assets," Vanessa said smoothly.
Less than two minutes later, Evelyn marched into the study. In her white-gloved hands, she held Maya’s worn canvas handbag.
Evelyn unzipped the bag and dumped its contents onto Daniel’s mahogany desk.
A worn wallet. A picture of Ellie. An emergency inhaler. A half-used roll of mints.
And then, rolling out from the interior lining with a heavy, sickening thud, was a massive platinum necklace, its centerpiece a magnificent, glowing green emerald the size of a robin’s egg, surrounded by a constellation of brilliant-cut diamonds.
The Hastings Emerald.
Maya gasped, the air completely leaving her lungs. "No... no, no, no! That’s impossible! I’ve never seen that before in my life! Evelyn, you put that in there!"
Evelyn didn't even blink. "I found it wrapped in her spare uniform at the bottom of her locker, Miss Cole. Just as you suspected. She was planning to walk out with it during the evening shift change."
"You disgusting, lying monster!" Maya lunged toward Evelyn, but the two security guards grabbed her instantly, twisting her arms behind her back and forcing her down to her knees against the Persian rug. The pain shot through her shoulders, but the emotional agony was infinitely worse.
"Call the police, Julian," Vanessa commanded, her voice ringing with triumphant ecstasy. "Grand larceny. Possession of stolen property valued over five million dollars. In New York State, that’s a Class B felony. She’ll get ten to fifteen years in Bedford Hills."
"Miss Cole, please!" Maya cried, tears finally spilling over her cheeks as the image of Ellie alone in an overcrowded child services dormitory flashed before her eyes. "My daughter! My daughter is sick! She has nobody else! You can fire me, you can destroy my life, but don't take me away from my baby! I swear on my child’s life, I didn't steal that necklace!"
Vanessa knelt down until her face was inches from Maya’s. Her breath smelled of peppermint and expensive gin.
"You should have thought about your brat before you looked at my fiancé with bedroom eyes on that terrace," Vanessa whispered, her voice dripping with venom. "You thought you could cast a little working-class spell on Daniel Hastings? You thought a broken-down, pathetic little scrubwoman could take what is mine? I am going to bury you so deep in the prison system that your daughter will forget the sound of your voice."
Vanessa stood up, turning to the security guards. "Take her down through the freight elevator and hold her in the building’s private holding room until the precinct detectives arrive. Make sure the handcuffs are tight. I want the press to see her when they drag her out."
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The guards dragged Maya to her feet. Maya fought with every ounce of strength she possessed, kicking and screaming, but their iron grips held her fast. As they dragged her through the mahogany doorway, she saw Vanessa pick up the emerald necklace from the desk, holding it against her throat in front of the ornate mirror, her face radiant with cruel victory.
***
