Chapter 3 - The Rules Vanessa Wrote
By lunchtime, the mansion had changed in ways the staff could feel but could not yet explain.
The kitchen refrigerator had been cleared and labeled. A small room near the laundry had been cleaned, furnished with a comfortable chair, a lockable cabinet, and a mini refrigerator. The staff schedule was posted where everyone could read it. No one was allowed to alter a shift without recording the reason.
The changes were simple.
The reaction was not.
Vanessa arrived just after noon and found two employees speaking with Dana Brooks. She demanded to know why the household office was interviewing people without her approval.
“Because the owner requested it,” Dana replied.
“I manage this house.”
“You coordinate social events and household preferences,” Dana said. “You do not have authority to change employment conditions.”
Vanessa's smile tightened. “You seem to misunderstand your position.”
“I understand it perfectly.”
Hannah kept her head down as she polished the silverware. She had no desire to become part of another confrontation. She wanted to finish her shift, collect her wages, and go home to Noah.
But Vanessa approached her anyway.
“You must be very pleased with yourself.”
Hannah stopped polishing. “I didn't ask anyone to change the rules.”
“You made a scene in front of guests.”
“I told the truth.”
Vanessa leaned closer. “You should be careful. People who become important overnight often discover how quickly they can become unimportant again.”
Hannah's fingers tightened around the cloth.
Before she could answer, Mrs. Alvarez stepped between them.
“Miss Bellini, the household office asked that staff concerns be directed to them.”
Vanessa looked at the older woman with open dislike. “You no longer work here.”
“Then I have nothing to lose by telling the truth.”
Vanessa walked away.
That evening, Luca reviewed the notebook in his study. Marco stood beside the desk, holding a tablet.
“The schedules were changed after Vanessa took over the household administration,” Marco reported. “Several employees were paid less than their contracts specified. The difference went through a staffing company that doesn't appear to have supplied anyone.”
“Who owns it?”
“We're checking.”
“And the employees who left?”
“Two say they were pressured to resign. One was threatened with a poor reference. Mrs. Alvarez was told you wanted her gone.”
Luca turned a page.
“What about Hannah?”
“No disciplinary record before Vanessa's restrictions. Her attendance is clean. She has not missed a shift without notice.”
Luca nodded.
Marco hesitated. “There is something else. Vanessa asked security to remove the camera feed from the kitchen corridor for several evenings.”
“Why?”
“She said the staff needed privacy.”
“Did you approve it?”
“No. The request came through a temporary administrator's account.”
Luca looked up. “Find out who used it.”
At home, Hannah sat beside her mother's couch while Noah slept in a portable crib. Her mother, Denise, rubbed her swollen fingers.
“You sound different tonight,” Denise said.
“Different how?”
“Like you're not apologizing for existing.”
Hannah smiled faintly. “I think I met someone who finally asked what happened instead of telling me what I did wrong.”
Denise studied her. “Be careful with powerful people, honey. They can make a kindness feel like a debt.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Hannah looked toward her son. “I'm trying.”
Later, she found a message from an unknown number.
You should stop talking about the Moretti household.
Her stomach tightened.
A second message arrived.
Your little boy is easier to find than you think.
Hannah's hands went cold.
She took screenshots and sent them to the household office number Luca had given her. Then she called her mother and asked her not to open the door to anyone she did not know.
Within minutes, Marco called back.
“Miss Hannah, are you at home?”
“Yes.”
“Keep the door locked. A security team is on the way. Do not go outside.”
“Is my baby in danger?”
“We're taking the message seriously. Mr. Moretti wants you and your son moved to a secure location tonight, if you agree.”
Hannah looked at Noah.
May you like
She had accepted a job in a mansion because she needed money. She had not expected the people inside it to follow her home.
And now someone had made it clear that the cruelty at dinner was only the beginning.
