Chapter 2 - The Maid Who Wasn't Supposed to Notice Anything
Anna didn't sleep that night.
She stayed in the servants' quarters until three in the morning.
Then she heard footsteps outside.
She opened her door.
Luca Ferraro stood in the hallway.
“You.”
Anna frowned.
“Yes?”
“Come with me.”
“Why?”
“Mr. Costa wants to speak to you.”
Her stomach tightened.
She followed him.
The estate had changed.
Every hallway now had armed men.
Every door was guarded.
The atmosphere felt like a storm waiting to break.
Luca brought her into the study.
Vincent was not there.
Dr. Walsh was.
So was Marcus Costa, Vincent's older cousin.
Marcus was polished.
Forty-two.
Always smiling.
He was the family member most frequently photographed beside Vincent.
Anna had always thought he seemed friendly.
Now she noticed something else.
He was watching her like a problem.
“Sit,” Marcus said.
She sat.
Dr. Walsh placed the medication wrappers on the table.
“Where did you learn to notice lot numbers?”
Anna shrugged.
“My mother.”
“She worked in medicine?”
“She cleaned hospital wards.”
“What else?”
“She taught me to read.”
Marcus smiled.
“That's impressive.”
Anna felt uncomfortable.
“I only noticed something.”
“Yes.”
“Is Mr. Costa better?”
Marcus's smile disappeared.
“Not because of you.”
Dr. Walsh looked at him.
“That's not accurate.”
Marcus ignored her.
“Why were you going through medical waste?”
“I wasn't.”
“You opened a sealed container.”
“No.”
“You touched medication.”
“I picked up what was already outside.”
Dr. Walsh intervened.
“Marcus.”
He looked at her.
“The important thing is she noticed the substitution.”
Anna stood.
“If you don't need me—”
“You aren't finished.”
She stopped.
Marcus leaned back.
“Do you know what happens to people who interfere in Costa business?”
Anna's mouth went dry.
“No.”
“They usually regret it.”
Anna stared.
“Then why am I still here?”
That answer seemed to surprise him.
For the first time, Marcus didn't know what to say.
Dr. Walsh stood.
“Enough.”
She turned to Anna.
“You saved his life.”
Anna shook her head.
“I found a mistake.”
“You found the only clue that mattered.”
The doctor handed her an envelope.
Inside was cash.
Anna immediately pushed it back.
“No.”
Marcus frowned.
“Why?”
“I don't want money.”
“You need money.”
Anna looked at him.
“Yes.”
“But I don't want it.”
“Why?”
“Because if I take this, it becomes something I'm being paid to remember.”
Marcus stared.
Anna continued.
“I did my job.”
Dr. Walsh almost smiled.
“You cleaned a bin.”
“I noticed something.”
“Exactly.”
Anna left.
What she didn't know was that Vincent had been awake.
He had heard her voice through the partially open study door.
Hours later, his doctors moved him to a private recovery suite.
The poisoning had been interrupted.
Not enough to explain his entire illness.
But enough to make one thing certain.
Someone had been trying to weaken him.
Dr. Walsh told him.
“A young employee caught it.”
Vincent looked at her.
“Who?”
“A maid.”
“What kind?”
She hesitated.
“An ordinary one.”
Vincent stared.
“What's her name?”
“Anna Bell.”
His eyes closed.
He remembered her.
The girl with the basket.
The one he had caught when she slipped.
The one who had looked terrified of him without ever pretending otherwise.
“Bring me her file.”
Dr. Walsh hesitated.
“Why?”
“I want to know who noticed what twelve specialists didn't.”
That morning, Anna's brother Noah called.
“You sound tired.”
“I am.”
“What happened?”
“Work.”
“You still at that mansion?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like it?”
“No.”
“Then why stay?”
“Because they pay on time.”
Noah laughed.
“That sounds like you.”
She smiled.
“I'll call you later.”
After hanging up, Anna went back to work.
She had no idea that her name was being discussed in rooms far above her pay grade.
No idea that someone was watching her.
No idea that one security camera had been redirected toward the servants' corridor.
That afternoon, Vincent asked to see her.
She entered his room.
He was awake.
Pale.
Weak.
But his eyes were sharp.
Anna stopped near the door.
“You wanted me?”
“Yes.”
She waited.
“Come closer.”
She did.
“You found the medication.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I told the doctor.”
“Why?”
She didn't understand.
“Because it looked wrong.”
Vincent studied her.
“You know you're the first person in this house to answer me without trying to impress me?”
Anna blinked.
“I didn't know I was supposed to.”
For the first time in days, Vincent smiled.
It was brief.
Almost invisible.
“You weren't.”
He pointed to a chair.
“Sit.”
She sat.
“What do you know about medicine?”
“Not much.”
“Then why did you recognize the formulation?”
“My mother.”
He listened.
Anna told him about her mother.
A woman who had spent twenty years cleaning hospitals.
Who could distinguish medication packaging from across a room.
Who taught Anna to read small print.
Who died quietly and left behind no money.
Vincent listened.
When she finished, he said:
“You saved my life.”
Anna shook her head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I just noticed.”
“Most people don't.”
He looked at her.
“Thank you.”
She wasn't prepared for that.
“You're welcome.”
She stood.
But Vincent stopped her.
“One more thing.”
She turned.
“Don't trust Marcus.”
Her face changed.
“Why?”
“Because I don't trust him.”
Anna left without asking anything else.
The moment she reached the hallway, Marcus appeared.
“What did he say?”
“Nothing.”
“Don't lie to me.”
She stared.
“He thanked me.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“You should be careful.”
“I am.”
He smiled.
“You think you're safe because he likes you.”
Anna frowned.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“You should.”
He walked away.
Anna stood frozen.
For the first time, she understood.
There was something happening inside the Costa family.
And someone was afraid of her.
That evening, she returned to the servants' room.
Her locker had been opened.
Nothing seemed missing.
Except one thing.
A photograph of her mother.
Anna stared at the empty space.
Someone had taken it.
May you like
She knew then that whoever had tampered with Vincent's medication had begun looking into her life.
And if they knew about her mother, they were already much too close.
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