Chapter 3 - The Ghost in the Machine
I picked up the burner phone,
its screen glowing with a series of missed calls from a blocked number.
"You were never a maid,
were you,
Rebecca?"
I asked,
my voice devoid of any emotion.
"You were a plant,
placed here years ago to wait for the right moment."
"And that moment is the political marriage,
isn't it?"
The woman didn't answer,
she just stared at the floor,
her body shaking with silent sobs.
I realized then that Clara and the clock were just a distraction.
If Clara was fired,
a new maid would have to be hired immediately,
someone Rebecca had already chosen.
Someone who could get close to me,
perhaps someone with a needle or a silenced pistol.
"Who is on the other end of this line?"
I demanded,
holding the phone in front of her face.
"Is it the Rossi family?"
"Or perhaps the men I met with this afternoon?"
She remained silent,
her loyalty to her employers outweighing her fear of me,
at least for now.
I turned to my head of security,
who had just entered the room.
"Take her to the basement,"
I said,
my voice dropping an octave.
"I want to know every name,
every meeting place,
and every cent she was paid to betray this house."
"And do it quietly,"
I added,
"I don't want the children to hear."
As Rebecca was dragged out of the room,
screaming about her rights,
I turned back to Clara and Maya.
The mother was now holding her daughter tightly,
both of them looking at me as if I were a god who had just decided their fate.
"Clara,"
I said,
stepping closer.
"You are not fired."
"In fact,
you are being promoted."
"You will no longer be part of the general staff."
"You will be the personal caretaker of this wing,
and you will report directly to me."
Clara collapsed into a chair,
the relief washing over her in a visible wave.
"Thank you,
sir,"
she sobbed,
"thank you so much."
Maya looked up at me,
the fear gone from her eyes,
replaced by a curiosity that was almost painful to witness.
"Are you a king?"
she asked,
her voice small and sweet.
I looked at the girl,
at her missing-eye rabbit and her tangled hair,
and I felt a strange ache in my chest.
I had spent thirteen years building a kingdom of shadows,
a place where love was a liability and kindness was a death sentence.
Yet,
this tiny creature had seen through the lies that my best security team had missed.
"No,
little one,"
I said,
kneeling down so I was at her level.
"I’m just the man who makes sure the bad people go away."
"You did a very brave thing today."
She smiled then,
a bright,
radiant expression that seemed to illuminate the dark library.
"I like you,"
she said,
reaching out to pat my cheek with a sticky hand.
"You’re like Pino."
"Scary on the outside,
but soft on the inside."
I felt a rare smile touch my own lips,
a ghost of the man I used to be before the world taught me to be a monster.
"Don't tell anyone,"
May you like
I whispered,
"it’s a secret."
