The Little Maid Said My Fiancée Was Poisoning Me — So I Asked Her To Eat My Breakfast First

At 6:30 a.m. the following morning, before Victoria woke up, Daniel walked down to the staff quarters on the basement level of the mansion.

He knocked gently on the wooden door of Apartment B.

A moment later, the door opened a few inches. Elena Rivera looked out, her eyes red-rimmed and exhausted, her apron clutched tightly against her chest. When she saw Daniel standing there, her face turned pale with fear.

"Mr. Carter..." Elena whispered, her voice shaking. "I... I'm sorry. We were going to leave this morning. Please don't fire us."

Daniel pushed the door open gently and stepped inside the modest, immaculately clean two-bedroom apartment.

Annie was sitting at a small laminate table in the corner, wearing her school uniform, eating a bowl of oatmeal. When she saw Daniel, she set her spoon down instantly and held her hands around her water glass, just as she had done twenty-four hours earlier.

"Elena," Daniel said softly, closing the door behind him. "You’re not fired. And nobody is leaving."

Elena blinked back tears. "Miss Victoria... she came down here yesterday afternoon. She told me I was suspended without pay for leaving my duties. She said if Annie came near the main house again, she would call the police and accuse her of stealing jewelry."

Daniel felt a white-hot spike of fury in his chest, but his face remained completely serene.

He walked over to the table and pulled out a chair beside Annie, sitting down so he was at eye-level with the little girl.

"Annie," Daniel said gently.

Annie looked at him with her large, serious dark eyes. "Did you eat the toast, sir?"

"No," Daniel said, a small, genuine smile touching his lips for the first time in two days. "I didn't eat it. Because of you, I'm safe."

Annie let out a long, quiet breath, her small shoulders dropping.

Daniel turned to Elena, pulling a leather envelope from his inner coat pocket and placing it on the table.

"Inside this envelope is fifty thousand dollars in cash," Daniel said calmly. "And a set of keys to a private, gated townhouse in Naperville."

Elena gasped, stepping back. "Mr. Carter, no... we can't accept that—"

"Listen to me very carefully, Elena," Daniel interrupted, his tone leaving no room for argument. "My home is no longer safe. Within forty-eight hours, federal agents and police are going to raid this estate. Victoria is a very dangerous woman, and I will not allow her to harm you or your daughter."

Elena’s hands flew to her mouth in horror. "She... she really tried to hurt you?"

"She tried," Daniel said. "Frank Miller’s team is waiting outside the service entrance right now. They will pack your belongings, take you to the townhouse in Naperville, and guard you around the clock until this is over."

He looked back at Annie, reaching out to gently touch her shoulder.

"Annie," Daniel said. "When this is done, you and your mother are never going to worry about rent, medical bills, or safety ever again. You saved my life. I take care of the people who save me."

Annie looked at the envelope, then up at Daniel. "Is Miss Victoria going away?"

"Yes," Daniel said, his eyes turning to hardened steel. "She’s going away for a very long time."

Ten minutes later, Frank’s men quietly ushered Elena and Annie out through the basement service door into a blacked-out van, whisking them away to safety without Victoria ever knowing they had left.