My three-year-old daughter walked through the one door nobody in billionaire Marcus Cole’s mansion was allowed to open. I thought I would lose my job before breakfast, but instead, Lily pointed at his security monitor and exposed something his own fiancée had done behind our backs. What Marcus saw on that screen made his face go completely still.

Marta stared down the barrel of Marcus's gun without flinching.

"Put the weapon down, Mr. Cole," the elderly woman ordered in a chillingly calm voice.

I peeked out from behind the desk, unable to believe my own eyes.

Marta had been the one to hire me, the one who bought Lily candy on Fridays.

"You're working for Vanessa?" Marcus asked, keeping his gun perfectly steady.

"I work for the highest bidder, sir," Marta replied, stepping into the room.

Two heavily armed mercenaries filed in behind her, their weapons raised.

"We just want the encryption keys to the offshore accounts," Marta stated.

Marcus laughed darkly, a sound completely devoid of humor.

"You blew up half my house for something you can never access," he mocked.

Marta's expression hardened into a vicious glare.

"Vanessa told us you would be stubborn," the housekeeper sighed.

She snapped her fingers, and one of the mercenaries lunged toward the desk.

I screamed as the massive man grabbed my arm and dragged me to my feet.

Lily began to wail, clinging desperately to my leg.

"Let her go!" Marcus roared, taking a step forward.

The second mercenary slammed the butt of his rifle into Marcus's stomach.

Marcus collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.

Marta walked over and picked up Lily, who kicked and screamed in terror.

"Stop it, don't touch her!" I cried, struggling against the man holding me.

Marta looked down at Marcus, holding my crying child in her arms.

"You have exactly thirty seconds to type the encryption keys into this terminal," Marta threatened.

She pulled a small silver knife from her apron pocket and held it near Lily's cheek.

"Or I will make sure the little girl never smiles again," Marta whispered.

Marcus dragged himself up to the keyboard, his face pale with fury and defeat.

He began typing the complicated alphanumeric sequence to surrender his entire fortune.

When my newborn 'passed away,' my mother-in-law leaned in and said

My Husband Left Me Alone in My Car While I Was in Labor

“You’re Dead When We Get Home,” He Snapped

Just as he hit the final enter key, a loud gunshot echoed from the hallway.

Marta gasped, dropping the knife as a dark red stain spread across her shoulder.

Chapter 4 - The Inside Betrayal