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.

Marcus collapsed to the kitchen floor in a violent seizure of electricity.

He gasped for air, his muscles locked tight as the high voltage tore through his nervous system.

I screamed and backed away, clutching Lily so tightly she whimpered.

Vanessa kicked Marcus's handgun across the shiny marble floor, far out of my reach.

"You just couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you, maid?" she sneered.

She tossed the poisoned water bottle into the sink, where it bubbled violently against the stainless steel.

"I almost had him completely fooled," she sighed in frustration.

Marcus groaned, barely conscious, unable to move his arms or legs.

Vanessa grabbed a heavy carving knife from the wooden block on the counter.

She pointed the sharp blade directly at my chest.

"Give me the child," Vanessa demanded coldly.

"No!" I screamed, backing up against the massive double-door refrigerator.

"If you don't give me the brat, I will slit your throat and take her anyway," she threatened.

I looked frantically for a way out, but she was blocking the only exit.

"Why do you want her?" I cried, tears streaming down my face.

"Because the police are already surrounding the front gate," Vanessa growled.

"I need leverage to walk out of this house alive, and a billionaire's maid isn't valuable enough."

She lunged forward, grabbing my arm with terrifying strength.

I fought back, kicking and scratching, but she was fueled by pure desperation.

She slashed the knife across my forearm, sending a blinding wave of pain through my body.

I dropped to my knees, blood instantly soaking my sleeve.

Vanessa ripped Lily from my arms, clamping a hand over my daughter's screaming mouth.

"Move a single muscle, and I drop her out the nearest window," Vanessa hissed at me.

She dragged Lily backward toward the servant's exit, leaving me bleeding on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Mommy!" Lily cried out as she was pulled into the dark hallway.

Marcus finally managed to roll over, his eyes filled with absolute rage.

"I will kill you, Vanessa!" he roared, struggling to stand.

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

Vanessa just laughed and disappeared into the shadows with my baby.

But she didn't realize she had just walked directly into the mansion's automated lockdown zone.

Chapter 7 - The Hostage