Chapter 3 - The Promotion
Fay’s entire world shifted on its axis overnight.
She was relocated from the cramped basement servant quarters to a luxurious suite on the third floor.
The other staff members stared at her with a mixture of intense fear and bitter envy.
She no longer scrubbed floors or carried heavy trays of dirty crystal glasses.
Her only duty was to manage Vincent Cross’s private office and personal spaces.
It was a position of immense trust, one that no outsider had ever held before.
On her third day in the new role, Fay was dusting the massive mahogany bookshelves in Vincent’s study.
The room smelled of expensive leather, old paper, and Vincent’s signature cedar cologne.
She reached for a heavy leather-bound volume on the top shelf.
Her foot slipped on the ladder, causing her to lose her balance.
She caught herself, but her elbow struck a stack of manila folders resting on top of the cabinet.
The folders tumbled to the floor, spilling their confidential contents across the Persian rug.
Fay gasped in panic and scrambled down the ladder to gather the scattered documents.
She blindly scooped up papers filled with shipping manifests and offshore bank account numbers.
Then, her hands completely froze.
One of the documents bore the official letterhead of Mount Sinai Hospital.
Fay carefully picked up the paper, her heart skipping a beat.
It was a highly detailed invoice for her mother’s experimental oncology treatments.
The medical bills that Fay had been desperately working to pay were explicitly listed.
At the bottom of the invoice, a red stamp indicated the balance had been paid in full.
The signature authorizing the massive wire transfer belonged to Vincent Cross.
Fay flipped rapidly through the rest of the folder.
There were photographs of her mother, detailed reports of her daily schedule, and background checks on Fay dating back five years.
Vincent had not hired her by accident.
He had been secretly funding her mother's survival long before she ever set foot in his mansion.
The heavy oak doors of the office suddenly swung open.
Vincent stepped into the room, holding a tumbler of amber scotch.
May you like
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Fay kneeling on the floor, holding her mother’s medical file.
"Why is my mother's name in your private files?" Fay demanded, her voice shaking with betrayal.
