28: Maid in Trouble

Camilla woke up at midnight to complete the second half of her mission, there was a period of time around one AM when the bodyguards changed shifts so for the duration of fifteen minutes, she could freely exit the back gate.

She already had a getaway car then she would return the next morning without a single trace on her. She smiled to herself as she got dressed, this was too easy.

Waking up early was important to her mission because she needed everyone of those fifteen minutes to haul the trash's dead body all the way outside the walls that enclosed the mansion.

Camilla made her way down the grand staircase, trailing her fingers down the banisters that she polished herself. She would soon own this, all of this, she would just have to work harder to get Mr. Reyes interest; that would be after she had taken the trash out.

She walked across the foyer, wearing casual clothes. Although she lived in the mansion, in the staff quarters. she was allowed to freely leave and return so no one would think it was odd when she returned the next morning.

She went right to the lounge, the key to Nova's room in her hand. Once again, she smiled. She wanted to laugh in happiness at how well her plan was coming together but she didn't want to alert anyone.

Camilla sat down on a coffee-brown sofa with orange accents and crossed her legs. The lights in the foyer had been dimmed, setting a nice ambiance as she sat and waited.

The other maids were asleep as well as the other workers that also lived in the staff quarters, the security rarely ever stepped into the mansion so she wasn't at all expecting anyone. It explained why she felt like her heart stopped beating for a few milliseconds when there was a sound from the front doors.

There was no chance to escape or hide, the doors slamming open at the same time that Mr. Reyes strode inside, a dangerous look on his face that was evident although the lights were low.

The lights didn't stay low for very long, a bodyguard flipping the switches and sending light flooding into the spacious room.

Camilla knew true fear when Mr. Reyes' gray eyes swept over her, ignoring her like she was part of the furniture. She should have probably started running for her life right then but her feet were stuck to the ground.

This wasn't right! Mr. Reyes wasn't supposed to return for three more days!

+

Roan found it odd that one of his maids was seated in the lounge at midnight but it wasn't like he outlawed it, besides, his thoughts were occupied with more important things. He had interrogated the security immediately he was driven through the gates, and they all insisted that Nova was still in the mansion, and that she had only gone out the very day he traveled but she returned soon after.

He walked to her room with purpose, curious to find out why she hadn't reached out to him if she had not left. He knocked patiently and then tried the door, guessing that she was asleep. It was odd for her door to be locked, especially when he had been knocking for a while and there was no response.

Roan couldn't say what caused his anxiety to spike but the sight of the maid just standing there staring at him with frozen terror in her eyes and Nova not rousing no matter how much he knocked and how loudly he called her name made him uneasy.

He took a step back with the intention to kick her door in when the maid hurried forward with a key in hand.

Roan felt his heartbeat slow down as he stared down at the shivering maid holding out a key. She looked like she had seen a monster as she stared up at him and he had so many questions but they could wait, snatching the keys and immediately trying them on the door.

+

Camilla could see the evident surprise on Mr. Reyes' face when the key she had silently handed to him unlocked the door. The realization that no matter what she did, she was completely fucked made her more cooperative. Plus she had heard Nova banging and calling for help earlier so there was a high chance she was right behind the door.

Her guess was accurate because she heard her boss call Nova's name in a tone she had never heard before - Mr. Reyes was scared.

"Nova! Fucking hell!" She heard him curse and next thing he was sweeping out of the guest room with her lifeless body in his arms.

Camilla just slowly closed her eyes, slowly dropping to the marble floor as her knees gave in. She could only pray that Nova was still alive because that was her only hope of survival and even then it was very faint.

She heard the doors slam open again and then the noose above her head dropped when Mr. Reyes gave an order.

"Detain her."

The order didn't hold anger, his tone was flat as he said it, and he didn't even have to say her name for Camilla to know that he was referring to her. As a matter of fact, she didn't think Mr. Reyes even knew her name, she had never heard him use it to refer to her before.

The clarity that consumed Camilla then physically hurt, she had been delusional and also on a power trip, two terrible combinations. She knew that well but that didn't mean she felt bad for what she did, she just felt bad that she had been caught.

If she had known that Mr. Reyes would return sooner than planned, she would have implemented her plan from the very first night and now everything was ruined.

Camilla didn't protest when two bodyguards ran in her direction, one of them cruelly pulling her hands behind her back and cuffing her wrists. She had no intentions of going down alone but the fact that she had to be the scapegoat made her enraged.