Chapter 3 - THE DISMISSAL AND THE DRESS
The opportunity presented itself on the afternoon of the annual Caldwell Charity Gala. The estate was a hive of frantic activity. Caterers carried towers of crystal, florists arranged thousands of white orchids, and the security team was stretched thin monitoring the arrival of VIP guests.
Grace was in the laundry room, carefully steaming a backup dress for Sabrina, when Derek walked in. He didn't bother to knock. He closed the heavy oak door behind him and locked it with a sharp click.
“Ms. Holloway,” Derek said smoothly, though his eyes were completely dead. “We have a problem.”
“I’m busy, Mr. Vale,” Grace said, not looking up from the steamer.
“Sabrina is missing a pair of diamond earrings,” Derek continued, stepping closer. “The ones Ethan bought her in Paris. They seem to have vanished from her vanity.”
Grace paused. “I haven’t been in Ms. Vale’s suite all week. My team cleans the guest wings.”
“That’s funny,” Derek smiled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small velvet box. He tossed it onto the ironing board. “Because I found these tucked inside your locker in the staff quarters.”
Grace stared at the box. It was a setup. So blatantly obvious, so perfectly executed to ensure her immediate removal.
“You planted those,” Grace said, her voice shaking with quiet fury.
“Sabrina is a forgiving woman,” Derek said, stepping into her personal space. “She doesn't want to involve the police and ruin the gala. You are fired, Grace. Effective immediately. You have ten minutes to pack your things and leave the property. If you are ever seen near this estate, or near Lily, again, I will have you arrested for grand larceny. With your mother's medical bills, I doubt you can afford a defense attorney.”
Grace looked at him, her mind racing. She had the lab report in her bag. But Derek would search her. She couldn't let him find it.
“I’ll pack my things,” Grace whispered, lowering her head in feigned defeat.
She walked to the staff quarters accompanied by a junior security guard. She quickly packed her small duffel bag, slipping the folded lab report into the hidden lining of a cheap clutch purse. As she walked down the driveway, the cold wind biting through her thin coat, she realized she had failed. She was leaving Lily behind with monsters.
She walked three miles to a small diner in Lake Forest and sat in a booth, staring at her coffee.
Three taps. Danger.
She couldn't leave. She wouldn't.
Grace pulled out her phone and called the one person in the estate who owed her a favor. Maria, the head seamstress, whose undocumented husband Grace had helped navigate the medical system a year ago.
“Maria,” Grace whispered into the phone. “I need a dress. And I need a way back inside.”
Two hours later, Maria met Grace at the back delivery gate. She handed Grace a garment bag containing a beautiful, though slightly flawed, navy-blue dress that had been rejected by a wealthy guest due to a minor stitching error. She also handed Grace a pair of shoes that pinched her toes and a small gold bracelet shaped like a chain of stars—Lily’s favorite bracelet, which the child had dropped in the hallway earlier that day.
“Derek is planning to give her the milk tonight,” Maria whispered, her eyes wide with fear. “During the gala. He said the noise would upset her, so he’s going to make sure she sleeps through it.”
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Grace changed in the back of a delivery van. She pinned her hair back, grabbed her clutch containing the lab report, and took a deep breath. She wasn't just a housekeeper anymore. She was a woman fighting for a child's life.
She walked through the main doors, ignoring the bewildered looks of the security guards who recognized her but were too stunned by her transformation to stop her. She marched straight into the ballroom.
