Ch.18: The Housekeeper's Greed

I didn't have time to process the horror. I heard footsteps in the corridor outside the lab—heavy, deliberate steps. Security.

I grabbed the printout from the DNA sequencer. *Match Confirmed.*

I shoved it into my bra, right against my skin. It was the only place I could think of.

I ran to the back door of the lab, the one that led to the chemical disposal chute. I didn't open it; I ducked behind a row of liquid nitrogen tanks just as the main door hissed open.

Flashlight beams cut through the gloom.

"Clear," a voice barked.

They moved past me, sweeping the room. I held my breath until my lungs burned. When their boots crunched on the far side of the room, I bolted.

I made it back to my room in the servant's quarters without being seen. I collapsed onto the narrow bed, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs.

I pulled the printout from my bra. It was crumpled and damp with sweat, but the numbers were still legible. *99.998%.*

This was it. This was the smoking gun. If I could get this to the police...

The door handle turned.

I froze. I hadn't locked it. I had been too panicked.

Mrs. Higgins stepped into the room. She wasn't wearing her usual stiff uniform. She was in a floral nightgown that made her look deceptively grandmotherly.

But the look in her eyes wasn't maternal. It was predatory.

"You've been busy, dear," she said, closing the door softly behind her.

I tried to hide the paper behind my back.

"I was just... checking on the baby."

"At the DNA sequencer?" She smiled, a thin, stretching of lips that didn't reach her eyes. "I monitor the power usage logs, Mara. Or Elena. Whichever you prefer."

She walked toward me, her slippers scuffing on the floor.

"You know, Dr. Thorne pays me very well to keep my eyes open. But he pays me in 'bonuses' and 'perks'. He doesn't pay me enough to ignore an opportunity."

She stopped in front of me and held out her hand.

"Give it to me."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

" The paper," she snapped. "The one you just shoved behind your back. The paternity test."

She knew. How did she know?

"Leo is the father," she said casually, as if discussing the weather. "I've suspected for years. But suspicion isn't leverage. Proof is leverage."

She lunged. I tried to dodge, but she was faster than she looked. She grabbed my wrist and twisted, forcing me to drop the paper.

She snatched it up. She read it, her smile widening into a grin of pure greed.

"Jackpot."

She folded the paper carefully and tucked it into the pocket of her robe.

"This is worth a lot of money to Dr. Thorne," she mused. "He'd pay a fortune to keep this buried. But... he'd also pay a fortune to get it back."

She looked at me, assessing my worth.

"And you... you're a problem. A loose end."

"You can't give that to him," I pleaded. "He's using Leo. He's using the baby. He's a monster."

"He's a rich monster," she corrected. "And I'm a tired old woman who wants to retire to Florida."

She moved to the door.

"I'm going to call him now. Unless..." She paused, her hand on the knob. "...unless you have a better offer."

"I don't have money," I said, my mind racing. "You know that. I spent everything to get this identity."

"True." She sighed. "Pity. I always liked you, dear. You have gumption."

She turned the handle.

"Wait!"

I didn't have money. But I had information. I had spent hours in that lab. I had seen things Thorne didn't even know I had seen.

"I don't have cash," I said, stepping toward her. "But I know where he keeps his."

Higgins stopped. She turned back slowly.

"What?"

"The safe," I lied. "In the study. Behind the painting of the ship. I saw him open it. I saw the combination."

Her eyes lit up. Greed was a universal language, and I had just spoken her dialect.

"How much?" she asked.

"Stacks," I said. "Cash. Bonds. And diamonds. Loose diamonds."

I held my breath. It was a gamble. I knew there was a safe—every villain had a safe—but I had no idea what was in it or how to open it.

But Higgins didn't know that.

She licked her lips. The paper in her pocket was leverage, yes. But diamonds were freedom.

"You show me," she hissed. "Tonight. And if you're lying..." She patted the pocket where the DNA test sat. "...I give this to Thorne, and I tell him you tried to blackmail me."

"I'm not lying," I said. "But we have to go now. Before he finishes his 'treatment' with Isabella."

She nodded.

"Lead the way."

"I don't have money," I whispered to myself as I walked past her. "But I know where Thorne keeps his cash."