Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN VANESSA TRIED TO DESTROYThe morning after the engagement party, Whitmore House felt different.
The same walls.
The same furniture.
The same expensive decorations.
But the atmosphere had changed.
Everyone knew.
The secret was gone.
Naomi Reyes was not just a housekeeper.
She was someone with a past.
A dangerous past.
And Vanessa Sterling hated that.
Because the entire night had been supposed to belong to her.
Her engagement.
Her celebration.
Her moment.
Instead, everyone remembered Naomi.
The maid.
The woman who stopped her attack.
The woman who had been hiding an extraordinary life.
Vanessa sat in the breakfast room, staring at her untouched coffee.
Ethan entered.
Immediately, she knew he was angry.
“You embarrassed yourself last night.”
Vanessa looked up.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
Her expression hardened.
“You’re blaming me?”
“I’m asking you to be honest.”
“With what?”
“With why you keep attacking Naomi.”
Vanessa laughed.
“Because she’s hiding things.”
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“Because you think anyone who doesn’t worship you is against you.”
The words hurt.
Because they came from Ethan.
The one person whose approval mattered.
“She lied.”
“She protected her privacy.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“No, Vanessa.”
Ethan’s voice became serious.
“It isn’t.”
Vanessa refused to accept defeat.
She contacted people.
Asked questions.
Made calls.
If Naomi had secrets, Vanessa would find them.
Everyone had weaknesses.
Everyone.
She just had to discover Naomi’s.
Two days later, Vanessa received a folder.
No official label.
No explanation.
Just information.
Inside were details about Naomi’s former career.
Assignments.
Training records.
Security operations.
And one file that immediately caught Vanessa’s attention.
Philadelphia.
She read it carefully.
Then she smiled.
Because finally…
She found something.
Something painful.
Something Naomi wanted to hide.
That evening, Vanessa confronted her.
Naomi was organizing supplies in the storage room.
“You were very impressive the other night.”
Naomi didn’t look up.
“I’m not interested in discussing it.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s nothing to discuss.”
Vanessa placed the folder on the table.
Naomi froze.
Only slightly.
But Vanessa noticed.
“I knew it.”
Naomi looked at the folder.
“Where did you get that?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“It does.”
Vanessa smiled.
“There’s the first emotion.”
Naomi stared at her.
“You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“No?”
Vanessa opened the folder.
“You were protecting a family in Philadelphia.”
Naomi said nothing.
“A man died.”
The room became colder.
“Stop.”
Vanessa ignored her.
“You saved the daughter.”
“Stop.”
“But you couldn’t save the father.”
Naomi’s jaw tightened.
For the first time, Vanessa saw something.
Not anger.
Pain.
Real pain.
And instead of stopping…
Vanessa continued.
“You left because you couldn’t handle it.”
Silence.
Then Naomi looked at her.
And Vanessa immediately regretted the satisfaction she felt.
Because Naomi’s eyes had changed.
Not into rage.
Into something deeper.
Something stronger.
“You don’t know anything about that night.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“I know enough.”
“No.”
Naomi’s voice was quiet.
“You know a report.”
She picked up the folder.
“You don’t know what happened.”
Vanessa hesitated.
And for the first time, she wondered if maybe she had crossed a line.
But pride wouldn’t let her admit it.
“I know you’re not who you pretend to be.”
Naomi looked at her.
“And you are?”
Vanessa froze.
“What?”
“Are you who you pretend to be?”
The question landed hard.
Because everyone had secrets.
Everyone had masks.
Including Vanessa.
That night, Ethan found Naomi sitting alone in the garden.
“You should have told me.”
Naomi looked tired.
“I know.”
“I’m not angry because you had another career.”
“Then why?”
“Because you carried all of this alone.”
Naomi looked away.
“I didn’t want people to look at me differently.”
Ethan sat beside her.
“Everyone already does.”
She smiled sadly.
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
A moment passed.
Then Ethan asked:
“Are you in danger?”
Naomi didn’t answer.
And that silence was enough.
Ethan’s expression changed.
“Naomi.”
She looked at him.
“Someone from my past is looking for me.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
A cold wind passed through the garden.
Then Ethan’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed.
“What?”
Naomi immediately noticed.
“What happened?”
Ethan looked at her.
“It’s security.”
“Why?”
He swallowed.
“Someone broke into Whitmore House.”
Naomi stood instantly.
The old instincts returned.
“What did they take?”
Ethan stared at her.
“That’s the strange part.”
“What?”
“They didn’t steal anything.”
A pause.
“They left something behind.”
Naomi felt her stomach tighten.
“What?”
Ethan showed her the photo sent by security.
A single black envelope sitting on his desk.
With one word written across it.
NAOMI.
And inside that envelope…
May you like
Was a photograph from Philadelphia.
A photograph that should not exist.
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