Chapter 9
Anna tried to apologize.
That angered me.
Not at her.
At the habit.
“I should’ve told you.”
“Yes.”
She looked surprised.
I continued.
“But I also gave you no safe way to know whether Marco lied about my orders.”
Her eyes lifted.
That was mine.
Not Celeste’s cruelty.
Not Marco’s scheme.
Mine.
People in my house obeyed instructions carrying my name because challenging them could look disloyal.
I liked that efficiency.
Until someone weaponized it.
“What would you have needed?”
Anna thought.
“A person I could ask.”
Simple.
We created one.
Any staff member receiving a strange instruction supposedly from me could confirm it through a second channel.
No retaliation.
No manager allowed to intercept.
Anna smiled faintly.
“That sounds very normal.”
“Don’t insult me.”
She laughed.
First time.
Good.
Then I looked at her hands.
“You’re off harsh cleaning until they heal.”
Her face tightened.
“I need the hours.”
Of course.
Economic reality.
“You keep the hours.”
She stared.
“Why?”
Because I nearly let my house turn her into evidence.
Because her daughter saved me.
Because basic decency should not feel like reward.
“Because damaged skin is not a job requirement.”
She nodded.
Mia ran in carrying a napkin crown.
“Mommy princess.”
Anna laughed.
Celeste had spent months teaching Mia that servants and their children should disappear around powerful people.
Now the child stood in my staff lounge making her mother royalty out of paper.
May you like
Good.
Let the house learn another hierarchy.
