Daniel barely glanced up from his phone.
“Emily, maybe you should take a little time off. We’re married now.”
I stared at him.
“You told me you respected my career.”
“That was before we had responsibilities.”
Patricia nodded approvingly.
And suddenly, everything became clear.
This wasn’t a misunderstanding.
It was a system.
They hadn’t welcomed me into their family.
They had recruited someone they expected to serve them without question.
That evening, I called Maria.
“I need to know why Patricia really fired you.”
There was a long silence.
Then Maria said,
“I saw some documents.”
“What kind of documents?”
“Bank statements. Mrs. Whitmore told me to destroy them.”
My pulse slowed.
“Did you?”
“No.”
The following afternoon, Maria and I met at a quiet café.
She slid an envelope toward me.
Inside were photocopies showing repeated transfers
