Chapter 2
Anna had been working sixteen-hour days for almost six weeks.
I did not authorize that.
My estate manager had not either.
Celeste did.
Unofficially.
She called it “preparing the house for Vittorio’s standards.”
My standards.
Apparently I had become extremely demanding while away at meetings I never discussed with her.
Silver polished twice.
Kitchen floors scrubbed nightly.
Glassware rewashed by hand after machines.
Bathrooms cleaned after every guest.
Anna had the worst assignments.
Why?
Because exhaustion made symptoms believable.
If Anna became dizzy, nobody asked whether something had been given to her.
She worked too hard.
If her hands shook, cleaning chemicals.
If she slept in the staff room, fatigue.
A perfect explanation manufactured before the real event.
I asked:
“What little cup?”
Anna looked confused.
Mia answered.
“Medicine.”
Anna’s face changed.
Not medicine.
Celeste sometimes brought her a small restorative drink after late shifts.
“Something for your nerves,” she called it.
Anna rarely wanted it.
Celeste insisted.
Marco sometimes delivered it instead.
How many times?
Five.
Any blue residue?
Anna had never checked.
Why would she?
I looked at Mia.
“How do you know?”
“Mommy makes funny face.”
Three-year-old evidence.
Not elegant.
Still evidence.
I turned to Maria—no Maria in this story. Estate staff. Let's use my head housekeeper, Helen Ward.
“Helen.”
She stepped forward.
“Collect every cup, glass, bottle, and cleaning station Anna used tonight.”
Celeste laughed nervously.
“You’ve lost perspective.”
“No.”
I looked around the dining room.
“I’ve found it.”
Then I asked something simpler.
“Who schedules Anna?”
Helen answered:
“Officially, I do.”
“Unofficially?”
Her eyes moved toward Celeste.
There.
“For the last month, Miss Celeste has been adjusting assignments for the dinner season.”
Why allow it?
Because Celeste was mansion hostess.
Because she had managed events for years.
Because everyone assumed her instructions reflected mine when delivered confidently enough.
Marco built the same kind of authority in business.
She built it at home.
Then Helen said:
“There’s something else.”
I waited.
“Miss Celeste asked me three weeks ago whether Anna had family outside the estate.”
Anna turned.
“What?”
Helen looked uncomfortable.
“She wanted to know whether anyone would question it if Anna suddenly left employment.”
The room went cold.
May you like
This was not merely about blaming Anna if I collapsed.
They were preparing her disappearance from the house afterward.
