Chapter 4
Jade Collins had worked for the Whitakers for fourteen months.
She was quiet, efficient, and observant in a way Ryder had always appreciated but never deeply questioned.
She arrived early.
Left late.
Remembered Margaret’s preferred tea.
Folded towels the way Allison liked.
Kept her head down during arguments.
That was what good domestic workers learned in wealthy homes: how to be present without becoming a target.
But at some point, Jade had become a target anyway.
Ryder saw it now.
Not only the cut above her eyebrow.
The way Allison looked at her.
The way Jade held Margaret as if she had done this many times before.
The way Margaret leaned into her with trust that had been built under pressure.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ryder asked Jade.
Jade’s face tightened.
“I tried.”
Ryder went still.
“When?”
“Three emails. Two voicemails. One message through your office.”
Allison interrupted sharply.
“She is lying.”
Ryder did not look at her.
“Jade.”
“I never got confirmation you received them. Then Mrs. Whitaker begged me to stop because Allison said she would fire me and send her to a facility where no one visited.”
Margaret’s eyes closed.
Ryder felt something in his chest go dangerously cold.
Allison stepped forward.
“That is outrageous.”
Jade looked at her then, fear still present but no longer in control.
“You told her no one would believe an old woman and a maid over your wife.”
The words struck the kitchen hard.
Ryder finally turned to Allison.
“Did you say that?”
“Of course not.”
Margaret’s fingers tightened around Ryder’s sleeve.
“She said worse.”
Allison’s face flashed with anger.
Then she remembered Ryder was watching.
The mask returned too late.
Ryder saw both faces: the public wife and the private one.
Jade shifted slightly, still shielding Margaret.
“There’s more,” she said.
Allison’s eyes widened.
Jade pointed upward.
“The cameras.”
Ryder followed her finger toward the small black dot tucked above the cabinet trim.
He had forgotten about that system.
May you like
Allison clearly had not.
Read the full story 👉 Jade had tried to warn Ryder, but someone made sure her messages never reached him.
