3| The Suspicion

As Lady Loretta dismissed the maids to clear the used plates and empty bottles and to tidy up the living room after all the guests had left her mansion, she noticed a lady wincing in pain as she descended the staircase with great difficulty.

"Melody," Lady Loretta exclaimed in shock upon seeing how disheveled Melody looked, as if she had been beaten senseless.

"What happened to you?" Lady Loretta inquired in disbelief, while all the maids in the living room paused to look at Melody and gasped at the horror of how the once-arrogant lady now appeared.

"Milady, it was one of the maids—the maid you assigned to show me to the top floor. She attacked me," Melody managed to speak, her cheeks visibly swollen.

"You mean Miranda did this to you? I don't believe it. Miranda is innocent and wouldn’t hurt a fly. Since she started working here, she hasn't gotten into any fights that I know of. Are you sure you're referring to Miranda, or was it another maid who did this to you?"

While the older woman was busy questioning Melody, Derrick walked back into the living room and looked stunned to see that there was still a guest remaining.

"She did this, ma'am. I cannot lie to you. Miranda lied about me to Master Derrick, and after he left us, she pounced on me and attacked me to this extent. She's evil, ma'am," Melody started sobbing when she saw Derrick looking at her.

"What's happening here, Mom?" Derrick asked as he strolled over to meet his mother.

"Mom, you know it’s already late. You should get some rest," Derrick said, not even glancing at Melody, who had expected him to summon Miranda.

After losing her job, Melody assumed Miranda would also lose hers in the exquisite villa. She realized that she didn’t stand a chance of getting close to Derrick again; he was mostly busy in the office and attending business meetings. Likewise, she had no excuse to see him, especially with Alexa around as his secretary and many other top female staff longing to be with him.

"Mom," Derrick said, looking at his aged mother, whose hair was filled with gray. He frowned slightly, and his mother replied, "Derrick, I will return to my room. But where is Miranda if Melody is accusing her of beating her up?"

"Don’t worry, Mother. I will have the guards investigate what happened. Melody, you may leave now," Derrick dismissed Melody without caring to summon Miranda.

He walked with his mother toward the stairs and helped her return to her room on the top floor. It took the older lady considerable time to climb the flight of stairs, and Derrick considered relocating his mother’s room to the ground floor for her convenience.

Arriving at Lady Loretta Luis’ room, Derrick paused and gently opened the door. The maids knew it was best to avoid him, especially when he was with his mother.

"Mom, you should get enough rest. I don’t want anything to go wrong with you," Derrick spoke to his mother in a hushed tone as he helped her sit on the bed. Both Lady Loretta and Derrick were dark in complexion. She smiled at her son's care and replied, "I am fine, but what would make me happy and help me rest well is for you to settle down. Your father worked very hard to acquire all this wealth for you. I am already over 70 years old, and you don’t expect me to remain youthful. You should consider marrying. You shouldn’t wait until you’re thirty to do so."

Holding his mother's warm left hand as she lay on the bed, she continued, "My wish for you is to find a good woman who will love you very much, pamper you like her baby, and take good care of you while I am away, watching over you both from heaven."

"Mom," Derrick interrupted, frowning. "You aren't leaving me anytime soon." Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. His mother often spoke to him about leaving, and he wished he could trade all their wealth for a longer life so that she wouldn’t leave him.

"It's life, Derrick. We have to go for the world to become balanced and to allow our generations to continue from where we stop. But I am not leaving you anytime soon. I still want to see you settle down first and to see the next heir of the Luis firm."

"That's fine, Mom. I guess I should leave you to rest now. Have a good sleep," Derrick leaned over and kissed his mother's forehead goodbye. She smiled and watched him exit her room.

Meanwhile, in the master bedroom of the exquisite mansion, Miranda soaked herself in a warm bath in one of the luxurious rooms bathroom.

"Oh my goodness! This feels so good," she said, enjoying the warmth, not caring about the potential consequences of her actions.

She had hurried into this room, which was completely different from the other rooms she was assigned to care for downstairs.

"Mm," Miranda mumbled, relishing her time in the warm bath. After dealing with the rude lady who had dared to slap her, Miranda felt a need to show the lady what it felt like to be humiliated. She was not someone to tolerate mistreatment, but having come from a lower-class family and becoming an orphan at a young age, Miranda knew that the world had no respect for the poor. She aspired to become rich, even if it meant climbing over others to achieve that. She admired the good life and desired a well-paying job, hoping to eventually own her own supermarket or shopping mall.

Lost in thought about her struggles, Miranda didn’t care how much time she spent soaking in this grand, pristine bathtub. The bubbling water filled with scented soaps soothed her body, and the chilly night air made her reluctant to leave. She wanted to sleep there and forget all her worries, having even let her blonde hair cascade down her back. She was extremely beautiful, but remembering the slap Melody had given her made Miranda feel like strangles the lady’s neck. However, she knew she would be jailed, and no one would come to her rescue.

"Mmmmm," Miranda enjoyed herself in the bathtub until she heard the sound of the room door shut.

"Who's there?" Miranda asked, still thinking she was in her maid's room on the lower floor of the mansion. However, reality dawned on her that she was in one of the children’s rooms.

"I hope this isn't Master Derrick's room," Miranda muttered quietly until she heard the bathroom door slide open.