CHAPTER 3 — THE FOOTAGE NO ONE EXPECTED
CHAPTER 3 — THE FOOTAGE NO ONE EXPECTED
Five minutes later, every employee in the Wolfe estate stood in the grand living room.
The marble fireplace crackled softly.
No one spoke.
Housekeepers.
Gardeners.
Chefs.
Drivers.
Security guards.
Even the butler, who had served the Wolfe family for nearly twenty years.
They all knew one thing.
When Adrian Wolfe called everyone together without warning...
Someone's life was about to change.
Marco entered carrying a sleek black tablet.
Behind him followed two members of Adrian's private security team.
"Boss."
"I downloaded everything from the past sixty days."
Adrian nodded once.
"Play it."
The enormous television descended silently from the ceiling.
The first recording appeared.
A quiet Tuesday morning.
Eleanor walked carefully into the kitchen.
She reached for a loaf of bread.
Before she could make herself toast...
Cassandra entered.
"That's imported sourdough."
"It's for tonight's guests."
Eleanor smiled apologetically.
"I'll only take one slice."
"No."
"But I skipped dinner."
"I said no."
Without another word, Cassandra took the bread from Eleanor's hands and tossed it into the trash.
"If you can't afford food, don't develop expensive tastes."
Gasps spread through the room.
One of the maids covered her mouth.
The next recording began.
Lily sat at the dining table coloring with cheap crayons.
She looked hungry.
Eleanor quietly slid half of her own sandwich toward the little girl.
Cassandra noticed immediately.
"What did I tell you?"
"Staff eats in the back."
"You are not family."
She picked up both plates.
Dumped them into the garbage.
Lily burst into tears.
Eleanor simply lowered her head.
"I'm sorry."
"I forgot."
The room fell silent.
Even Marco clenched his jaw.
Another recording.
Rain poured outside.
Eleanor struggled to carry a basket of laundry upstairs.
She slipped on the polished marble steps.
The basket crashed down.
Sheets scattered everywhere.
She hit her shoulder against the railing.
Instead of helping...
Cassandra stood at the top of the stairs filming with her phone.
"You should've stayed in a nursing home."
Several employees looked away in shame.
One of the gardeners muttered,
"My God..."
Another clip.
Lily had a fever.
She lay curled on a sofa wrapped in a blanket.
Eleanor begged.
"Could someone please drive us to a clinic?"
Cassandra barely looked up from her manicure.
"The driver isn't a taxi."
"If she gets worse..."
"Then call an ambulance."
"Not my problem."
The chef suddenly spoke.
"I remember that day."
Everyone looked at him.
"I drove them myself after my shift."
"I never told anyone because Mrs. Eleanor begged me not to."
His voice cracked.
"She didn't want Mr. Wolfe worrying."
Adrian never blinked.
But everyone noticed his fingers tightening around the armrest.
Then Marco opened the final recording.
The bathroom.
Today's footage.
Clearer than before.
Lily standing in front of Eleanor.
Cassandra screaming.
"If you want to live here, be useful!"
Then—
She kicked the cleaning bucket.
Dirty water splashed across Eleanor's dress.
Lily cried out.
"Stop!"
Cassandra shoved the little girl aside.
Not hard enough to injure her...
But enough for Lily to stumble into the wall.
The video ended.
Absolute silence.
The only sound was the ocean crashing against the cliffs outside.
Adrian slowly stood.
No one dared breathe.
He looked toward the staff.
"How long?"
Nobody answered.
His voice became colder.
"I asked..."
"How long?"
The elderly butler stepped forward first.
"Fifty-eight days, sir."
"We wanted to tell you."
"But Miss Cassandra said anyone who contacted you would be fired immediately."
One by one...
Others stepped forward.
The head chef.
A gardener.
Three maids.
Even one security guard.
Each admitted they had witnessed the abuse.
Each had stayed silent out of fear.
Finally, Marco lowered his head.
"I failed too, Boss."
"I suspected something."
"I should've investigated."
Adrian looked around the room.
He saw guilt.
Regret.
Fear.
Then he turned toward Cassandra.
She was pale now.
"This isn't what it looks like."
"The cameras don't show everything."
"They're taking things out of context."
"I was trying to teach discipline."
"You know how manipulative poor people can be."
Adrian took one slow step toward her.
Then another.
His polished shoes echoed across the marble floor.
When he stopped, they stood face to face.
"You just called my mother..."
"...poor people."
Cassandra swallowed.
"I... didn't mean..."
"You called the woman who sacrificed everything so I could survive..."
"...a parasite."
She reached for his hand.
"Adrian, please..."
He looked down at the engagement ring sparkling on her finger.
The same ring he had spent months designing.
A flawless diamond.
Custom made.
Worth nearly three million dollars.
He gently took her left hand.
For one hopeful second...
Cassandra smiled.
Then Adrian slid the ring off her finger.
He placed it in his palm.
And said seven words that froze everyone in the room.
"The wedding is canceled. Leave my house."
Cassandra stared at him in disbelief.
"You can't be serious."
Adrian's eyes never left hers.
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"Oh..."
"I'm just getting started."
