537 The Mafia Boss Pretended to Leave Town Before His Wedding and Discovered the Maid Was the Only One Protecting His Mother
CHAPTER 2 – The Wedding Ring Became a Trap
Dominic never took his eyes off the screen.
Every instinct forged through twenty years of blood, betrayal, and organized crime screamed at him to storm upstairs and break every bone in Celeste Whitmore's body.
Instead, he remained perfectly still.
That frightened Victor more than any explosion of anger ever could.
Because when Dominic Ashford became quiet, someone usually disappeared.
On the monitor, Celeste's smile widened.
"You?" she asked softly, looking Mara up and down as if inspecting spoiled food. "You'll stop me?"
Mara's knees trembled.
Every employee in Ashford Hall knew exactly who Celeste was supposed to become.
In four days, she would marry the most feared man on the East Coast.
No servant survived insulting the future Mrs. Ashford.
Yet Mara refused to move.
Mrs. Eleanor's fingers found the edge of Mara's apron and clutched it weakly.
"Please..." the elderly woman whispered. "Don't..."
Mara looked down at her.
"It's alright."
No.
Nothing was alright.
Not after the bruise already blooming across Eleanor's cheek.
Not after the pills scattered across the floor.
Not after months of abuse hidden behind perfect smiles.
Celeste slowly removed one designer glove.
Then she slapped Mara.
Hard.
The sound cracked through the bedroom.
Mara staggered sideways, her cheek instantly turning red, but she caught herself before falling.
She did not raise a hand.
She did not cry.
She simply stood back in front of Eleanor.
"I said," Mara whispered, "leave her alone."
Downstairs, Victor cursed under his breath.
One of the younger security officers watching another monitor clenched both fists.
Dominic remained motionless.
His breathing slowed.
That was always the first sign.
Not of forgiveness.
Of judgment.
"Do you know why servants stay servants?" Celeste asked.
She circled Mara like a predator.
"Because you people mistake kindness for power."
She leaned close enough that only the hidden microphones could catch her next words.
"When Dominic marries me, you'll be fired before the honeymoon."
Another step.
"And your sick little brother?"
Mara froze.
Celeste smiled.
"Oh yes. I know about him."
Her voice became almost cheerful.
"The hospital bills."
"The dialysis."
"The apartment you're barely keeping."
"I know everything."
Victor looked sharply toward Dominic.
Nobody outside Ashford Hall should have known about Mara's private life.
Dominic spoke for the first time in almost four minutes.
"Who accessed employee files?"
Erin Park's voice answered through the room's encrypted speaker.
"I'm checking."
Her keyboard clicked furiously somewhere three floors below.
Seven seconds later—
"I found it."
Everyone turned.
"Someone used your executive authorization two weeks ago."
Victor frowned.
"Impossible."
Erin continued.
"The login came from Miss Whitmore's office."
Silence.
Then—
"The password was yours."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"My password?"
"Copied through facial recognition override."
Victor's expression darkened.
"She stole executive clearance."
"No," Dominic replied quietly.
"She was given the opportunity."
Upstairs—
Celeste crouched beside Eleanor's wheelchair.
"You know what happens after the wedding?"
She lifted the old woman's chin.
"Everyone will think your health simply declined."
She smiled.
"Old people die every day."
Eleanor's breathing became uneven.
"You..."
Celeste nodded.
"Yes."
"I've already spoken to your physician."
Another smile.
"He enjoys expensive vacations."
Victor slammed one hand onto the operations table.
"Boss."
Dominic didn't answer.
He was listening.
Listening the way a sniper waited for exactly the right heartbeat.
Mara suddenly knelt beside Eleanor.
Ignoring Celeste completely, she began gathering the scattered medication.
One bottle.
Two tablets.
Three capsules.
Her hands moved carefully.
Professionally.
She checked every pill before placing it back inside the container.
Then...
She stopped.
Her eyes narrowed.
Very slightly.
Almost too small for the cameras to notice.
Almost.
Dominic noticed.
He leaned closer.
"What is she looking at?"
The camera zoomed automatically.
One tiny white tablet remained near the dresser.
Mara picked it up.
Compared it with another.
Then frowned.
"They're different," Dominic murmured.
Erin enlarged the image.
The room went silent.
Half the tablets carried the correct pharmaceutical marking.
The other half...
Didn't.
Victor stared.
"Those aren't from the same prescription."
"No."
Dominic's voice became ice.
"They're replacements."
Mara looked toward Celeste.
"Where did these pills come from?"
Celeste blinked once.
Then laughed.
"What?"
"Mrs. Ashford's medicine."
Mara held up both tablets.
"These aren't the same."
For the first time...
The smile disappeared.
Only for a second.
But it disappeared.
Dominic caught it.
Victor caught it.
Every investigator in the surveillance room caught it.
Fear.
Tiny.
Instant.
Real.
Then Celeste recovered.
"You stupid maid."
She slapped the pills from Mara's hand.
"They're medicine."
"They look identical."
"No, they don't."
"They do to me."
Mara looked directly into Celeste's eyes.
"They don't to the hospital."
Erin interrupted through the speakers.
"I searched pharmacy records."
Everyone looked toward her monitor.
"There was no refill this week."
Victor frowned.
"Then where did those pills come from?"
Erin typed again.
"I don't know."
"But someone replaced them."
Dominic slowly stood.
His chair rolled backward across the concrete floor.
Every guard instinctively straightened.
The room felt colder.
Much colder.
Dominic buttoned his black jacket.
His expression revealed nothing.
"Victor."
"Yes."
"Lock every gate."
"Already done."
"No one leaves."
Victor nodded.
"What about Miss Whitmore?"
Dominic looked at the largest monitor.
Upstairs, Celeste had regained her confidence.
She was threatening Mara again.
Completely unaware.
She still believed Dominic Ashford was somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.
Still believed the surveillance cameras in Eleanor's room were decorative antiques.
Still believed the wedding would happen.
Dominic picked up the engagement ring box resting on the operations table.
He opened it.
The diamond sparkled brilliantly beneath the fluorescent lights.
He stared at it for several seconds.
Then calmly closed the lid.
"When she came into this house," he said quietly, "she thought she was marrying a king."
Victor remained silent.
Dominic slipped the ring box into his pocket.
"In exactly ten minutes..."
He turned toward the steel elevator leading upstairs.
"...she's going to learn she walked into a courtroom."
The elevator doors slid open with a metallic hiss.
Above them, hidden cameras continued recording every second.
And upstairs—
Mara still stood between an old woman and the monster wearing a bride's smile.
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Neither woman knew that the man they believed was thousands of miles away...
...was already on his way upstairs.
