BIT

The Next Day

Rebecca woke up at five in the morning, too nervous about the plan she would execute that day. She quickly tidied up the house and prepared breakfast because, above all, she needed Susan to like her so that everything would go smoothly.

“Marianne? Did you clean the whole house? Oh dear! You didn’t have to do that!” exclaimed Susan, surprised to see the clean and tidy house. Rebecca smiled, “It’s fine, tea?”

Susan smiled and nodded, “Sure, you made pancakes?”

“Yeah, I’m not that great at cooking, so this is the best I could do,” replied Rebecca as she reached for a teacup from the shelf.

“Um, Susan, are you sure about looking after Rose for me while I work?” asked Rebecca cautiously. Susan beamed, “Of course, with pleasure! I have a granddaughter, but she’s far away in Hawaii, so taking care of Rose will be a nice way to fill the void,” she answered cheerfully.

Rebecca sighed in relief. “Thank you so much, I’ll come back as soon as my work is done, and I’ll give you half of my paycheck,” she said, placing the cup of tea on the table in front of Susan.

Susan waved her hand dismissively, “Nonsense! I don’t need money! Keep it; you need it more than I do. Now, sit down and have your breakfast. You’ll need a lot of energy to work in that enormous Specter mansion,” she said, pulling Rebecca into the chair beside her.

Two Hours Later,

“Susan, I have to go now. Um, thank you for doing this for me,” Rebecca said sincerely. Susan smiled, “No worries, I’m happy to do it, she replied, reaching into the crib to gently stroke Lily’s cheek.

“Rosie baby, Mommy will be away for a while, but I’ll be back in six hours. Please be kind, okay? I love you,” whispered Rebecca, leaning down to kiss Lily’s forehead softly. Thankfully, Lily was still a baby; if she were older, she would have been confused about why her name had changed to Rose.

1327 Thu, Aug 15 ĐIỂM:

Rebecca glanced at her reflection in the window as she left Susan’s house, feeling proud that her appearance was entirely unrecognizable as Rebecca Harper. Her shoulder- length bob, green braces, thick glasses, acne–covered face, and a large, hairy mole on her cheek made her look like someone else entirely.

With a pounding heart and sweaty palms, she walked down the sidewalk toward the Specter family mansion, located a few blocks from Susan’s house. She pulled out the speech–to–text device that Max had bought her and tested it one more time. She mustn’t speak at the Specter mansion, or they might recognize her, so she would pretend to be mute. As long as she wasn’t deaf, they would have no reason to reject her.

A few steps from the Specter mansion, Rebecca paused. Suddenly, memories from her past rushed through her mind like a documentary film. There were no fond memories of that mansion because the first three years of her marriage to Harvey were utterly unhappy, especially with Victoria and Mia always bullying her. She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then walked toward the grand entrance of the mansion.

She rang the doorbell once and was immediately greeted by someone over the intercom. She took out her speech–to–text device, typed quickly, and pressed the speaker button.

“I’m mute, so I communicate using this device. Can you greet me through the camera?”

Soon, a screen lit up, and the face of a security guard appeared.

“Hi, who are you here to see?” he asked flatly.

Rebecca typed quickly, explaining that she had an interview appointment with Nancy, the head maid. Not long after, the gate opened, and a security guard approached to inspect her from head to toe. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

The guard scrutinized Rebecca’s face closely. “Marianne, huh?” he asked, glancing at the ID in his hand. Rebecca nodded and smiled, revealing her braces.

“Wait here,” said the security guard, then went inside his office to call Nancy.

A few minutes later, Nancy arrived. She was a middle–aged woman with ginger–colored hair. “Marianne?” she looked at Rebecca, frowning.

Rebecca nodded quickly.

“Follow me,” said Nancy, without asking any further questions. Rebecca clenched her cold, sweaty hands and followed Nancy to the servante‘ ~—

13.27 Thu, Aug 15 MW

from the main mansion. As she looked around, her stomach churned. She knew every inch of that mansion, and being there as someone else gave her a strange feeling as if she were finally seeing the place from a third–person perspective.

“I need a daily maid for three months because one of our regular maids is on maternity leave. Here are your duties, read them carefully,” said Nancy, handing Rebecca a piece of paper, which she read thoroughly because she didn’t want to make any mistakes that would get her fired before her mission was complete.

“Let me show you around,” Nancy said after Rebecca signed the work agreement.

“You’ll only be cleaning the common areas. All private areas, including bedrooms and the library, are off–limits. Any questions?”

Rebecca quickly typed on her speech–to–text device, asking, “How many Specter family members live here?”

Nancy pointed to a family photo on the wall, and Rebecca’s stomach churned as her face was no longer there.

“Currently, only Victoria Specter and Mia Specter are at home. Mr. Specter Sr. is still on vacation in Switzerland, and Harvey Specter now lives in Manhattan with his wife, Alicia Specter,” Nancy quickly replied.

Rebecca nodded, knowing that her task was to find out where Victoria was hiding Harvey’s biological mother and why Harvey was so powerless to stand up to her.

“You can start now. Get your cleaning supplies from the broom closet,” Nancy said before leaving.

Rebecca hurried to the broom closet, gathered her cleaning supplies, and returned to the mansion, quickly cleaning the living room. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching, followed by a very familiar scent of perfume. She glanced back, and her hunch was correct–Victoria was standing not far from her, busy checking messages on her phone.

Her chest tightened as seeing that obnoxious face triggered memories of all the terrible things Victoria had done to her.

As usual, Victoria ignored the maids around her. She paid no attention to Rebecca, who was standing just a few feet away. Soon after, Rebecca heard Victoria’s phone ringing.

“Have you found that bitch? Are you sure she’s really gone?”

3/4

– 1327 Thu Aug 1, 20

Rebecca straightened up, she knew exactly whom Victoria was talking about.

*****

+65%

+ 65%

2. Thu, Aug 15 MW.