The Maid's Deception-Chapter 37 - 36: The Trust Trap

Back in her room, she pulled out her mission phone and stared at it for a long moment before typing a message to Marcus.

I might have access to what we need. Soon. Maybe today. But something feels wrong. Like I’m being set up.

His response came quickly: Trust your instincts. But don’t forget what’s at stake. Your mother doesn’t have much time.

As if she could forget. As if the weight of her mother’s life wasn’t crushing her every moment of every day.

She pulled out her laptop and reviewed everything she knew about the estate’s security systems. If this was a trap, she needed to be prepared. Needed to have an exit strategy.

But part of her...a growing, treacherous part...wondered if maybe it wasn’t a trap at all. Maybe Damien genuinely wanted to share this with her. Maybe he trusted her.

The thought made her feel sick with guilt.

Her work phone buzzed. A text from Lucy.

Mrs. Chen wants to see you in her office. Now.

Aria’s stomach knotted. This couldn’t be good.

Mrs. Chen’s office was a small, tidy space near the main kitchen. When Aria knocked and entered, the older woman was sitting behind her desk, her expression stern.

"Sit, Sarah."

Aria sat, her hands folded in her lap.

"I’m going to be direct with you because I think you deserve honesty," Mrs. Chen said. "Your relationship with Mr. Blackwood...whatever it is..has not gone unnoticed."

"Mrs. Chen, I..."

"Let me finish." Her voice was firm but not unkind. "I’ve worked for Mr. Blackwood for seven years. I’ve seen him go through phases. Obsessions. And I’ve seen how those obsessions end."

The same warning Lucy had given her. Was everyone trying to protect her from Damien? Or protect Damien from her?

"Two years ago, there was another girl. Beautiful. Young. He was captivated by her for about three months. Private meetings. Gifts. Special treatment." Mrs. Chen’s expression was carefully neutral. "And then one day, he was done. She was dismissed that afternoon. No severance. No references. Just gone."

"What did she do?"

"That’s the question, isn’t it?" Mrs. Chen leaned forward. "No one knows. She wouldn’t talk about it. But whatever happened, it ended badly for her."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because despite what you might think, I don’t want to see you hurt. You seem like a good person, Sarah. A little lost, maybe. A little desperate. But good." Mrs. Chen’s eyes were sharp. "Whatever you came here for...whatever you’re really doing...be very careful. Mr. Blackwood is brilliant. He sees things other people miss. And he doesn’t forgive betrayal."

The words sent ice through Aria’s veins.

"I’m not.... don’t know what you think I’m doing, but...."

"I think you’re in over your head." Mrs. Chen’s voice softened slightly. "I think you’re playing a dangerous game with a dangerous man. And I think you’re going to get hurt unless you’re very, very careful."

Aria stood on shaking legs. "Is there anything else?"

"No. You’re dismissed. But Sarah?" Mrs. Chen’s eyes held hers. "Whatever happens....remember that I tried to warn you."

Aria fled the office, her mind reeling.

Everyone was warning her. Lucy. Mrs. Chen. Even her own instincts were screaming that this was dangerous, that she was in too deep, that she needed to get out before it was too late.

But it was already too late.

She was in love with him. Or something close to love. Something that made rational thought impossible. Something that made her want to protect him even as she planned to betray him.

At 2 PM, she met Damien at the north entrance as instructed. He’d changed into casual clothes...dark jeans and a fitted button-down...and he looked younger like this. More approachable. Almost normal.

"Ready?" he asked, offering his hand.

She took it, trying to ignore how right it felt. How natural.

They walked through the gardens in comfortable silence, his hand warm and solid in hers. Past the main paths. Past the areas she was familiar with. Toward the eastern section.

When they reached the sensor line, Damien pulled out his phone and disabled a section of the security system. "This way."

They crossed into the restricted area, and Aria’s heart raced. She was actually doing it. Actually getting access to where the Vitalis Radix was kept.

The greenhouse was even more impressive up close....a massive glass structure with multiple climate-controlled sections. Beautiful and modern and clearly the product of significant investment.

Damien used his key card to unlock the main entrance, and they stepped inside.

The air was warm and humid, filled with the scent of earth and growing things. Plants of every variety surrounded them....some she recognized, many she didn’t.

"This was my mother’s passion," Damien said quietly, leading her deeper into the structure. "She was a botanist before she married my father. Gave it up to be the perfect society wife. But she never stopped loving plants. Never stopped wanting to make a difference."

There was real pain in his voice. Real grief.

"She sounds amazing."

"She was." He stopped in front of a smaller, separate greenhouse within the larger structure. "And this...this was her final project. The thing she was working on when she got sick."

Through the glass, Aria could see them. Rows of plants with distinctive silver-green leaves and small white flowers.

Vitalis Radix.

The plant that could save her mother’s life.

"It’s beautiful," she whispered, and it was true. Even knowing what it represented, knowing what she planned to do, she could appreciate the elegance of it.

"It’s more than beautiful. It’s potentially life-saving." Damien’s hand tightened around hers. "My mother was trying to cultivate it for medical use. To make it accessible to people who needed it. But she died before she could complete her research."

"I’m so sorry."

"So am I." He turned to face her fully. "But I’ve continued her work. And soon.....very soon...I’m going to make sure her legacy lives on. That this plant saves lives the way it couldn’t save hers."

Aria’s throat tightened. He was a good man. Complicated, yes. Possessive and controlling, absolutely. But fundamentally good. Trying to honor his mother’s memory. Trying to help people.

And she was going to betray him.

"Why are you showing me this?" she asked quietly.

"Because I want you to understand me. Who I really am beneath the CEO facade. Beneath the control and the games and the lessons." His hand cupped her face. "I want you to see the parts of me I don’t show anyone else."

"Damien...."

"And because," he continued, his thumb brushing across her lips, "I think you’re someone who understands loss. Who understands desperation. Who knows what it’s like to want something so badly you’d do anything to get it."

The words felt loaded. Significant.

Did he know? Was this his way of telling her he understood? That he forgave her?

Or was it a warning?

"I do understand," she whispered. "More than you know."

"Then understand this." He pulled her closer, his forehead resting against hers. "Whatever you’re hiding....whatever secrets you’re keeping...I want you to know that I see you. The real you. Not the mask you wear for everyone else."

Tears burned behind her eyes. "What if the real me isn’t worth seeing?"

"Then I’ll decide that for myself." He kissed her softly. "But I don’t think that’s true. I think the real you is extraordinary. Brilliant. Strong. Worth every risk." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

She wanted to confess. Wanted to tell him everything. Wanted to lay all her cards on the table and beg for his help, his understanding, his forgiveness.

But the words wouldn’t come. Because confessing meant risking everything. Risking her mother’s life. Risking her freedom. Risking this thing between them that had become more important than it should be.

"Come on," Damien said, taking her hand again. "Let me show you the rest."

He led her through the greenhouse, explaining his mother’s research, the cultivation process, the potential medical applications. And Aria listened, memorizing everything, cataloging details she’d need later.

While simultaneously trying not to cry at the realization that she was going to destroy this man who was sharing his deepest pain with her.

When they finally left the greenhouse, the sun was setting, casting everything in golden light.

"Thank you," Aria said softly. "For showing me. For trusting me."

"Always." He kissed her forehead. "Now come. I told Mrs. Chen to prepare something special for dinner. And afterward..."

His phone rang, interrupting him. He glanced at the screen and frowned. "I need to take this. It’s Marcus. Go ahead to the main house. I’ll meet you there in a few minutes."

He answered the call, walking a few feet away for privacy, and Aria stood there frozen.

Marcus. His executive assistant. The same name as her friend Marcus who’d been checking on her mother.

It couldn’t be the same person. Could it? That would be too much of a coincidence.

’’Unless....No!’’ That’s not possible.

Aria decided not to think about such possibility. Marcus has been her friend for years and she knows he wont betray her.

Behind her, she could hear Damien still on his call, his voice too low to make out the words.

She had the access card. She had the knowledge of where the plant was. She had everything she needed to save her mother.

But if she used it....if she went through with the theft, she’d lose Damien forever.

And standing there in the fading light, feeling the weight of the access card in her pocket and the weight of Damien’s trust on her shoulders, Aria realized she had to make a choice.

Mission or man. Mother or love. Survival or surrender.

And she had no idea which one she could live with losing.