n

n

nCassidy knows it all too well at this point.

nSince Cecile has always been framing others for her crimes and putting the blames on them, she's already expecting that she's going to do the same thing right now. There's no use denying the truth that she's been locked inside her room and everybody in the mansion was in it.

nIt's also a good thing that Adrian believes Cassidy right away. Since it's only recently that he begins treating her amiably, she's still not very confident that he's going to side with her. Then again, she's still not even used to the way he's acting all generously by lavishing things on her.

n

"Cecile...

"

nAs soon as Adrian says her name, Cecile straightens her back, tensing up even more. His tone is tyrannical and so is his expression. She used to see him like this a number of times before, but it's never directed to her or any of them.

nDuring those times, he already looks daunting even in the eyes of the witnesses. Now that she and the other maids are the target of his dagger-like gaze, it has become greatly disconcerting.

n

"Who locked the door and why did they do it?

" Adrian continued before standing up from his seat and walking closer to the maids.

n

"P-President, I-I...

" Cecile trailed off with a quivering tone before taking a glance at his wife who stayed behind him.

n'Good luck,' Cassidy mouthed with a mocking smile, vexing her and making her flare up internally.

nRight then, just as the redhead expected, she went on and lied to her husband's face. All the other maids stiffened and paled in aghast shock the moment she began explaining about the doorknob.

n

"I'm mortified to say that everybody who came with me today had locked Ma'am Cassidy up inside her bedroom. They forced her to stay put so that she could properly meet the Madam.

"

nTaken aback by the head maid's answer and the mention of his mother, his eyes widened for a bit.

nThat's when Adrian realizes that he really isn't aware of what's happening inside his own home. Nobody told him about Irish replacing his houseworkers, Cassidy's dangerous act of jumping from the balcony, and now, it's Gertrude's unannounced arrival.

nSo many things had taken place, and he had no idea at all.

nHe thinks that his wife's decision not to meet his mother is understandable. They never get along in the first place. Besides, he just told her to avoid anyone who would make her feel uncomfortable.

nOn the other hand, locking Cassidy up like that doesn't have any acceptable excuse.

nThey're just mere houseworkers yet they dared to treat their mistress like that. The fact that she even had to risk her safety again by doing that stunt in the balcony only meant that her situation was that bad.

nThere's no need for further explanation. Adrian could already figure out that Cassidy must have been shouting and banging on the door that entire time but only to be heard by none.

nWith all these thoughts in mind, Adrian remained quiet for the next seconds to come while all the maids could do was lower their heads and evade his glare.

n

"And what about you...?

" he then suddenly questioned the head maid again, making her shudder.

n

"You're supposed to be watching over them. Why'd you let them force my wife like that? She said that she didn't want to meet no one - was it that hard to tell that to my mother?

"

n

"I-I-I h-have no idea that this was happening, President...

" she replied nervously, already feeling the aggrieved looks of all the other maids from behind her back.

n

"B-But, President... This is the Madam, though. You would always let her meet Ma'am Cassidy-

"

n

"I just told Cassidy that she didn't need my permission for those kinds of things. It's up to her if she wanted to meet someone or not. Besides, this isn't really about my mother, right? It's about the fact that you treated her like some kind of a prisoner in my own house.

"

nAt that moment, the maids knew that their fates are sealed.

nAdrian is already this infuriated. Whenever he is like this, they know that everything that is going to come out of his mouth is bad news for everybody. Much worse, there is no stopping him once he decides on something while he is in the middle of spreading a dreadful blizzard all around.

n

"Cassidy,

" Adrian called out of nowhere, much to his wife's surprise.

n

"What is it?

" Cassidy asked as she only continued looking at him from behind.

n

"Decide on their punishment. What do you want them to do?

"

nAt that, the maids are thrown into panic almost instantly, though they tried to hide it by staying so scared stiff that all colors drained out of their faces.

nThey all knew that it's the worst case scenario for them. With the head of the Millicent's sharing his power on his crippled, parasitic wife like that, many sorts of punishment would fall on them.

nAfter all, they had done a number of offenses to her in the past. It's not just locking her up. Though they knew that she lost her memories, they still couldn't underestimate the new her.

n'Hmmm... This is a better result, I guess. I was so sure that bossman would just make them go back to Irish or something. Who would've thought I could finally decide on something like punishing their people...?' Cassidy thought quietly, amused by this turn of events.

n'Well then, since I'm already at it, I might as well make the best use of it.

"

nWith that in mind, she approached Adrian and clung onto the hem of his sleeve, taking everyone aback for a bit. For some reason, it's giving the maids an impression that she finally has a hold on her husband, and even if that turns out to be for only the tiniest bit, it's enough to make them think that they can no longer do the nasty things that they kept doing to her before.

n

"I already decided on what to do with them...

" Cassidy chimed in again before turning away from her husband and looking at the terrified maids who're trembling at this point.

n

"At this very instant, make them pack their bags and leave this place. I want them all fired at once.

"

n---

nOn the next morning, Cassidy woke up with a pretty good mood.

nIn fact, she was so thrilled that she got up from bed much earlier than her ever diligent husband. Adrian isn't going to join the investigation today since Ray and his team will only be looking into the suspects. That means he's probably going to work or finish some business-related matters.

n'What a fabulous morning for the glamorous me~

" Cassidy greeted the fresh morning breeze and lovely ocean scenery as she stared out from the balcony of the mansion.

nLast night's incident really left her walking on air.

nUp until now, she can't help but smile in triumph. It's such a satisfying scene to witness, especially when all the maids start begging to be spared. Of course, they'd want to continue working here since the Millicent's pay them a lot better than any other employer out there.

nAlthough they're originally working for Irish, Adrian holds more power in the family. When an employee does a terrible offense, he's the one who usually makes most of the decisions, and that includes firing them. Their misdeeds were also conducted inside his own residence, which means that they're presently working for him.

n'Besides, their records have already been tainted long before. They were doing all sorts of things to me. Lots of other maids can replace them in just a day - or so bossman said...' Cassidy recalled.

nCecile was the first one to cry out indignantly last night after Cassidy voiced out their punishment.

nSince she flat out said that they wanted them all to be fired and did not mention any exception, the head maid totally thought that she was included - everybody else did. She kept lying to her husband that time, claiming that she had no idea at all and that she could never be involved in locking her up.

n'Seriously, though, Cecilia made quite a scene. She almost did what she did in front of me back in the room - begging on her knees and everything...'

nThe other maids already reached their limits at that point.

nSome of them started to speak out, contradicting the head maid's claims that she was innocent. They all appeared aggrieved and provoked. From that point on, a childish argument full of finger-pointing began.

n'What did it feel like to be ganged up on by the people you blamed, Cecilia~? You were so good at framing others, but what if there's now a ton of them and they're all ready to talk against you? You may be at a higher position, but once those under you come together, you're going to be as good as cornered.'

nIn reality, though, Cassidy was only letting Cecile have a good taste of what could happen once she betrayed her, and in the end, she decided to keep her anyway.

n