Chapter 82: Someone They Never Expect?
Since Ashley left with Lucian, she hadn’t returned. It made everyone believe that she was placating Lucian and distracting him from the real problem of the plantation.
"I had some doubts about the madam, but..." one of the maids who had been here since day one whispered, following Nelly’s instruction to transfer the seedlings to a new tray, as he believed the soil and the trays were contaminated.
The other maids with her glanced at each other. "I didn’t expect her to protect us, especially when everyone here knows the master loathes lies the most."
They nodded in agreement.
"Now that I think about it, the madam isn’t actually that bad," another one whispered. "Come to think of it, when we first started working here, I thought it was a demotion. But somehow, it feels like a promotion."
It wasn’t like they didn’t get breaks cleaning the mansion daily. It was just that the work in the mansion felt endless. Even though there were many maids and butlers, the mansion was huge, and with so many people living in the territory, there was always a lot to do.
Especially during mealtimes.
The mountain of plates they needed to wash whenever they were on washing duty felt like an endless task.
But here, the work wasn’t heavy. If anything, it was light.
"Not to mention, we always have snacks whenever we feel like resting," another added. "And everyone here is just... friendly."
They nodded, unsure how to describe it.
The plantation was still within the territory, but somehow, the work environment here, compared to the mansion, was completely different. There wasn’t any competition at all. If anything, it felt like they mostly focused on the term nurture since that was what they were doing for the seedlings.
"I’m kinda starting to like it here too," one of them whispered, looking up at the others discreetly, as if expecting them to laugh. But they didn’t.
Instead, they all smiled and chuckled before saying in unison, "The feeling is mutual."
The maids who were initially dragged here weren’t the only ones having such conversations. Even the gardeners, who were helping out and ensuring the work was done properly, whispered among themselves.
"This plantation... is quite stable, isn’t it?" one of the gardeners blurted out, flinching when he realized he had spoken his thoughts aloud.
But when he looked at his colleagues, they either nodded or simply continued working.
"I wonder if the boss is going to make a contract with the madam?" one of them murmured. "We’re here because she borrowed us from the garden construction, but wouldn’t she need experts if this business continues?"
"I hope they come to an agreement," another said with a deep sigh. "Otherwise, it’ll be difficult once this project ends."
Although deep in their hearts, they knew this project wouldn’t truly end when the garden came to fruition. This was Ashley’s business, and from what they had heard, she already had clients waiting for the plants to grow. She would need samples soon.
They liked working for Castor, but this place also felt stable with such high pay. The only thing holding them back from fully considering it was that this was Dominion. Right now, Dominion was their client, and if they worked here permanently, they would be bound to Dominion whether they liked it or not.
"Enough of that," one of them huffed, looking at the seedlings they were carefully checking after being transferred. "We still don’t know who was sabotaging this."
They nodded. "Who has the nerve to mess with Dominion? Regardless of the madam’s reputation before, she’s still the madam of Dominion."
"Aren’t they afraid of the consequences?"
*
*
Meanwhile, the three maids took their short break. But instead of resting, they gathered at a secluded side of the mansion where no one would usually pass by.
"What are we going to do?" one of them panicked. "They already found out someone was sabotaging the seedlings!"
"Oh God," another paced back and forth, biting her nail in distress. "We’re dead if they find out it’s us!"
"How could this happen?" the first one said. "This isn’t how it was supposed to go!"
Their initial plan was to poison the plants by spraying them with bleach until Betty got blamed for it. But instead of Betty getting kicked out, this happened.
"How did she know?" the second one muttered. "Did she already suspect us? Is that why she asked Nelly to take a few trays with him?"
As the two maids spiraled, the third one darted her eyes between them before sighing heavily.
"Calm down, will you?" she hissed, stopping them. "They’re going to investigate first. That means they still don’t know who did it."
"But Betty will surely pin this on us!" one of them snapped. "That bitch will see this as an opportunity! Who knows what kind of lies she’ll tell that woman?"
The third maid smirked. "What proof does she have? Even if she rambles on and that woman believes her, it only proves she’s just as stupid as others say."
The two maids furrowed their brows.
"Forget about Betty. That woman — that fake madam — clearly wants to rebuild her reputation," the third maid said knowingly. "Meaning, she’s trying to gain everyone’s favor. If she believes Betty without proof, wouldn’t that make her look worse?"
She raised a brow, her smirk turning vile. "Isn’t that why they want to investigate first? They need proof. But they won’t get it."
They knew the risks of what they were doing. That was why they had been careful. If Ashley had installed CCTV cameras in the plantation, they wouldn’t have dared. But the lack of security made it easy.
"Besides, this is an opportunity," she continued, watching the other two frown. "They’re going to investigate, and instead of panicking, we should help."
"What are you saying...?"
"We did this to teach Betty a lesson," the third maid reminded them. "But she wasn’t kicked out. Instead, this happened. So what if... everyone finds out the culprit is someone they would never suspect?"
The other two narrowed their eyes before realization dawned on them. Their mouths parted slightly as the third maid nodded, sneering.
"It’s an opportunity," she hummed, crossing her arms. "I didn’t want to resort to this, but it can’t be helped."
A glint flickered in her eyes as the other two exchanged looks. After a moment, they nodded at each other, relief spreading across their faces as their vile plan began to take shape.