Chapter 88: You Have A Charity Ball To Attend
"Sally... it’s over. I already told the madam everything—about how we framed Betty and tried to make her take the fall."
Everything stilled at that moment.
Bang’s voice was quiet, but somehow, the words carried through the entire greenhouse. Everyone could only stare at Bang, and then at Sally and the other maid.
"Frame Betty into taking the fall?" one of them repeated under his breath. "What’s going on here?"
"Are they really behind this?"
"Unbelievable!"
"What—Bang, what in the world are you saying?" the other maid stammered, fear slowly etching itself across her face. "There’s—this—how could you frame us like this?"
Sally, on the other hand, only paled as she stared at Bang with quiet dread. She had noticed Bang acting strangely since this morning. However, she hadn’t thought much of it.
She shook her head as panic began to set in. "No—no!"
Having the survival instinct humans naturally possess, Sally quickly turned to Ashley and dropped to her knees.
"Madam, I’m being framed!" she shouted. "Whatever Bang said isn’t true! I didn’t—it’s not me! I’m innocent!"
"Innocent?" Ashley tilted her head to the side. "Are you saying Bang is lying?"
THUD!
As those words left Ashley’s mouth, Bang dropped to her knees. Her hands clutched the ground, her head lowered.
"Madam, I would never lie about such a thing! What I told you last night was all true! Sally wanted to frame Betty because she wanted to kick Betty out of Dominion! So, she told me to plant the bleach we used to kill the seedlings in Betty’s room once she lured her out!" Bang explained in dread, barely taking a breath as she blurted it all out in one go.
"We initially poisoned the seedlings because we thought that could get Betty in trouble, but when you said there would be an investigation, Sally said it was an opportunity! That we should help you catch the culprit!" she continued, not daring to look at the shock on everyone’s faces as she confessed.
"What are you saying!?" Sally roared as she turned to Bang. Without thinking, she marched over and grabbed Bang by the shoulders. "Bang! How could you say all this about me?"
Then she turned to Ashley. "Madam, it’s not true! It was Bang’s idea—I would never do this to you or to Betty! You can ask her! It was Bang’s idea, and we were just forced to do it!"
The other maid in their group darted her eyes between Bang and Sally, who had now turned on each other. But the second Sally shot her a look, she nodded and immediately dropped to her knees.
"Madam, Sally and I are innocent!" the third maid cried out. "We’re being framed by Bang! It was all her plan, and she forced us into it! She’s always been a bully and forced us to do things for her! Betty knew that even when she was still a maid!"
But Betty’s expression only grew colder as she watched the three fight over their innocence even now. For once, Betty had thought that these three—no matter how cruel they were—had seen each other as friends, considering how they usually covered for one another.
Now, look at them.
Pushing the blame onto each other.
"What?" Bang scoffed as she turned to both Sally and the other maid. "You’re seriously just going to dump all the blame on me?"
"Bang, please, stop now!" the maid exclaimed, teary-eyed. Then she turned to Ashley, hoping the tears would earn her some sympathy. "Madam, please. We’re being wronged."
Sally then crawled forward on her knees, rubbing her hands together. "Madam, we’re being framed by Bang. It’s not us! I know what we did was wrong, but we only listened to Bang because we were afraid! She knew things about us that could get us kicked out of Dominion!"
"We simply didn’t want to get kicked out!" she added desperately.
"No!" Bang shouted as she turned to Ashley. "It’s not just me—it’s also them! It was Sally’s idea because she hates Betty! She also disliked Madam and said you don’t deserve to be here! And that—"
"Enough!" Ashley cut in as the trio began shouting over one another as if she were standing far away.
Meanwhile, everyone’s frowns deepened. Even with the three now pushing the blame onto one another, it was clear they all shared responsibility. And that made everything even clearer—that all of this had been planned.
"Enough," Ashley repeated, taking a step forward as she gazed down at the three of them. "I didn’t want to do this. If anything, I was planning for us to resolve this issue privately. However, since it came to this, I have no choice."
She raised her chin and looked at everyone. "When Bang came to me last night, I asked some people to confirm all of this."
Ashley clapped and turned to the entrance of the greenhouse. "Boys, come in!"
Deep lines appeared on everyone’s faces as they looked toward the entrance, until a few figures emerged. Coming in were three of Ashley’s bodyguards: Red, Gin, and Rum.
Seeing their irritated faces, Ashley smiled in satisfaction. Yesterday, she had bothered them almost the entire day, asking them to lend her a gun. Of course, they never bent, not even a little. Who knew who she would’ve used it on?
They didn’t want to be responsible if they woke up the next day and Lucian already had a hole in his head.
So, she asked them for a favor instead. It was a simple one: to keep watch over the greenhouse until midnight.
Everyone furrowed their brows as they stared at the direct members of Dominion, who also had reputations of their own.
"What are they doing here?" Nelly asked, instinctively turning to Ashley. "Madam?"
"I asked them last night to look after the greenhouse since I was a little worried about it," she explained. Then her gaze fell on the three kneeling women.
Meanwhile, the bodyguards glanced at her, their noses slightly scrunched.
That wasn’t exactly what she had asked, they thought, but didn’t say. They were here to serve as a display, just as she wanted.
"And they did tell me they saw something interesting," Ashley drawled, taking a step forward until she stood before Sally, Bang, and the other maid. "Are you saying that what they saw and what they found out... were lies too?"
Ashley turned to the bodyguards. "Do you want to tell them what happened last night?"
Red, Gin, and Rum raised their brows, having zero with a capital Z idea of what they should say.
"Or, are we going to face the truth and take accountability for our actions?" she added, turning to the three maids.
Bang’s breath stopped at once as she lowered her head. She wasn’t even sure why she was this scared, but if Lucian’s men had truly gotten involved, then it was an entirely different matter.
As for Sally and the other maid, their hearts began to sink as every excuse they had left vanished.
In the end, the three of them could only glance at the bodyguards before turning back to Ashley.
"Madam, please have mercy on us," Sally breathed out. "I was wrong. I got ahead of myself and didn’t know my place. Please forgive me—I will never—"
"The seedlings that went to waste are worth millions—five, to be exact. If I’m going to count the ones Primo touched, that’ll be double," Ashley remarked, her voice turning cold as she stared at the trio. "Either you pay my losses in full, or work them off for the rest of your lives."
"If those two are unacceptable, then you may leave Dominion," she added, only to squat down before them and lean forward, speaking quietly, "But by then, I won’t be able to protect you from Lucian."
After saying that, Ashley rose to her feet and turned to Betty. "Betty, they’re all yours. It’s at your discretion what to do with them once they make another mistake."
"Yes, Madam," Betty nodded in understanding, keeping her poise and the sharpness in her gaze as she looked at the trio.
"As for the rest, know this," Ashley said, sweeping her gaze over everyone. "This is the only time I will be lenient. There won’t be a next time—not just for these three, but for anyone who tries to ruin my work and everyone else’s efforts."
"My patience can only go so far," she added, her voice calming. "Let’s try to get along and maintain the peace here. Do you understand?"
No one answered immediately as they stared at Ashley, knowing she meant every single word. Then, together, they exclaimed,
"Yes, Madam!"
*****
Later that day, after settling the matter and handing Betty’s real job of dealing with those three over to her, Ashley stopped near the entrance of the residence upon seeing racks and racks of designer clothes, shoes, and bags being dragged inside the mansion.
"Huh?" She paused, staring at the pieces being carried in.
Then, spotting Nolan, she approached him. "Nolan, what are these?"
Nolan turned to her and smiled. "Madam, the master has invited many designers and instructors for you."
"For me?" she tilted her head. "Why?"
"Have you forgotten? You have a charity ball to attend this weekend."
Hearing that, her face contorted as she remembered something she had put off while dealing with those maids.
"...Shit."