Chapter 2 - Margaret Blackmails Maeve Donnelly Into Playing Sienna
The quiet hum of the kitchen refrigerator seemed deafening as Margaret Ashford stared down at the young housekeeper.
Maeve Donnelly clutched the basket of folded linens against her chest like a shield against an oncoming storm.
“Your brother Leo is scheduled for spinal surgery at Mercy General in six weeks, isn't he?” Margaret repeated, her voice dangerously soft.
Maeve felt her breath catch in her throat, every muscle in her body locking up with sudden, paralyzing terror.
“How... how do you know about Leo?” Maeve whispered, her knuckles turning white where she gripped the wicker handle.
Margaret took a slow step forward, her eyes narrowing with calculated coldness.
“I know everything that happens under my roof, Maeve, including the fact that your insurance denied coverage for the operation.”
Sienna turned away from the counter, watching her mother with a mixture of shock and sudden comprehension.
“Mother, what are you suggesting? You can’t seriously mean—” Sienna started, but Margaret raised a single hand to silence her.
“If Elias Marchetti discovers Sienna broke off the engagement because of his wheelchair, the Ashford name will be ruined in Chicago forever.”
Margaret crossed her arms, fixing her piercing gaze entirely back onto the trembling twenty-four-year-old housekeeper.
“Marchetti isn't a man who takes rejection lightly, and his family controls half the commercial ports on the river.”
“If he finds out Sienna abandoned him, our shipping investments and real estate lines will be frozen before the first frost.”
Maeve swallowed hard, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes as she realized the horrifying trap closing around her.
“So here is how reality works, Maeve,” Margaret whispered, stepping right into the girl's personal space.
“You put on Sienna’s pearls, you pack your bags, and you walk into that mansion as the dutiful, devoted fiancée.”
“You stay by his side, you play the part flawlessly, and you make sure Elias never suspects the truth.”
“In exchange, the Ashford family trust will pay for Leo’s surgery in full, down to the last dollar.”
Maeve looked down at the floor, her mind spinning wildly as she weighed the impossible choice before her.
If she refused, her little brother would lose his ability to walk forever.
If she accepted, she was walking straight into the lion's den of Chicago’s most feared criminal syndicate under a false identity.
“And if I fail?” Maeve asked, her voice trembling so badly the words barely formed.
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Margaret smiled coldly, a look that promised absolute destruction.
“If you fail, Maeve, your brother leaves Mercy General tomorrow morning with nothing.”
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